Harvest Journal 2023
WEEK OF 9/25
Primitivo Blocks 10 and 24 came in on Monday, just in time to beat a brief, overnight rain that yielded about a tenth of an inch. "Just enough to knock the dust off," as George always says. We've already been keeping an eye out for botrytis mold in the Pinot Noir and other dense-clustered varieties, in this cooler growing season. A run of warm weather should dry things out for at least the next ten days. Most of the Chardonnay is already barreled down. The team will be preparing for the next blocks to arrive, possibly Malbec and definitely Zinfandel, which will keep them very busy!
WEEK OF 9/18
What a week! As of Saturday morning, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Albariño and Merlot are all in. Blocks 13A and 13B were picked today, 9/23. The steady, moderately warm temperatures for last two weeks have helped the grapes in all of the blocks continue to gradually build flavor, sugar and color, and it looks like Primitivo is next up for Monday. Cruising right along!
9/18 Monday started and ended with Pinot Noir. All of our Dijon 115 blocks (5B, 4A and 25) were ready to go, and so was the team. They began picking at first light, and all three blocks were sorted and crushed by the veteran dynamic duo of Jose Fernandez and Jeff Miller. In a small winery like ours, a few people do a lot of jobs! Chardonnay is a wrap for the year, with the Old Wente fruit from 9C and 9E coming in on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The press fractions have been separated out, and all of the juice is settling in chilled tanks, awaiting fermentation in barrel or tank. Eight blocks down, only forty more to go!
WEEK OF 9/11- HARVEST BEGINS!
Thursday, 9/14: Sampling continues throughout the vineyard today as the team gets ready for Chardonnay from the old Blocks 9C and 9E on Friday. Read more about Block 9's interesting vine selection here.
WEEK OF 9/4
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