Atlas Peak Harvest Kicks into Gear
I have spent the last couple of days walking vineyards and trying to figure out what to harvest and were we go next.
There is very little in the wine business that is ordinary. So the only tool that you have to help make your picking decisions is to walk the vineyards. Of course we also track such things as the Brix (percent sugar), and the acidity of the grapes (pH, and titratable acidity), because these are great indicators of ripeness. We walk a fine line between ripeness and maturity, and in the end tasting the grapes helps me make the final picking decision.
This week I have had a camera crew following me around, attempting to capture the daily life of a winemaker. It is amazing how these guys can walk backwards, given all the steep slopes and rocks along the way.
I thought that we might get to Malbec and Cabernet Franc this week. I had both of these vineyards scheduled for picking but then pulled them both off the schedule yesterday after walking the vineyard for what I thought would be one last time, I believe that the vines still have more to give and we can get more flavors out of the grapes. The vines look healthy and I think we should roll the dice. The mornings have been very cool and the days in the mid 80’s; just perfect weather for Bordeaux varietals to ripen to optimum maturity.
We are slowly kicking into high gear with more Cabernet Sauvignon coming in today. We will be bringing in 11 to 12 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Stagecoach Vineyard, high up on Atlas Peak. These wonderful grapes come from Block B1, also known as the Oakville Heights block.
We will also be harvesting another 3 to 4 tons from the Atlas Peak block 65. This will be the third time we have harvested grapes from this block. This is a variable block, that has both thin and deep soils. The vines planted on the deeper soils are greener and exhibit herbal flavors I want to stay away from, while the vines on the thinner soils are filled with blueberry and blackberry flavors, complimented with good texture from developed tannins.
We will top that tank off with 6 to 7 tons of Cabernet from Block 63, where we picked 10 tons on Tuesday. We will do this because if we go any further in block 63 we will start heading down the slope of the block and the grapes are greener and less ripe. A few more days on the vines will do these grapes some good. Up in the mountains ... it's all about patience!
I have spent the last couple of days walking vineyards and trying to figure out what to harvest and were we go next.
There is very little in the wine business that is ordinary. So the only tool that you have to help make your picking decisions is to walk the vineyards. Of course we also track such things as the Brix (percent sugar), and the acidity of the grapes (pH, and titratable acidity), because these are great indicators of ripeness. We walk a fine line between ripeness and maturity, and in the end tasting the grapes helps me make the final picking decision.
This week I have had a camera crew following me around, attempting to capture the daily life of a winemaker. It is amazing how these guys can walk backwards, given all the steep slopes and rocks along the way.
I thought that we might get to Malbec and Cabernet Franc this week. I had both of these vineyards scheduled for picking but then pulled them both off the schedule yesterday after walking the vineyard for what I thought would be one last time, I believe that the vines still have more to give and we can get more flavors out of the grapes. The vines look healthy and I think we should roll the dice. The mornings have been very cool and the days in the mid 80’s; just perfect weather for Bordeaux varietals to ripen to optimum maturity.
We are slowly kicking into high gear with more Cabernet Sauvignon coming in today. We will be bringing in 11 to 12 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Stagecoach Vineyard, high up on Atlas Peak. These wonderful grapes come from Block B1, also known as the Oakville Heights block.
We will also be harvesting another 3 to 4 tons from the Atlas Peak block 65. This will be the third time we have harvested grapes from this block. This is a variable block, that has both thin and deep soils. The vines planted on the deeper soils are greener and exhibit herbal flavors I want to stay away from, while the vines on the thinner soils are filled with blueberry and blackberry flavors, complimented with good texture from developed tannins.
We will top that tank off with 6 to 7 tons of Cabernet from Block 63, where we picked 10 tons on Tuesday. We will do this because if we go any further in block 63 we will start heading down the slope of the block and the grapes are greener and less ripe. A few more days on the vines will do these grapes some good. Up in the mountains ... it's all about patience!
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