We are constantly reminded that farming has us at the will of Mother Nature and this year is no different. We thought it would be interesting to take you out into the vineyard and share with you what is happening now. Just a hint… we are anticipating early bud burst, one of the earliest I’ve ever seen, which means we are busy being strategic about pruning and mowing. I hope you enjoy this video.
Harvest is always an exciting time here. It means early mornings for the vineyard and cellar teams, the smell of fermentation throughout the winery and the prospect of another vintage. We wanted to take people behind the scenes of the Chardonnay Harvest and give you an insider’s look at how the grapes are picked by machine, processed and made into wine. Check out the video here.
In farming, we generally have a plan, but that is often dictated by weather. That was certainly the case last week as we started seeding our cover crop. We've been in a drought and were pleased to see the forecast for rain. However, that meant consolidating five days worth of work into hopefully two! This type of situation is one I thrive in. For me, work is a lifestyle and farming is about dedication, determination and focus. We knew what needed to be done and we did our best. We hope you enjoy reading about our two days of race against the rain and a wonderful surprise of dinner delivery on the tractor.
When we released our 2019 Chardonnay and 2017 Next Red, we invited patrons to join us for a virtual tasting of these two wines as well as a few Library vintages. We tasted the wines and looked at how the wines age and develop over time. We also shared how Winemaker Parke Hafner determines when to harvest and some scenes from our Chardonnay Harvest. We hope you enjoy the recording.
Harvest is quickly approaching! Harvest is the culmination of a year's hard work for the vineyard team. I had the opportunity to sit down with Vineyard Manager David Huebel last week to check in about how the vineyard is progressing and what he anticipates this vintage will be like. He shared his thoughts on the drought, the fruit quality for 2021, when he thinks Harvest might start and much more.
