Slowly but surely!

Even though we have started to bring in fruit, harvest is lagging about two and a half weeks behind what we call “normal.” We started the season with a cool and wet spring, which delayed bud break, and it’s been mild overall ever since. But that’s not bad…in fact, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic 2023 vintage! The grapes have enjoyed consistent temperatures with few heat spikes, resulting in excellent flavor development and phenolic ripening.  In addition to all of the Sauvignon Blanc, our Viognier, and Pinot Noir/Chardonnay for our burgeoning sparkling wine program have been brought in. We’ve also brought in the Brown Ranch Pinot Noir and Monte Rosso Zinfandel, with additional red varietals slated to be picked and processed in the coming weeks.

In The Cave

In Napa, fall means more than just harvesting and processing fruit. Our winery team is currently focused on both the upcoming vintage and wines aging beautifully in our caves. Specifically, the 2021 Beckstoffer Heritage wines still in the barrel!

After a small amount of exceptional wine produced during the 2020 vintage, we were thrilled to receive a bountiful harvest from all six Beckstoffer Heritage vineyards in 2021. Kirk was at the winery on Monday tasting through what has come in for the 2023 vintage and took the opportunity to taste through the 2021 Beckstoffer Heritage series.  These wines have been aging in barrels for almost two years now, and with only four months remaining before bottling, we have a clear idea of what to expect from the 2021 Beckstoffer Heritage wines.

Overall, the 2021 vintage was one of …

In The Winery

The winery’s harvest team is now complete, as all of our interns have arrived and are already assisting the full-time cellar team. The hard work and dedication of the entire team is crucial for a successful harvest. As we receive new French Oak barrels for the 2023 vintage, we are staining them with a solution made from petite sirah lees from the 2022 vintage. Also, punch downs and pumpovers have begun with our red varietals. Learn more about theses processes below:

Punch Down

Punching down by hand is a straightforward process. Our team uses a steel tool that resembles a large potato masher to press the cap into the juice. This is usually done up to three times a day. Apart from enhancing the wine’s flavor, punching down manually provides an excellent workout!

Pump Over

For bigger tanks, we employ the pumpover method, where we pump the fermenting juice from the tank’s bottom and spray it over the cap using a hose. Sometimes, we let the juice flow from the tank valve into a tub and pump it from there to increase the oxygen in the juice. This helps to extract the color and tannins from the skins in the cap as the juice trickles down.