March 5
March is beginning with some much needed rain throughout California. The La Nina has weakened, the storm door is open and the storms are rolling in one after the other. Although the municipalities are still worrying about filling their reservoirs and talking of drought, we have already received enough rainfall to fill the agricultural ponds and bring the soils to field capacity. We are in great shape for the coming growing season.
March is the month when we bottle our Sauvignon Blanc so that it is fresh and crisp when it is consumed over the next twelve months. Once the wine was blended, it was chilled for several days to enhance cold stability. This technique assures that when the wine is chilled, it won’t form tartrates. Tartrates are tartaric acid crystals that fall out of solution or ‘precipitate’ at colder temperature due to their molecular weight. They pose no risk, but we prefer to prevent their occurrence for aesthetic reasons.
In Calistoga, we are blending the 2008 Merlot and putting it into Bordeaux “chateau” French oak barrels. The 2007 has been egg white fined and is resting quietly for a few more months before it will be taken out of barrel and readied for bottling.
The 2008 Pinot Noir is resting in Burgundy French oak barrels and the 2007 is bottle aging in anticipation of its May 1 release. We are very excited to share our Pinot Noirs from four appellations with you. They are each distinctive and quite wonderful in their own right.
~Daniel Baron