This has been the wettest growing season I have ever experienced.
For those of you who have an interest in following the progression of the 2018 vintage, I have been faithfully posting weekly updates in Hardscrabble Journal on Linden’s new web site.
Read MoreWe felt this vintage needed more time to develop and patience rewarded us.
This wine is a great example of the expression of a cool site (Avenius) from a warm vintage (2016).
Read MoreThis week we will take the first sampling of Sauvignon Blanc grapes (always the first to ripen). Shari will run lab tests quantifying sugar, pH, and acid amounts. We will taste the juice for aroma and flavor. While harvest is still weeks away, this sampling and evaluation will give us a better idea as to when we might expect to start the vintage.
Read MoreIn the debate of which growing season has been the most challenging, 2018 is starting to edge out 2003. We can’t seem to get a long enough dry spell to slow vine growth and give us a break. So far the clusters look good, but I can’t imagine that they will be able to hold on for too much longer if this stormy weather pattern persists.
Read MoreLast week included disbelief, denial, and a reality check. After more than two months of record rains we felt that we should certainly be due for a change. Last week’s rains were salt on the wound.
Read MoreVeraison has commenced. This is when the grapes turn color and start the ripening stage. So far only a few berries have colored. When 50% of the berries in any given block turn, the date is noted.
Read MoreAt Linden we practice palate-based winemaking. This means that our decisions are based primarily on taste rather than science or numbers. This works because we make wine from vineyards where we have grown and harvested the grapes for decades. There is a sense of what to expect, but always with a dash of surprise.
Read MoreThe last three weeks of hot, dry weather have finally calmed the rate of vine growth. After a very intense two months of “green work’’, we finally have the vineyard canopy in good order.
Read MoreThus far the rainy spring of vintage 2018 has produced vines of extreme vigor and unruly growth. I can’t remember the last time we spent so many days cutting out unwanted lateral shoots, leaves, tips, and/or suckers.
Read MoreTen yellow suns in a row appeared on the weather web site. This is exactly what the vines need.
Read MoreThis has been a very intense week in the vineyard. Vine growth is unprecedented as copious amounts of rain and typical summer temperatures create hothouse conditions.
Read MoreBrilliant sunlight, breezes, and low humidity make for a better outlook when walking the vineyard. The crop will be shy, especially chardonnay and merlot. But there is enough.
Read MoreThe vines are exhibiting a high degree of resilience through all this gloomy rain. We growers take note and try to follow suit.
Read MoreFinally we have had a few sunny days, but now it is back to rain. June is our busiest time in the vineyard and this June has been especially demanding.
Read MoreAngst. Intellectually I know that everything will be all right. I’ve lived through this before. Spring 1997 experienced this level of precipitation, and it continues to be one of the all-time great vintages.
Read More“Biblical” may be a bit of an exaggeration for five inches of rain in one week. It certainly seemed that way as we helplessly watched the unabated growth of the grass, weeds and vines.
Read MoreYesterday was a very good day. I spent a good part of the day shoot thinning Hardscrabble’s three-year-old Chardonnay…. While working, my thoughts kept drifting back to a visit I had last summer with a very fanatical winegrower in Barolo.
Read MoreThis spring has given the vines a very good start to vintage 2018. Very late in starting, there has been no time wasted in trying to catch up.
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