Chappellet Chenin & More!

We just brought in our first Chenin Blanc in 5 years from our newly replanted vineyard! The Chappellet Chenin Blanc is a fabulous wine – crisp & lively with lots of citrus and stone fruit – look forward to trying it in a few months. We’ll be playing with the fermentation a little – using a Nomblot Egg (concrete egg) to experiment with.

We’ll pull some Chardonnay from our Oak Knoll vineyard next week. Pritchard Hill reds are coming along, with maybe some Malbec and Merlot by late next week, or early the following. Cabernet is still at least a few weeks out. The Cabernet crop is about average for Pritchard Hill but quality looks really, really good right now. Last of the hot weather for awhile today, with maybe a little rain next week…wouldn’t be harvest if we didn’t have to worry about something!

The vibe at the winery has certainly changed and it’s formally ‘game on’. This is a great time to visit wine country and experience it for yourself!
Over and out!

Steve Tamburelli
General Manager

Waiting and Working at Chappellet!

The signs of an upcoming harvest abound at Chappellet, located on Pritchard Hill in the eastern hills of the Napa Valley. Cellar workers are busy bees, cleaning and checking all of the equipment, and ensuring that the winery is ready for the onslaught of grapes that is right around the corner. The vineyard crew is making its final thinning passes, fine tuning the crop to ensure that it reaches the excellent potential that we all see in this 2009 growing year.

We are still at least a week away from bringing in our first varietal, Chenin Blanc (pictured). This will be our first Chenin harvest in five years at Chappellet and we are anxious to see what our newly replanted vineyard will give us. Our Chardonnay (from American Canyon and Oak Knoll) is approximately 2 weeks away, but the current warm weather could move that up a little. Our red grapes on the estate are about a week behind normal due to the cool growing season. Merlot and Malbec may see a September harvest, but the Cabernet is solidly a mid-late October baby this year.

The vineyards look great, the winery is ready to go and the staff is anxious to put another great year in the barrel here at Chappellet.