September 1
Harvest has begun. Last minute preparations are finishing up with the punch down tool being installed at the Healdsburg facility and a brand new destemmer arriving just in time for the Merlot.
The harvest teams are also in place. Brian Medford, Twomey Healdsburg’s Cellar Master, has assembled an international team from Italy, France and Moldova. While Andy Beltran, Twomey Calistoga’s Cellar Master, leads a group of locals with the exception of a New Zealand enologist.
Thankfully the teams are in place because the fruit is beginning to arrive. As expected the Sauvignon Blanc came in the week of August 18th. We harvested each block separately to maximize their flavors and conserve their natural acid. The team pressed the grapes in a long gentle press program keeping the juice well protected with nitrogen so the juice would not oxidize and lose its lovely aromatic qualities. Each block was then split further to ferment portions in tank, oak barrels and stainless steel barrels. The goal here is to discover which block and clone prefers which treatment. As the year progresses and we discover more about this fruit we’ll be able to dial in just the right winemaking treatments to maximize this vineyards potential.
As the Sauvignon Blanc finishes fermenting it’s hard not to be won over by its beguiling floral and fruity bouquet. At this point in its life it is anything but subtle. On the other hand, we have the first lots of the Pinot Noir patiently going through a cold soak and quietly hinting at the aromatics to come.
The first blocks of Pinot from our Russian River vineyard called West Pin have arrived. As with the Sauvignon Blanc, the Pinot clones and blocks will be held separately. The first grapes of the harvest were picked just as the berry flavors hit full stride showing fruit qualities and balanced weight while retaining good acid. From the vineyard they were rushed to the winery at the break of dawn. Our Assistant Winemaker Ben Cane took great pride in making sure very detail was attended to. The grapes were carefully sorted just in case there were any under or overripe berries in the lot, and were then moved to tank. Here they will wait at a temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit until the color of the skins begins to soak into the juice and the body of the juice develops as well as those subtle flavors. At this point none of the Pinots have begun fermenting. We await the first glimpses of the shy, allusive aromatic hints with anticipation.
Meanwhile, the Merlot is starting to come around the bend. It has not been picked yet, as it is located in the cooler reaches of Napa. However former hints of green flavors are beginning to give way to full black fruit flavors in the boysenberry, olalaberry category. Very yummy.
~Daniel Baron