Chardonnay Harvest

The wait is over, its in!

The Chardonnay was picked on Friday morning. The fruit was tasting great and just starting to get the golden color that comes from late season sun exposure. Here is a shot of the fruit resting in the winery and then one of the first bin getting dumped into the press.

Monday the juice will be removed from the solids and it will be ready to go to barrels for fermentation.

Waiting...

Love this symbol sign for waiting room. Pretty much whats going on at the winery right now. The Chardonnay is very close but the Cabernet is still a good two weeks away.

There is so much preparation and anticipation of harvest its hard to just be patient and let the grapes get to the ripeness we are looking for. The really good news is that the longer harvest is delayed the better the quality of the fruit (and therefore wine!).

Harvest Update- Saved by the sun

Tue
Sep 15

11 am

68° F

Precip:
10%

12 pm

71° F

Precip:
0%

1 pm

73° F

Precip:
0%

2 pm

75° F

Precip:
0%

3 pm

77° F

Precip:
0%

4 pm

77° F

Precip:
0%

5 pm

77° F

Precip:
0%

6 pm

75° F

Precip:
0%

Just looked at the latest from the weather guessers regarding tomorrow- and it looks perfect! Looks like we are not going to have to rush to harvest after all. 2009 continues to be one of the most even and long growing seasons in a long while.

It never rains in Napa Valley

This last weekend brought thunderstorms and rain to Napa Valley. This is so unusual I actually thought there were hot air balloons going overhead at 3AM. Turns out the burners they use sound a lot like thunder.

I often get asked what the rain means for this year's harvest. For Cabernet it is not really an issue. The grapes have a pretty think skin and the clusters are loose and able to dry out easily. Chardonnay however, is a more tightly compact cluster and rain can cause pretty serious bunch rot issues. I'm hoping for some warm weather and sun so the Chard can dry out and be ready for harvest in a week or so. Fingers are crossed.

Brix check

Harvest is just around the corner for us at PRIME Cellars. Last year we brought in Chardonnay at about this time. My recent visit to Berry Lane puts this year's harvest about two weeks later that last year's.

I confirmed that today when I sampled Midoriya Hills (Cabernet) in Coombsville- 22.6 Degrees Brix with a pH of 3.18. These grapes are probably going to be on the vine for another three weeks depending on the weather.

Assuming no rain in the immediate future, the slow and steady weather this year could produce a truly outstanding vintage!