Fall 2010 on Spring Mountain!

Photo by Greg Wright

The 2010 grape harvest at Vineyard 7&8 officially finished on October 22nd with a fever pitch that many in the Napa Valley were also experiencing. It was a week of eighteen hour days, coordinating picks both on the Estate as well as from our growers on Spring Mountain, crews being pushed hard and fast.

Now that all the grapes have been happily fermenting away in tank, and the early morning picking days are behind us for another year, time now allows for reflection on the 2010 harvest.

While there is no denying the challenge of the weather this year, as our fruit came in this year, our Winemaker Luc Morlet and I continually looked at each other with satisfaction with the quality being received. We noticed much less shriveling than in years past, more moderate sugar levels, and a quality of tannin in the Cabernet both from our Estate vineyard and growers vineyards on Spring Mountain that was superb.

Originally we had thought our yields would have had to be down overall compared to last year due to the amount of thinning we did in the vineyard around veraison, but the finally tally shows us actually being about even if not slightly higher. There were some vineyards where we noticed yields being down almost 40% but others where the crop was significantly higher than last year.

Photo by Greg Wright

Now as the fermentations near completion, we continually taste for the right moment to drain the individual tanks to barrel to begin their nearly 2 year life of aging.

With the holidays approaching, and the days growing shorter, we are pleased to say the harvest on Spring Mountain this year was a great success, and should deliver another vintage of premium quality wines not only from Vineyard 7&8, but from our friends and neighbors as well!

Cheers!


Wes Steffens
Vineyard 7&8
http://www.vineyard7and8.com/