We are, actually, pushing wine out of barrels, using Nitrogen, an inert gas. Wine , especially finished wine, is very delicate and we avoid pumping wherever possible.
Once the wine is out, the barrel is cleaned with hot and cold water. The water from the barrel cleaning is drained, through about 200 feet of piping, to a mobile water tank set just below the hill. The collected water is used in the vineyard.
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Warm today with temperatures in the high 80s. The vines seem to like the heat and have shown substantial growth in the past week. We took David’s 1960 jeep, which has been worked on by his sons Hayden and Mason, and looks great at least on the outside – none of the gauges work and it has been stripped to its bare essential – but it is a great way to see the vineyard.
Talked first to Enrique, the foreman, about plans to irrigate and then circled the vineyard until the jeep conked out. It had overheated and I had a momentary flash of walking about a mile to my car, at the winery, and having to cross the river. It’s not deep but it’s wet. 
Luckily the jeep started and we were off, only to find a large bottled water delivery truck that had crossed the river, stuck on the other side. I am not sure what the outcome was for that truck but David managed to get around it and we were on our way.
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After three decades of wine growing in the Santa Rita Hills of the western Santa Ynez Valley, Pierre Lafond and winemaker Bruce McGuire are still experimenting with unconventional grape varieties in our cool climate growing region.
The knowledge gained since the first planting of six varieties in 1972 (one of the early vineyards in Santa Barbara County) has led to a focused approach in which varietals are sought out according to Bruce’s hypothesis on a grape’s potential to exhibit unique character when grown in our area. This pioneering has paid off with great success such as the introduction of Syrah to the Santa Rita Hills.
Grenache has the same potential as Syrah to show off spicy character expressed in a different way than the white pepper spice found in our cool climate Syrah. The 2.25 acre planting has paid off in a distinctly bright Grenache exhibiting a hint of black pepper with cinnamon spice and dark red fruit flavors with a whisper of menthol.
Three separate Syrah lots showcase the overt cool climate Syrah character. The 2008 vintage was affected by frost, producing a smaller than average crop and very concentrated flavors with an overtly cool climate Rhone character. The blend of these two grapes yields a very pleasing spicy, dense, and full-bodied wine that invites pairing with a wide variety of foods.
To Order: www.lafondwinery.com
Always one of the most beautiful settings for a wine tasting this year was no exception. Our crew represented both the Santa Barbara Winery and our Wine Bistro. It was a very pleasant afternoon.
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Join us for an afternoon at the Santa Barbara Winery when we welcome our guest Pascale Beale-Groom, the renowned owner/chef of Montecito Country Kitchen, the Mediterranean-style cooking school based in Santa Barbara. 
Bruce and Shane were at the Lafond Winery Tuesday making final evaluations of the 2010 Pinot Noir. They are selecting wines that will make the first cut. These are the wines that will be bottled under our Vineyard Designate label.
The Vineyard Designate wines are made up of a single clone or a single vineyard. The single vineyard will contain a selection of several clones in a blend that the winemaker considers superior. An example of the two would be the 2006 Arita Hills and the 2008 Arita Hills Clone 667, both currently available.
Some clones make the cut every year but it may vary. Bruce selects 4 or 5 keeping in mind, as well, to save some of these superior elements for our SRH Pinot Noir which is a larger bottling. All the wines are from our vineyard or our neighbor Arita Hills, whose vineyard we also manage.
This strange looking machine, which David is getting ready, is our ‘Leafer’. The large tubes are vacuum tubes which suck the leaves, first to the cutting blades, then blows them out of the way behind the tractor.
Maintaining the canopy, exposing the fruit to the sun and air, is an important part of canopy management and essential in getting high quality fruit.
We will make several passes with the ‘Leafer’ during the growing season, each occasion followed by human hands – machines are not perfect.
The leafing only occurs in the fruit area, which is a little more than a foot in height, the top may be hedged but a good canopy of leaves is essential for the photosynthesis process and ripening grapes.
We had one inch of rain over the weekend – very unusual for June – fortunately the rains were soft and the flowering is just about over.
The image is of a Pinot Noir cluster and as you can see the set, or distribution of the grapes is pretty good – no big gaps and quite full – means the crop should be normal and even a little better than normal.
Now we are hoping for a warm summer. The growth, because of the cool and wet spring, is already about 10 days behind. With a warm summer we might catch up or at least not push the harvest even later.
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We had a full house and Chef Dave produced an extensive menu of Roasted Beet Salad, Smokehouse Rubbed Hanger Steak and Buttermilk Marinated Free Range Chicken Skewers. Accompanied, first with Santa Barbara Winery Reserve Chardonnay followed by the Nebbiolo. Here are a few images of his presentation.
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Flowering is proceeding rapidly and very soon the clusters will set. A lot can happen before then – rain is predicted for the weekend. A shower would not be a problem but heavy downpour, as occurred recently in Northern California, might – damaging the clusters and, even more serious, not allowing tractors to work the fields. Now is when mildew is a major threat. The phto is of Pinot Noir taken today.
The Pinot Noir is beginning to flower. So far the weather has been on the cool side and our foreman, Enrique, says that, judging by the shoot lengths, we are about 10 days behind schedule. Last year harvest was late but mostly because of a cool summer. This year we are hoping for a warmer summer in which case we may catch up.
Flowering is a critical time in cluster forming – ideally the temperature is moderately warm, no strong wind, rain or hail – it takes about two weeks and then we can worry about something else.
We began night harvesting quite a few years ago, before anyone in the valley, today many are doing it as well. Lighting is the key – it is difficult picking grapes in the dark. Up until now we have relied on gas powered generators pulled directly behind the bin trailer. The generator is loud and smelly and needs gas constantly.
David came up with the idea of using the PTO from the tractor to turn the generator – the tractor is idling or moving slowly, anyway, as it keeps abreast of the pickers – so why not use this energy. This is the prototype – so far the lights work fine, although the PTO revolutions have to run higher than idling speed to keep the lights on bright.
Next, Enrique will drive the tractor through the vineyard pulling a trailer with two bins filled with dirt to simulate the grape weight. The test is to see if the the structure is strong enough and if the lights remain bright. If all systems are go we will need two more light units to work with our three picking crews during harvest. Stay tuned.
This is our last Wine Club Shipment and Pick-Up Party until the fall. Summer heat and the fact that our members are all over the country make it impossible for us to monitor the weather everywhere.
We can ship to individuals by carefully monitoring the weather in transit and at its destination. It is also possible, at extra cost, to ship overnight.
Something we have not done before, but because of the response to the Pick-up Parties, we may initiate a mid-summer wine club shipment for those who live nearby and can pick up their wine. There is, in addition, our summer BBQ party at the vineyard for members.
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