In this space I am going to try my best to send out short messages and hear back from you too. I will report on winery activities, some of the journeys we take and every now and then a little commentary will show up. I believe very strongly in producing good wine that can be enjoyed without pretention by everyone. I bought some of my first wine making equipment at a shop in Berkeley called Wine and The People. A very Berkeley name but I think it sums up my idea that wine belongs to all of us. Stay tuned and let me know what you are thinking.
View From the Barrel Rack
January Is the New March
Sitting in the middle of a vineyard on the 7th of January and the trusty “smart” phone says it is 66 °F. Going back to the 1st of December the weather report says 0.01 inches of rain and I am not sure I remember that. What does all that mean? Who knows? Can’t do much about it but you can’t help but notice, relax and enjoy the sunshine when it comes around.
We are pretty enthusiastic about the wines we are preparing to bottle in a couple months. They are a pretty exciting group of whites and many will only be available to the wine club. Hint hint if you are not yet a member of the club it is time to step up.
Happy New Year to you all, I am going to go for a walk.
Jan 7, 2012 at 2:12 PM
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I think I remember that last winter I got stuck writing about the weather. Maybe tis the season.
For the most part, this winter has been sunny and dry. We are having fun with the new wines, feeling a little relaxed and excited. Time for walking, reflection and wonder. As I walk I am amazed at how fast the temperature changes. Coat is on with frost in the morning, shirt only in the early afternoon and then a rollercoaster dip to cold at 4 pm or so. As soon as the sun goes down so does the temperature. You have to plan ahead. Hootie and I went out at 3, I was glad I remembered to bring a little extra jacket. It gets cold but the light is so beautiful.
Stay warm, catch some light and enjoy your Holidays.
View From the Barrel Rack
Toward the end of Ernie’s life he worked on a “statistical” book of California grape production. This was not a simple exercise meant to document varieties and tons but meant as an exposé of what he rightly understood to be deceptive wine labeling. The clear conclusion was that in most premium wine grape regions there was a lot more wine being sold than the grapes grown there could possibly produce. In most cases this is probably not illegal but extremely deceptive nonetheless.
In the US, wine representing an appellation is required to be 85% from that appellation. Some wineries in expensive appellations give winemakers instructions to be sure to use the “leftover” 15% with lesser valued grapes. I am not saying that these grapes are poor but just that they are not of the appellation and their presence is never revealed. I think I want to know what is in the bottle.
Berryessa Gap – 100% Yolo County!
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Harvest is pretty much behind us and my mind wanders.
I never fail to find an interesting tidbit browsing through Ernie’s wine books and the other day I was in the City doing that. I stumbled across several fables about the origin of wine and one caught my attention. This particular story had it that grapes stored in a jar “spoiled” and the result was labeled as poison. One of the women living in the group (the story said harem) was suffering from what we would now term a migraine and believing that she would only find relief from the migraine by taking her life, consumed the “poison” and promptly passed out. After sometime, she awoke and was surprised to find herself among the living and the migraine cured. Of course the group immediately set out to make more of the miracle product. Bonded winery #1, I am sure.
So there you have it, wine has been helping people feel better since the very beginning. I am doing my best to see that you all feel better!
View From the Barrel Rack
At Berryessa Gap we are about 90% done with our harvest and the wines are already exciting me but we can talk about that later. For now, I want to make an observation and extend an invitation.
The observation is that wine is becoming a common agricultural product in our region. When we started we were pretty much the only show in town. Historically, wine was no stranger to the west side of Yolo County but it had been on vacation for a good number of years. Now, we commonly see grapes on the roadway making their way to our winery, Turkovich, Rominger-West, Putah Creek and many more. Watch out tomatoes!
The invitation is to join many of the area’s wineries for a weekend of wine tasting and special events. The region’s wineries have joined together to form “Roots to Wine” and we are organizing a Passport Weekend, October 8 and 9. You can find details at www.rootstowine.com but the idea is that as you travel from winery to winery you will find interesting food and activities to go with our great wines. Sort of a giant open house. Please come and join all of us. How can you miss and who would have thought!
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I meant to write about the ripening berries but while I put that off the fruit actually ripened. All our white varieties are now in the winery and fermenting. “All” you say, “how many do you have”? Well this year we have a lot. Crazy? Well maybe, but we are taking the same approach we took to pick our red varieties. We are making more varieties of white wine than we will probably settle on in an effort to learn which do best in our region and hands. It will be an exciting adventure. Always good to open your eyes to new opportunities and excitement, you never know what treasures you will find.
View From the Barrel Rack
I noticed the other day that berries on the red varieties had begun to change color (green to red) about one week earlier than last year. This is a significant event (veraison) that signifies the beginning of the ripening period. Sugar is now being rapidly loaded into the grapes. Time to start thinking about fermentations, what I did last time and what to do this time. Some things will change and they will be better. The thought of harvest and change is scary but it brings a feeling of renewal – hey nothing is screwed up yet! With careful attention, caution and caring nothing will be screwed up. That is what we hope to do. Harvest is coming.
View From the Barrel Rack
Seems that the weather is no longer confusing and we are slogging our way to harvest. We are in a lull in the vineyard and most of the decisions of the spring are over and harvest looms. It would seem a great time to take a break. The Frenchies are (in fact they take a lot of breaks, full-time workers in France are guaranteed at least five weeks vacation) but most of us aren’t. Why? I think we pursue the dollar at the expense of enjoyment. Does us a lot of good? I’ll let you decide.
| Country | Life Expectancy at Birth | Wine Consumption |
Legally Required
Vacation
|
| (Years) | (Liter per Capita) | (Days per year) | |
| France | 80.7 | 45 | 30 |
| United States | 78.3 | 9 | 0 |
| Source | United Nations | Wine Institute | CBS News |
Maybe we turn our backs to the good things of life too often – they don’t come too often.
View From the Barrel Rack
I know this subject is redundant and I’m a little tired of it (yea I know then why write about it?) But it rained an inch last Tuesday and tomorrow it’s going to be a 100 degrees! I don't know what it all means but it sure is wacky.
We’re starting to make plans to bottle the 2009 red wines which means tasting all the lots to create the best wines from each variety. These varieties are contained in a assortment of barrel types and ages. We’re looking for the combination that produces the wine that best expresses the variety. Expect to see the first of these wines and maybe including a couple newcomers in the Spring of 2012!
View From the Barrel Rack
Out of the freezer into the fire
On 4 June it rained a quarter of an inch on our blooming vines and was 65 degrees, now it’s almost 100! Most times when people ask “how is this weather affecting the grapes” I say “not much”, we always get where we need to be. I still know that, but things are a little strange this year. I expect the rain and cool weather to have reduced berry number and we will probably harvest the fruit a bit later.
But still, we will have to see. Let’s do that, let’s wait and see. The one thing we know is that we don’t have much of a choice. Enjoy the ride, it is too good not to.
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