Hello and Welcome,
The Great Cluster Pluck Vintage 2021 is in progress. We are taking a couple of
days off, thanks to Mother Nature gifting us 1.47 inches of rain - so far. That
allows us to share some updates and a few images of what a successful wine
berry extraction looks like. It also allows the soil to dry out so we can drive
on it. Gravity flow is not just a winery thing, it also applies to machinery
traversing an inclined, clay soil vineyard slope.
How’s
the Weather?
The weather has been stunningly cooperative. The heat spikes we endured earlier
this year could not be sustained. September has seen moderate high temperatures
and low temperatures hitting the very low 40’s. We had a douse of rain
mid-month and then again just now. October is where the really serious Cluster
Plucking is going to happen. Ernie has been taking in the Pommard and Dijon
Clones while holding out the Wadenswil for a little extra hang time.
Here are three weather resources we frequent. You can check into these from
time to time to see how the weather is treating us at the end of Vintage 2021.
Much like the days when we wore wind-up watches, none of these will tell you
exactly the same thing. It’s up to us to apply a little Kentucky windage.
Weather Maps (This takes
a bit of practice to decipher.)
What we really want to know is who is going to be the permanent host of
Jeopardy. Aaron Rodgers thought he was in the running for the top spot, but his
job got in the way. Anyone who can take the last 30 seconds of the game to
position his team for victory certainly has skills. And hosting Jeopardy is a
different skill set as we can see here from a past episode of SNL Celebrity Jeopardy.
The late Norm Macdonald as Burt Reynolds, aka Turd Ferguson.
The Photo Gallery.
Harvest morning, before the crew arrives is very tranquil. A Willamette Valley
harvest bounty at first light, displayed in remarkable grandeur is spread
before you. This is Mother Nature’s finest hour. Up until the first cluster is
plucked, it is her show. Please enjoy.
I’ll Take the Numbers, Hold the Smoke Please.
So far, we have been smoke free since last September 15th. And that
is a breath of fresh air. Brix is a measure of sugar concentration. Sugar
concentration expressed as Brix, multiplied by 0.60 results in approximate
alcohol percentage. So far, we are happy to report, our Brix concentrations
have ranged from 23.0 to 24.5. In theory, the theoretical upper limit is 25.0
and we are riding up on that razor’s edge.
A little gift of rain will help to dilute the sugar concentrations going
forward, and that is the break we have been looking for. Aroma and flavor
depend on time on the vine. Picked too early and those silky, sublime aromas
have not yet developed. A little rain percolating down to the roots and up to
the wine berries will dilute the sugar concentrations and afford us more hang
time to develop the sensory components we seek.
This is ESPECIALLY true of Wadenswil Clone Pinot Noir. The more he knows, the
less he is sure of, but Ernie knows that if you give Wadenswil Clone the right
hang time conditions, the resulting wine will be stunning! And that just might
be the destiny of Vintage 2021.
Every vintage is unique unto itself, Mother Nature sees to that. However, we
are feeling the same inclinations as 2009 with an early flowering and thus an
early harvest. And 2013 where it was hot as the hubs of hell, but a little (a
lot) of Typhoon Pabuk rain rehydrated our soils. Both vintages have developed
well with patient bottle maturation.
While it is certainly too soon to bottle anything, we are exceedingly pleased
with the aroma and flavor development we have in the fermenters along with the
moderate sugar concentrations. There is also complementary acidity to back up
all of that front end aroma and flavor. Good things come to those who wait, but
not to those who wait too late. With this gift of rain comes the threat of
Botrytis. We have been there and had that
done to us. We will be getting right back to it straight away.
Dena & Ernie
