May 12
Many of last month’s activities continue into this month. Although, most of our fruit has been sourced, we are still working on finalizing vineyard contacts. Once that is done we can finish our barrel orders for the new vintage. Coopers require significant lead time to get the barrels made and shipped across the ocean for them to arrive in time for harvest. This year they are especially expensive due to the Euros current strength. So what used to be a high price for a barrel ($1,000) is now average. Now, the challenge is to assess the vintage before it’s picked and find barrels that best compliment it. Most of that is achieved by years and years of barrel trials where different coopers and different toast levels are compared.
When not in the cellar we are spending a lot of time in the vineyards identifying the extent of the frost damage and what can be done to mitigate crop losses. Luckily we have not had significant losses in the Merlot, Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc programs. We are now planning on suckering, removing excess shoots, in order to encourage the best quality through fruitful and healthy growth. We are also in the process of estimating the tonnage of fruit expected for the 2008 vintage.
~Daniel Baron