So far, 2010 has been a very “cool” vintage – in at least two senses of that adjective. The relatively low temperatures are not at all bad. Mildew pressure may be greater, but the vines really like the air conditioning. Often we are “socked in” with morning fog, but it usually burns off before noon and the sun breaks through, providing ample energy for photosynthesis.

Because conditions were not ideal for setting a big crop during bloom, we have significant shatter and loose clusters. Without the demand of a large fruit set, the vines look very lush and are thriving, with shoot tips still active. And with lower ambient temperatures, water demand is lessened as well.

So far we’ve had no real heat spikes, just a warm weekend during the second week of June. Last year at this time, we had color in the vineyard after a heat spike earlier in July. … More…

Each spring I’m asked how the vintage is going so far. This year the questions have come more frequently as we have experienced what seems an endless series of rainstorms. In a nod to working people not involved in agriculture, it feels like every week has included a couple of rainy days, but skies have cleared for the weekends. The past week was no exception. Rain poured down on Thursday, May 27th, but then the sun returned and shone throughout Memorial Day weekend. We expect more fair weather for the rest of the week, so perhaps we have turned the corner.

The recurrent rains remind us of the 1998 vintage when it also rained periodically until June. The impression is that we’ve had a really wet spring, but the fact is that the year is pretty normal to date. While it has rained regularly, it hasn’t always rained very much. What … More…

In my last post, I wrote that working with the terroir of a vineyard site is like being handed the keys to a new BMW. How do you drive it?  A writer friend of mine reminded me that I hadn’t answered that question yet, so we sat down for a little question and answer session, which follows:

What is your definition of terroir?

Simply put, it’s all of the physical characteristics of a site. That includes soil, climate (including rainfall, wind and fog) and elements of topography like elevation, slope and exposure. Beyond those physical features, of course, your farming philosophy will also come into play.

What makes a potential vineyard site look promising?

Let’s assume you are in a cool climate region like Carneros appropriate for growing Pinot Noir.  When considering bare ground for a vineyard, you need a clear picture in mind of what constitutes a good vineyard, which, of course, … More…

After a decade spent developing it, I’m frequently asked to define the Donum Pinot Noir style. First, we strive to obtain purity of expression of both site and clone or selection. We want a wine defined by its fruit, not by what is done to it in the cellar.

People have called our wines “elegant.” At first, I almost took offense, assuming that was a polite way of saying they lacked intensity. But I realized that people really meant “balanced,” a wine with an even interplay of fruit, tannin, acid and oak, a seamless wine in which all the holes are filled, but not overfilled.

Many of our descriptors sound like yin and yang: intense but graceful, power with delicacy, concentrated yet balanced. Always we look for prettiness. We don’t want a wine that is tiring, heavy, overripe, over-extracted or clumsy. That’s not the nature of Pinot Noir, not even of … More…

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of tasting some of our 2009 Pinot Noirs from tank and barrel with Kenneth Juhasz and John Harley. Tasting that fresh juice and new wine allowed us to experience the vintage directly and provided an unhurried moment to reflect on it together.

This year began with a relatively cool, dry spring and moderate weather that continued through the summer. It occurred to us that the last hot vintage we have had was 2004. While we feared the advent of high heat in late August and early September this year, we merely had a few blips of very warm weather. A quick period of flowering about a week to ten days later than normal in May gave us small berry size along with some shatter (small, seedless “shot” berries resulting from incomplete pollination) which, months later, produces smaller yields but greater intensity in the fruit.

We started … More…