Winery & Vineyard Blog

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The Pinot Noir canopy is growing rapidly and we need to do shoot thinning before flowering begins. Looking at the clusters they appear ready to burst and open up. Flowering is critical in ‘setting’. A good ‘set’ and the clusters will be full and ripen evenly, a bad set can reduce the harvest and the quality.

Shoot thinning requires the removal of extra canes. It opens up the vine to the sun and allows air to circulate. The goal is to have 12 canes on each vine, 6 on each side, putting the canes at about 4″ apart. Later, after flowering, we will need to reduce the clusters to balance the vine so that a more even ripening will occur.

Lafond Vineyard’s Riesling vines were originally planted in 1972. Our long, cool growing season enables firm acids to develop which highlight the flavor intensity that makes this a wonderful full bodied example of a noble grape we feel is under appreciated in the world. After rain in mid- October, our 36 year old bench block was left to develop Botrytis.

After a month of concentration on the vines, the grapes were picked and pressed. Riesling is a popular late harvest dessert wine when grown in the right conditions that will allow sugars to develop, while also maintaining the necessary acidity, very low pH, to keep the resulting wine fresh.

Alcohol is kept low to showcase the purity of fruit courtesy of the Sta. Rita Hills’ long growing season. In its youth, the 09 Late Harvest Riesling showcases aromas of orange blossom, honeyed pear, and burnt sugar.

On the palate, stone fruits intermingle and rich viscosity is balanced by crisp acidity. The finish is long and mouth coating, leaving behind a clean feeling that is far from cloying. Serve slightly chilled in small glasses with a Rustic Peach or Pear Tart.
Suggested Retail: 38.00 (375ml)
To Purchase: Santa Barbara Winery

Bruce and Shane are sampling Chardonnay, barrel by barrel, to determine blends. Blends for the Lafond SRH Chardonnay, the Santa Barbara Winery Reserve Chardonnay and our Lafond Vineyard Designated Chardonnay.

Bruce is guided first by the blocks from the vineyard – each block has its unique characteristics, and generally there are no surprises. The goal is to maintain the style of previous bottlings and this is where the art begins.

Each barrel has been marked for the blend it will be part of and in a few weeks the wine will be pulled, cold stabilized and bottled.

This is a photo taken from the upper level of our north side vineyard looking south. The river is beyond the tree line and the winery is beyond that, in fact it can barely be distinguished.

Taken April 26 you can already see the different blocks by their subtle variations of green. In a few weeks this will be a solid canopy of green. This view inspired our artist for the watercolor image above which now forms part of our Santa Barbara Winery label.

These two couples from Des Moines Iowa have the right idea. They bring their bikes in a Samsonite suitcase from home, unfold them and are ready to roll. We spoke to them briefly – they love going to France and touring the wine country – which they do every year, but also love touring California’s wine country. Their MO is to stop at a scenic vineyard and enjoy wine that was grown right next to where they are sitting. It was a beautiful day, beautiful view and a great wine!
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Taken Tuesday April 6 the warm days are making the vines grow rapidly. You can see the grapes in their almost prepubescent form. Click image to enlarge.

Now with the rains almost over and the vines beginning to grow we will soon be discing our cover crop. The cover crop not only protects from erosion but also contributes to the health of the soil. During vine growth we want whatever nutrition is in the soil to go to the vine. It is still a little too soon after the rain to get tractors in the field but any equipment that has been standing idle for almost a year needs to be fixed and adjusted.

Nestled in the Santa Rita Hills of the western Santa Ynez Valley, Arita Hills Vineyard neighbors Lafond Vineyard and is ideally situated
to produce Pinot Noir exhibiting the unique and exotic flavor profile one finds in only a few regions of the world.

Specific areas within our vineyard exhibit elevated concentration and complexity due to soil type and exposure to the elements. We have planted eight distinct clones of Pinot Noir, each with subtle differences in flavor and aroma.

There is tremendous diversity within Pinot Noir, manifested in different clones – fundamentally subdivisions of the varietal. The bottling of these clones individually showcases a further level of distinction within the species.

Clone 667 is a Dijonnaise clone, and is known for its masculine structure. Pure high tone aromas and an inherent firmness make this a ruggedly graceful bottling.

This small lot produced less than 100 cases, making this a very special wine. The complexity and depth of flavor make this Pinot Noir a great match with an artisan Stilton cheese as well as roasted or grilled game.
Suggested retail: 45.00
To order: www.lafondwinery.com

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During winter we converted our pressed white grape skins and stems from both red and white grapes into compost. Adding straw and turning over frequently we produced a dark, and what seems rich, compost.

The pressed red grapes we let dry and use for ground cover. Because they are fermented dry with the skins red wine pressings have no nutritional value and are not considered as good candidates for composting.

The first image shows workers shoveling compost out of a trailer being pulled by a tractor and the second David Lafond examining the applied compost. The compost is being applied to the weakest blocks which are also the sandiest.