Journal | September 9, 2017
Hardscrabble Journal
Wild but Wonderful
This is the crush mode that I remember from the not so ‘good old days’. Its been physically and mentally challenging. We have so many lots of wines in fermenters, that I have to use different colors of labeling tape to ID lots, otherwise we get too confused as to what is where. Everyone is dragging, but everyone has been through this before and understands why we have to push. Irma. She’s been teasing us for days now in terms of tracking and forecasted impact. The amount of rain is one factor, but the weather behind her is even more important. It was predicted that she would pass through quickly with cool drying conditions to follow. Now she could stall. This is not good news.
The conundrum is old vine Hardscrabble Chardonnay. This block is the crown jewel of Linden’s flagship wine. It ripens much later that all the other blocks of Chardonnay. While we have (or will by the end of today) picked all the Chardonnay, the old vines are not as ripe as I would like. The clusters are tight, making the highly rot susceptible. I’m inclined to pick part of the block now and wait and get more info on Irma’s track over the next few days. A nail biter for sure.
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