Today Winemaker Bruce MaGuire (in the blue sweater) with David, Andy and Enrique inspected the frost damage in one of our younger blocks of Pinot Noir. The prognostic is not good. Some varieties, such as the Riesling, are an almost total wipe-out. The Pinot Noir which normally produces 2.5 to 3 tons per acre looks like 1/2 a ton per acre — not that much different from last year which was also damaged by frost. There were a lot of sad faces.
The group met to plan how to farm what has survived. The amount of fruit that a vine carries will determine much of its care – balancing the fruit with the vine. On the positive side low yields often produce outstanding wines.
Unfortunately, the prognostic is the same throughout California, everyone is certain to be scrambling for grapes.
Last Thursday was the end of harvest. The picking is done but not the fermentation and pressing. The end of picking is always a major crossing — the grapes are in and now the serious part — the winemaking begins. We celebrate all sorts of beginnings and ends — usually with a BBQ — and this was no exception. We were not able to get all the pickers — many had gone home — but we managed to get the permanent crew.
Among the group are — Winemaker Bruce Mcguire, Vineyard manager Andy Joughin, Foreman Enrique Solozano, Tasting Room Manager Mirella Valdez, who organized the event — David Lafond was on the other end of the camera.
By the way, Bruce is very pleased about the harvest — there were some anxious moments – that we would not get full ripeness with some varieties before the rains – but his policy of wait and wait some more paid off.
Click group picture to enlarge:
Today was the last day of harvest for Santa Barbara Winery. The last load of Chardonnay grapes came in this morning. It was also a very busy day in the Tasting Room and while customers were being attended, just behind, in the barrel room, Tyler was struggling moving barrels in place.
And Cameron, who had assisted in the harvest, changed his clothes put on a red jacket and helped out in the Tasting Room. Cameron’s mother, who lives in Florida, when she saw him in the harvest slideshow on the web, reacted like all good mothers everywhere — “Cameron, you need a haircut!”.
This week we are picking Chardonnay from our neighbor, Hilltop Ranch. Hilltop Ranch has 32 acres of Chardonnay which we have purchased for many years. As a good neighbor, we go through their property to access our vineyard on the north side of the river. This is an older vineyard, close to 30 years, and it has been upgraded in the past few years using a modern trellis system producing an excellent fruit.
Since they do not pick at night their second picking, about 7 tons, is stored in our large walk-in cooler overnight, while the first load picked early, also 7 tons, is processed at the winery.
All our white wines are made at the Santa Barbara Winery which as an urban winery poses unique problems but also advantages. The main problem, of course, is traffic but the advantages — services, power and delivery — compensate.
The slideshow — from picking to pressing. You can enlarge the image by clicking it (it may take a little practice).
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We have finished with the Pinot Noir and now we are beginning to pick the Syrah. The Syrah harvest is going to be down this year but not as much as the Pinot Noir. The clusters are smaller and the berries are smaller — good news for quality. And the fact that we are picking later than normal — longer hang time — also good news for quality.
The second picture shows the vibrating table with screen over which the grapes pass. You can see what falls through. These small shot berries, seeds and other small particles are scooped up and discarded.
The third photo, working the line, is our inestimable public relations maven Koleen Hamblin who has taken under her wing a row of Syrah for which she is personally responsible — pruning, leafing, harvesting — time permitting.
Cabernet Sauvignon from the Grassini Vineyard. We selected this vineyard for its location – one of the most easterly and accordingly one of the warmest in the Santa Ynez Valley. The climatic zone is similar to Napa Valley. The vineyard is on a south facing slope with excellent drainage.
Cabernet Sauvignon, unlike Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, requires more warmth to reach its full potential. The berries are very small with a fairly thick skin. This morning they were picked early and arrived cool — ideal for processing.
[On many computers you can double-click the image and get a very good enlargement.]
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.lafondwinery.com/slideshowlafondwinery/cabernet-sauvignon/cabernet-sauvignon.swf" width="500" height="500"/]
Our Syrah harvest is about to begin. The grapes and the clusters are smaller than usual — great for quality. This is one of the three varieties we chose to feature under our Lafond label, the other two Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, because we felt that our cool climate Syrah was exceptional. It is much more structured than Syrah from warmer areas benifiting not only from more ‘hang time’ but from better acid.
This year’s harvest looks to be a winner with no blocks that can be characterized as inferior. The photo shows a typical vine and the effects of ‘leafing’ to expose the fruit. Some of the fruit was also dropped, before harvest, to balance the foliage with the fruit. Decisions by Winemaker Bruce McGuire that are critical in assuring that the fruit ripens evenly.
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