Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Got to pick in the early hours to keep the fruit cool for my friends
Posted: October 9, 2009 By Peter Cargasacchi
There's a big change in the weather coming next week, with rain forecast to arrive late Monday night. It looks like a potentially significant first storm of the season. Hopefully the only thing left on the vines by then will be a 2.5-acre block of clone 115 Pinot Noir that goes to the Loring Wine Company and myself.
It's been a very busy week harvesting Pinot Noir, during the night into morning, to keep the grapes cool.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Picking is nearly done in Gaja's Barbaresco and Barolo vineyards
Posted: October 9, 2009 By Gaia Gaja
The 2009 harvest is proceeding very well and progressing quickly. The harvest of Nebbiolo grapes began on Monday, Sept. 21, starting with our vineyards in the Barbaresco district. Since then, picking has been going on every day, with Sundays being the only rest days. If we continue at this pace, weather permitting, we will likely finish this week, one week earlier than last year.
During the first two weeks of September, we enjoyed moderate temperatures, a welcome relief after the heat of August. The afternoon of Sept. 19 brought clouds and a few drops of rain. However, since we started the Nebbiolo harvest, the days have all been sunny and warm, with average temperatures of 25º C (77º F), allowing the grapes in all of our vineyards to fully ripen.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Two more blocks of 2009 Pinot Noir are in the bins and off to the wineries
Posted: October 7, 2009 By Peter Cargasacchi
Peter Cargasacchi pulls in two more blocks of Pinot Noir for the 2009 harvest, this time for Brewer-Clifton and Bonaccorsi.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
The Dragonette Pinot Noir is in the fermentors; how it was crushed may still be a mystery
Posted: October 5, 2009 By Peter Cargasacchi
Peter Cargasacchi harvests Dragonette winemaker Brandon Sparks-Gillis Pinot Noir and talks about unorthodox crushing methods and who first brought today's popular Pinot Noir clones to California.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Richard Sanford and UC Santa Cruz are re-introducing peregrine falcons to California wine country
Posted: October 2, 2009 By Peter Cargasacchi
Richard Sanford of Alma Rosa has been releasing Peregrine falcons, which help to protect vineyards from grape guzzling birds such as European starlings. The UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group organizes and oversees the releases utilizing a university student workforce.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
The unusual ripening patterns required extra care in the vineyard as well as the winery
Posted: October 2, 2009 By Mia Klein
In the past week we've picked Merlot and Cabernet Franc from St. Helena for Bressler, and the same two varieties from Frediani Vineyard in Calistoga for Selene, Cabernet Sauvignon from St. Helena and Malbec from Stagecoach Vineyard, both for Boyanci Wine.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Much of the Merlot is in at du Tertre, Giscours and Haut-Bailly
Posted: October 1, 2009 By Alexander Van Beek, Véronique Sanders
At the end of September, it was in the low 80s every day in Bordeaux, wonderful conditions for harvest. The vintage looks BIG, and the excitement is growing every day! At Château du Tertre, we started the harvest on Monday, Sept. 28, and by evening had already harvested around one-third of our
Merlots. The juice tastes great: high in sugar, with rich and long
persistent fruit in the mouth. Get the full details, along with details on what we've been picking at Giscours and Haut-Bailly, as well as Caiarossa in Tuscany.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
The Hitching Post's 2009 Cargasacchi Pinot Noir is ready to be picked
Posted: September 28, 2009 By Peter Cargasacchi
Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley, the winemakers/proprietors of Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post (H.O.), have decided that tomorrow, Tuesday Sept. 29, is the day to harvest their Sta. Rita Hills, Cargasacchi Pinot Noir.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Cool nights to come mean more hang time for the grapes, but that has its risks
Posted: September 25, 2009 By Peter Cargasacchi
It's been foggy and cool at night in Santa Barbara County, and I've been busy chasing wild boar from the vineyards so they don't eat the still-maturing grapes. Meanwhile I also pressed some Pinot Grigio, using a method more common to northern Italy and Alsace.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Cabernet Franc has surpassed Merlot in maturity; different batches of Sauvignon Blanc look promising
Posted: September 24, 2009 By Mia Klein
The 2009 vintage in Napa Valley is shaping up with some promise. It's also presenting challenges for grapegrowers and winemakers, as we have had unusual patterns of ripening. Some grapes in certain areas are maturing very quickly, while another variety growing right alongside might flatten out on its maturing curve. So this year, making excellent wine will depend on making good picking decisions. Here's what's going on with the vineyards and wines I deal with.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
The Merlot harvest has begun amid ideal conditions
Posted: September 24, 2009 By Véronique Sanders, Alexander Van Beek
Picking of the young Merlot has just started at Château Giscours and Haut-Bailly, and the maturity of the grapes looks promising, both by the numbers and by taste. The weather is expected to be great through the end of the month, allowing us to move on to the older Merlot and hopefully start Cabernet in early October.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
How an innocent line of Henry IV led to headaches for U.S. wine growers
Posted: September 23, 2009 By Peter Cargasacchi
Peter Cargasacchi checks his bird nets to ensure his grapes are safe from voracious European starlings.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Whites have been crushed; Nebbiolo harvest just starting in Barbaresco
Posted: September 23, 2009 By Gaia Gaja
Kicking off her harvest blog from Piedmont and Tuscany, Gaia Gaja reports on the 2009 growing season to date at her family’s three properties—Gaja Winery in Barbaresco, Ca’ Marcanda in Bolgheri and Pieve Santa Restituta in Montalcino—and the start of the white-wine crush.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
Despite some setbacks, Mother Nature has been kind in 2009
Posted: September 18, 2009 By Peter Cargasacchi
Peter Cargasacchi describes the 2009 vintage for his Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir Vineyards as harvest approaches.
Blogs
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2009 Harvest Winemakers' Blog
A pre-harvest report on 2009 at châteaus Giscours, du Tertre and Haut-Bailly
Posted: September 16, 2009 By Alexander Van Beek, Véronique Sanders
Alexander Van Beek of châteaus Giscours and du Tertre and Véronique Sanders of Château Haut-Bailly will be reporting from Bordeaux on the harvest, which is just about to get under way at their estates. In the meantime, they sum up how the growing season has proceeded so far.
Collecting
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Collecting News
Bacchanal theme can’t distract bidders from tightened belts in current economy at Sonoma Wine Country Weekend
Posted: September 8, 2009 By Tim Fish
Aug. 31, 2009 Issue
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News
Posted: August 31, 2009 By James Molesworth
Blogs
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Stirring the Lees with James Molesworth
Just weeks to go before harvest and hot, dry weather dominates
Posted: August 21, 2009 By James Molesworth
While most of us are probably heading out on a last bit of summer vacation, grape vines in the northern hemisphere are approaching the most important time of year, harvest. I checked in with a few growers in the Rhône and Loire valleys of France to see how things were doing with just a few weeks left in the growing season.
News & Features
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News
The new vintage below the equator holds plenty of promise
Posted: June 2, 2009
News & Features
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News
Heat spike hurts white wines of Argentina, but reds weather the warmth
Posted: June 2, 2009 By James Molesworth
