Summer 2022

In the Cellar and the Vineyard

Bottling of the 2021 red wines is complete, except for the two Cabernets, which will age until the spring of 2023.  This can only mean one thing:  harvest 2022 is right around the corner!  Yes, last week we exorcised the demons of 2020 and bottled some of our most exciting red wines to date, including the much-anticipated debut vintage of Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir.  They are all worth the wait! We can’t wait to share them with you.

The Wildcat Pinot looks to be the first thing we will harvest this vintage and should come in just before Labor Day weekend.  It will be closely followed by our estate Sauvignon Blanc, which is coming together beautifully out there in the vineyard.  Our other reds and the Marsanne | Roussanne are still a good way out, and will probably be knocking on the cellar door in the mid-September to mid-October range.

The Zinfandel, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon are just about finished coloring up as I write this (end of August).  We went through and dropped the greenest clusters last week, and the remainder are cruising along.  I will be out walking the rows every week, tasting (that’s right, tasting, not testing) for flavor development as this is the only sure way to know when it’s time to pick.  The grapes have to shine, or the wine won’t.

Meanwhile, I stay glued to the weather forecasts, on the lookout for late heatwaves and early rainstorms.  These are the main things that can mess with an otherwise glorious crush season.  As much as we all need rain, I always have to hope that it holds off until we get all of our grapes safely into the barn.  Then it can bucket down, and here’s hoping that it will!