Prepidation
Harvest is still weeks away, but recent rains have given us a reality check. We were enjoying a much drier than normal summer, but there were worries that the vines were becoming too water stressed. Some rain was desirable. Be careful what you wish for.
Read MoreBottling
Last week we bottled. It was wonderfully boring. A boring day is as good as it gets. There are lots of moving parts on our bottling line, and if one of those parts does not move the way it is supposed to move, our boring day becomes a stressful day.
Read MoreDomaine Roulot Bourgogne 2014
This wine is a confirmation of Linden’s path towards elegance, restraint, and harmony over power and obviousness. The Roulot is in a great drinking window with poise and seamlessness. Nothing stands out. It has textbook textural balance. Aromas and flavors are very Burgundian with a slight flint reduction on the nose and a zesty saline finish. It certainly does not taste like the New World definition of varietal “Chardonnay.“
Read MoreVeraison: The Beginning of Ripening
This week we saw the first berries turn color. This signals the beginning of ripening.
Read MoreDidier Dageneau Buisson Renard 2018
Didier Dageneau took Sauvignon Blanc to a level of greatness. The variety suffers from commonness and obviousness. Wines made from this grape are often too varietal and too assertive. At Linden we have been trying to tone down its aggressive, “wild” character and bring out more terroir expression. This has not been easy.
Read MoreEichberg Riesling
It is impossible to make great wine if you don’t know what great wine tastes like. Harvest is only a bit more than a month away and we are now ramping up our palate-training regime. Knowledge is a winemaker’s important tool. When we taste a wine that inspires and teaches us, we call it a “mentor wine."
Read MoreWhat The Vines Tells Us
It has been many years since the vineyard has been this dry. The grass is browning, but the vines look good. Vines have deep roots and are still finding enough water in the subsoil.
Read MoreCluster thinning
It is very dry at Linden. Most of the vines are doing well given that their roots are deep and finding enough water in the subsoil. However some of the younger vines are starting to show signs of water stress. We’ve been weeding and mowing more frequently in order to reduce competition for moisture.
Read MoreLeaf-pulling Tools
For the past few weeks most of our days have been spent hand removing unwanted leaves and shoots in the cluster zone. Grapevines are trained so that all the clusters are uniformly in a line at the same level. At Linden this would be between 30” to 40” which correlates to tabletop to countertop height.
Read MoreGood Set
Grape flowering is over and it seems that we are looking at a potentially large crop. “Set” is the term we use for the percentage of grape flowers that are successfully pollinated and become developing berries.
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Canopy Work
We are now at the peak of canopy work in the vineyard. The task is repetitive in nature. One could make a comparison to a factory assembly line, but simply being outside negates that argument.
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Weeds or Native Cover Crops?
One very significant aspect of Hardscrabble Vineyard that has changed over the years is the vineyard floor. In the 1980s and 1990s we would keep the ground under the vines weed free. This allowed for good air flow. Additionally the lack of competition for water and nutrients resulted in very large, vigorous vines.
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Hot and Dry
It’s not been this dry this early since 2010. The soil is drying out quickly, especially with this heat and lower humidity. Thus far the impact has been positive. No disease pressure and slower growth of weeds and grass means that we can spend more of our time tending the vines.
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The Cicadas Aren’t Coming
Linden is in a different 17-year brood cycle. We last had them in 2013. 2030 is just around the corner.
Read MoreCool and Dry
May starts the busy season in the vines. However this has been an uncharacteristically relaxing week in the vineyard. Cool temperatures have slowed vine growth and a dry spell has kept grass and weed development at manageable levels.
Read MoreHail No
Yesterday evening we had hail. Hail is the the greatest fear of any winegrower. In five minutes it can turn a perfect season into a disaster. Hail is our unspeakable four-letter word.
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