Structured. 2015 was a classic vintage. Classic can mean many things. For us it means normal and average. This is what we plan on when planting our vines. This is a wine of terroir. It unveils who we are. It is not rich, it is not fruity, it is not big. But it is structured with firm tannins and fresh acidity. It is classic Hardscrabble with bramble fruit, forest floor, balsam on the nose.
Read MoreWe’ve finally caught some breaks in the weather. The soils are the driest they have been this year due to a combination of missed thunderstorms and warm, sunny days. Now the question is how long will our luck last?
Read MorePungent is the word that we all immediately agreed on. There is an aromatic lift that has so many layers. Lime, juniper (gin and tonic), roasted corn, just to get started. However, this wine’s herbal characteristics garnered the most discussion. We’ve had this debate before: fresh herbs, herbal, herbaceous, even green and vegetal. They all describe something slightly different. Perhaps the true difference is in the nose of the beholder. What’s important is that there is lots of talk. This is a wine with personality.
Read MoreVoluptuous. The texture and mouthfeel of this Viognier is classic. The warm 2016 vintage gives a generosity, warmth, and fullness that is more akin to red wines. Age has given the wine an exotic perfume and palate harmony.
Read MoreThere is only one time when one can see ripeness. And that time is now. Véraison is the coloring up of grapes and the beginning of ripening. With black grapes it is very distinctive. White grape veraison is less obvious, but there is still a subtle shift in color and translucency.
Read MoreThe vines are looking good. Too good. There is a saying that struggling vines make the best wine. Let’s hope that’s not entirely true. This year the vines are exuberant, lush, green, and happy.
Read MoreWe are often asked about how we are adapting to a new climate. There are still too many unknowns for us to come up with a comprehensive plan, but some pieces are starting to fall into place.
Read MoreElegance with structure. Youthful and harmonious. Refreshing and complex.
Read MoreSummer thunderstorms have continually refreshed ground moisture this growing season. The vines, the cover crops, and the grass retain a spring-like green lushness.
Read MoreSo far this summer’s weather has been pretty normal. We’ve avoided any damaging storms, but still have had a modest amount of rainfall. Temperatures have been average to slightly below average. All this makes the vines happy. They demonstrate their bliss by way of exuberant shoot growth along with large and copious clusters.
Well-timed rains and lots of sun have brought abundance to the vineyard. The vines require extra hedging and trimming as shoot growth is exuberant. Cluster size is much larger than typical due to good weather conditions during flowering and pollination. The potential crop is large. Too large. These yields would produce thin, uninteresting wines as the vines would struggle to sufficiently ripen the grapes.
Read MoreThe pace in the vineyard has not slowed, but we are slowly transitioning from the basics to fine tuning. Basics refers to the more mundane tasks of tying up shoots and hedging excessively long shoots. A rainy spring has stimulated vine growth, so we will be occupied with these jobs for the foreseeable future.
Read MoreVintage 2022 is starting to take shape. Two aspects stand out: a potentially abundant crop and vigorous vine growth.
Read MoreSo here we are in late May and it has been raining a lot. What does this mean for the vines and for the vintage.
Read MoreThis week begins the start of seasonal “green work.” This refers to all the tasks of pulling, plucking, tying, positioning, and hedging the newly emerging (green) growth of the vines. This vineyard work is detailed, complex, often tedious, and difficult to describe.
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