October
October 2nd
What a week. It went from highs over 100 on Sunday to heavy clouds on Monday, highs in the low 70’s on Tuesday and then gradual warming. The vines seemed to like it, breathing a sigh of relief and continuing to ripen fruit. The softening of the berries, smoothing of tannins and development of flavors progressed well even if sugars leveled off or dropped. I continue to be impressed with the sophistication of the growers and their coordination with us to manage their irrigations so that we can harvest the fruit at ideal maturity.
In Twomey Calistoga, we crushed the last block of Soda Canyon Merlot and a block of Cabernet Franc. We pressed all week as tanks achieved dryness and the tannins smoothed out.
At Twomey West, we continued to press Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast and Santa Maria appellations.
Another week of intense activity, but it feels like we have made it through the most demanding part of crush and should have smooth sailing from here.
October 9thWeather was very mild this week. The early part of the week was very cool and the temperatures “peaked” on Tuesday and Wednesday in the mid-eighties. Although this kind of weather does very little to raise sugar, the grapes continue to soften and ripen, albeit at a slow rate. The forecasters are in agreement for once that we will get significant rain next week and some sources say the totals may be as high as three inches. With that much certainty of a rain event, we have done all we could to bring in all the fruit that was ripe.
In Twomey Calistoga, we crushed the last block of Soda Canyon Cabernet Franc to complete harvest. We pressed all week as tanks achieved dryness and the tannins smoothed out. Next week should be more relaxed as we press and begin consolidating tanks.
At Twomey West, we had another big week of pressing and are close to pressing the last tank. We are bringing the 2008 out of barrel in order to generate used barrels for the 2009. Here too, it is hard to find an empty tank.
It was a very intense week with the threat of rain causing the picking schedule to get extremely crowded for our outside growers. Due to our planning and solid relationships, we were able to keep on schedule and get all the fruit picked that we could and somehow find a home for it all.
October 16thThe forecasters had this one pegged. It turn out that the remains of Typhoon Melor from Japan hooked up with a small low pressure front and really hit us hard. Daily rainfall amounts for Tuesday ranged from 2.12 in Cloverdale to 4.5 inches in Yountville. It was rainy again on Wednesday, although the totals were generally between .25 and .5 inches. Thursday was quite overcast, but the sun finally came out on Friday and it was warm and dry. The humid, warm cloudy days that followed the rain were more of a concern than the actual rain for those with grapes still on the vine. The majority of the grapes still unpicked are loose-clustered and thick-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon, so the rain itself is not the problem; rot and mold are the concerns. The sooner there is warmth and wind, the better the odds of harvesting ripe, healthy fruit. Due to our philosophy of harvesting at moderate alcohol levels, and due to careful planning, 99% of our fruit was picked before the storm.
In Twomey Calistoga, we continued to press and consolidate tanks. Our first tanks also completed malolactic fermentation.
At Twomey West, we pressed our last tank of Pinot Noir. We are barreling down the 2009 Pinots in separate vineyard and clonal lots. This is the only program where we blend after barrel age. This is true because Pinot is such a chameleon that it is hard to finalize blends when the wines are young. Anyone who doubts this should taste the “Pinot B” from 2002. What a mistake to leave that out of the blend!
Climate change, what climate change? I can’t remember seeing this much rain in October. I am thankful that our foresight, hard work and balanced philosophy put us in such an advantageous position to have the large majority of our fruit in before the typhoon hit.
~Daniel Baron