2009 Vintage Notes….just the beginning

Although we are pretty early into the 2009 season things are moving along smoothly in both the winery and the vineyard.

We have begun harvesting Russian River Pinot Noir and have so far crushed 12 tons of Wente Clone and 5 tons of Pommard Clone which increases our production slightly from last year.

Although this is a vintage where acid levels tend to be higher we were still able to achieve physiologically mature fruit. In the winery, we have 1 tank that is starting to ferment, probably one of the best Pinot Noir lots on record.

We did have some thunder storms with some rain in the vineyard. Seeing rain so early in the season was a little alarming but we did manage to get most of the Pinot Noir off the vine quickly with no issues. We have yet to begin harvesting the other wines in our program; Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. The Zinfandel bunches are looking much looser than normal which creates better coverage for rot control and will help keep the damage from the rain more manageable.
The Petite Sirah looks perfect right now, if we can get it in before the rains begins we will be in great shape.

Stay tuned!

~ Tyler Heck, Winemaker