That’s a wrap!

As the autumn days grow shorter, the pace at the winery begins to slow down. The final barrel downs will be in the coming weeks as the wine is moved to its new home in the cave as it gains complexity and ages in French Oak barrels. This year’s harvest, our 21st, will be remembered for a slow start, with our first fruit coming in on September 11th and culminating with our last pick on November 4th. Despite being a compact harvest, the grapes had exceptional quality, thriving with no heat spikes and long hang time.

In The Vineyard

The leaves of the vines are now covering the valley with their vibrant yellow and orange fall colors. Soon the bright colors of the leaves will fade, and they will fall to the ground, leaving only the trunks and canes of the vine. The temperatures are dropping, especially overnight, and the daylight hours are waning.  These changes in the season signal the vines to move into dormancy.  During this period, the vines stop growth and prepare themselves for colder temperatures. They will remain dormant until springtime and bud break. During dormancy, the grape farmers will prune the vines, cutting back much of last season’s growth and limiting the fruit load for the coming season.

In The Winery and Cave

As the harvest season comes to a close, we are now managing fermentations, pressing the wines, cleaning tanks, and barreling down. The harvest yields, measured in tons of fruit harvested, were a bit over our projections. However, most of our fruit ripened during the season’s final weeks, making for a hectic workload at the end. Our harvest team has shown great resilience, working hard with early mornings, long days, and late nights. They have put their heart and soul into their work, and thanks to their dedication, we are able to produce incredible wines.

In the Hospitality House

Although the hustle and bustle of the winery may be slowing down, that is not the case in the hospitality house. Chef and his team have created exceptional fall dishes highlighting some of your favorite wines!  Make a reservation and come see for yourself!