Well, obviously, 2008 was a strange vintage — not too hot, but with some frost, fire and smoke and drought thrown in.

In our Russian River Valley vineyard, where yields were a third of normal due to frost damage, the sugars in our Dijon (early ripening) Pinot Noir clones were at a sensitive stage when the heat hit over Labor Day weekend. The heat was compounded by single digit humidity. We decided to push through the hot weather and ignore the Brix (approximate percentage of sugar) readings. We felt we didn’t have quite the concentration of flavors we wanted and that the tannins and skins were still a little green. To compromise matters further, we had some variability in ripening because of the frost. We picked in the second week of September.

We made only a very small quantity of wine and we experienced a little difficulty getting a few fermentations to … More…

This week we tasted the 2008 vintage wines. Most of the usual suspects were present on our little tasting panel – Dr. Phil Freese and Zelma Long, Kenneth and I, plus John Harley, our newly appointed assistant winemaker.

At first glance, everyone commented that the wines have great color. Phil suggested that I summarize the vintage and comment on the difficulties. Well, we had a little of everything – from frost, heat and drought to fire and smoke.

When the heat came in early September, we were still at fairly low sugar levels and we rode it out. As soon as temperatures dropped, the fruit relaxed and sugars dipped as well. A month of hang time ensued, with very slow (almost imperceptible) ripening, certainly not the normal curve. Something a little different occurred. We let our fruit hang into October until it was pretty clear it wasn’t likely to progress much further … More…

Since the end of harvest, I have done some traveling, to New York for the California Wine Experience and to Mexico as well. As we approach Thanksgiving, I marvel at our weather in Sonoma. It resembles “foliage season” in New England, except it’s a month later. The trees and vines still display beautiful shades of gold and red. The afternoon light is an extended version of the “golden hour” that photographers covet. The days have been crisp yet ideal for outdoor luncheons.

Sonoma is so serene and lovely now that I can hardly believe what a remarkable vintage we have just witnessed, one in which we experienced a little of everything – drought, frost, cold, heat, fire and smoke.

In the long period since our last post, the 2008 wines have been developing in the cellar. We were so lucky that we weren’t forced by the heat around Labor Day to pick … More…

Last Friday, just before we left work for the long Labor Day weekend, Nabor and I sat down to discuss where we are with the 2008 vintage. That conversation follows. The holiday weekend brought moderate temperatures, but this week is warming up again and the heat should peak on Thursday when we plan to start picking the Dijon 115 clone planted around my house.

NC:  I saw Anne’s last post about thinning an already light crop. I prefer to say that we are adjusting the crop, improving it. We are balancing each vine, one by one, according to the capacity of each shoot, whether it can accommodate one, two or zero clusters.

It’s important how you approach the vineyard. We have a commitment to quality. Adjusting is not a formula and not simple. You must adjust to the crop size and situation each year, and we have to maintain our focus – … More…

We just ran our first sugars (that is, sampled our grapes for sugar content) in all of our blocks. This is an exciting time, because all the fruit has completed veraison (berries have softened and changed color) and we have completed our post-veraison thinning of fruit. So now it’s downhill to harvest.

Right now our Pinot Noir is sitting between 18 and 19 degrees Brix (roughly, 18 to 19% sugar), while Chardonnay trails a little behind at about 16. We typically harvest at around 24 or slightly higher.

Part of our sustainable approach to grape growing is to involve our crew year-round. By collecting berry samples in the vineyard, they gain a more complete understanding of the effects of the pruning they did eight months ago.  There’s also problem solving involved. Why is this block ahead of that one? Answering such questions brings greater understanding.

Although we don’t really pick by sugar content … More…