Harvest Preparations at Chateau Montelena

Well, it’s that time of year again…the decking has come off the crush pit, and we’ve dusted off the destemmers. The presses have rolled out of the warehouse and the shaker table is all bolted in place. The new barrels have all arrived and the grapes are getting sweeter by the day. Now how do all these puzzle pieces fit again? We’ll figure it out - not without a few surprises along the way I’m sure, but it’s the challenges that keep it interesting, right?

The crush season is upon us and the interns are in full force (see testimonial below) cleaning everything and anything they can get their scrubbies on – we wouldn’t have it any other way. Everything’s got to be bright an clean before the first grape hits the scale. Speaking of the grapes, they’re looking great! We’re expecting another excellent vintage and with more tonnage than last year. The Chardonnay crop should be about 115% of normal and the guestimates from the Estate suggest that we’ll have about 180 tons of Napa’s finest to work with this season, including the much anticipated first crop off of the replanted J-block. While we're on replants, we’ve got about 13 acres off-line this year that are in various stages of replant, and the second half of C-block is slated to come out after this harvest. What’s it all mean you say, well, it is all part of our master plan to produce the best possible grapes from this extraordinary vineyard, so as the production from the older plantings (1973 and 1974) declines we are gradually replanting those blocks to ensure that we have sufficient grape tonnage to ensure consistent production levels. But remember folks, this is farming, so check back to see what we actually get…

We expect to receive our first grapes – Chardonnay – in about 7 days, but that all depends on mother nature and what she has in store for the next week or so – any prognostications? The conditions down in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley where we grow most of our Chardonnay have been very good this season – a bit cooler than normal, but that’s good for Chard. No new growers this year, but we will have a few new (to us) clones to play with courtesy of an existing grower that T-budded over some Merlot to Chardonnay Dijon clones last year.

Aside from new Chardonnay clones, there is actually quite a bit of “new” here at the old Chateau. We have 9 new tanks in the cellar this year, a new basket press, and a few more new pieces of grape handling equipment. What’s with all the new you ask, well, what it boils down to is that all this new stuff is designed to do one or both of these two things: either make the wine better or make the job easier. This simple philosophy has deep roots here at Montelena and is in line with our growing philosophy as well: the right grape in the right place. All that to say that we are continuing to tweak and improve all aspects of what we do here in order to not just maintain, but improve upon the excellence expected from Chateau Montelena.

Check back in to see how everything plays out here at the top of the Napa Valley! One of our interns and I will be posting updates once a week (maybe more) as we progress through this harvest.

Cheers!

Cameron Parry

Winemaker

Chateau Montelena Winery

1429 Tubbs Lane

Calistoga, CA

www.montelena.com

Now here's an entry from Daniel Orrison - one of this year's interns here at Chateau Montelena:

Summer Harvest: Entry 1 9/1/2009

Montelena Monday:

My name is Daniel Orrison, though these days I more appropriately go by Intern, or Harvest Intern, Intern who almost flips the forklift four days into the job, etc. Yes, that is correct, I am one of the harvest interns at Chateau Montelena (or how I refer when meeting a young lady in the small city of Calistoga… “I am an apprentice to the winemaker at Montelena”). Jokes aside, this is a dream position. There is not a winery in the world I would rather work and a staff I would prefer to learn from.

In the following weeks you are going to hear MY story behind the 2009 Montelena harvest. Not your everyday recap, that I can promise, but the REAL side of a Napa wine harvest, from the eyes of 22-year-old kid who is crazy about wine and obsessed with new experience (a little too much some may say). I plan to document the ups and downs, highs and lows, and ins and outs of the entire adventure. Wherever that may take me…

But a little bit more about myself before we get started: I love wine – the style, art, culture, science, and tradition all sown into the subject. This love has taken me across the globe. Tasting in the south of France, sipping in South America, touring in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and has now landed me in the epicenter of the American Wine Trade – the Napa Valley. Which, appropriately, seems to be then most beautiful of all the regions in the world I have had the privilege to visit.

How I wish I could put the beauty of this area into words – the beauty of Napa Valley – the beauty of Calistoga. A place such as this remind you how pure and clean the world can be – how extraordinarily far the pleasures of thought and imagination can take you if you are only willing to dream! It really does seem quite perfect… I’d be willing to argue the only discomfort one experiences when visiting is in the realization of how tragic it is the likes of Van Gough or Monet will never get to the stories of these hills with their brush. That may be the tragic romantic in me… but who’s counting. We’re in wine country, right?

Now onto Chateau Montelena… From the instant you step foot on the property, winding your way down a charming path lined with Eucalyptus (and stumble upon the castle I now call home), a feeling of excitement surrounds you – a feeling of passion – a feeling of care, pride, and tradition. It’s amazing to see the level of excellence that radiates throughout the building. From top to bottom there is not a detail missed and it is because of this that the winery has remained among the World’s elite for so many years. If you could only see how excited I am sitting down to write this post, for it is a reminder of how special I foresee this harvest. Chills are running through me as we speak. Away from myself, though, and back to the quality that is Montelena… an area I feel has a great deal to do with then quality of young staff they employ (the Interns).

I live with two others in an amazing old farmhouse (hidden between rows of vines on Old Toll Road), owned by our boss, Bo Barrett. One is a Portuguese lad by the name of Ricardo. He has worked seven harvests in different places around the world. Him and I are becoming good friends. He has such a passion for wine. It is inspiring to watch him work are care for the grapes for his attention to detail is like nothing I haven ever seen. The other intern is a lovely young girl by the name of Janice. She has recently graduated from Cornell University, where she studied Viticulture and Enology. Another amazing young mind who knows farrrr too much about wine (compliment in these parts). But both are incredible people I look forward to taking this ride with.

So far life as an intern has been easy. Harvest is still a few weeks out as the summer’s temperature has been a bit cooler than usual and the grapes still need a few more weeks to ripen. The quality of fruit though looks to be outstanding. We can’t wait to get started! Until then… I hope this introduction treats you well. Much more to come. Much more to come.

Wine tasting this weekend? See you around the valley.

Cheers most sincerely,

Daniel

Blackbird Vineyards | Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley

As we conclude the last day of August 2009, the harvest moon is almost upon us, signalling the "beginning of the end" of summer and the slow creep of fall. This transition period is the most invigorating for Napa Valley vintners as the fruits of a year's labor come to fruition.

If the current weather patterns hold true, Blackbird Vineyards will harvest its Bordeaux grape varietals (Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) in early October. Most of the winery's grape sources, including its estate vineyard in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley are located in the southern end of the Napa Valley, allowing for more moderate daytime temperatures. This will (hopefully) lead to greater balance in the fruit at harvest time with sugars, acids and physiological development all coming together. Mother nature will have the last comment here though...

Next posting, we will discuss the emerging wine program for Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley.

More to come...

Paul L. Leary

President

Blackbird Vineyards | Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley

Zahtila Vineyards Ramping Up for Harvest 2009

Zahtila Vineyards, located in Calistoga at the top of Napa Valley, is busy preparing for this year's harvest. We are permanently installing a propane based generator to provide power to all of the crushing equipment. Zahtila Vineyards was originally built as a residence, not enough to run a working winery. Each year we bring in a temporary generator, this year it's being made permanent.

Zahtila Vineyards purchases 90% of the fruit we use to make our delicious chardonnay, zinfandels and cabernets. This year, your author, Laura Zahtila, has been visiting the contracted growers in anticipation of this year's harvest. Cabernet from Rutherford for the Bentley program (the first vintage of 2007 to be released next year), Dry Creek zinfandel, Napa cabernet and Napa chardonnay growers are all a part of the extended Zahtila team.

More will be shared about those grapes as harvest gets closer. We are still a couple of weeks out from picking the first crop. Chardonnay and Dry Creek zin will be first!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Oh baby don't it feel like heaven right now, Don't it feel like somethin' from a dream...The waiting is the hardest part, Every day you see one more card. You take it on faith, you take it to the heart, the waiting is the hardest part.

--Tom Petty

We can never know about the days to come, but we think about them anyway...Anticipation, anticipation...is keepin' me waitin'

--Carly Simon

Harvest always comes a bit later for mountain top vineyards than on the valley floor. Cooler day time highs, and warmer night time lows produce Cabernets of intense color and structure, but on a very different time line. Many years I'm just getting started as other winemakers start their Thanksgiving vacation...which can create a bit of nervousness in a rainy year.

As a high altitude winemaker with a low altitude home address, patience becomes more than a virtue, but a keeper of sanity. I wake up to hear tractors starting up for night time harvesting, laying in my bed wondering..."maybe it's time to service the Kubota." Sometimes I'll walk out and watch their pickers for awhile, then go home and force myself back to sleep.

It looks like my waiting will be over soon. I do grow some valley floor Sauvignon Blanc which may come in the end of this week. I was walking that vineyard this morning and the flavors were really starting to show a lot of ripe melon, citrus, and gooseberry. I'm hoping the acid will drop a bit more in the next few days...only time will tell. After the Sauvignon Blanc comes in, there is often a bit of a lull for me...but that gives me time to get the Sauvignon Blanc juice settled, inoculated, and down to barrel to ferment. Another few weeks, then I can start thinking Merlot and Chardonnay.

Until next time,

Andrew Schweiger

Winemaker, Schweiger Vineyards

Pinot Noir at Trefethen Family Vineyards

Another warm day in the valley... it's already 85F at 10:00AM, having gone up a full 30 degrees since sunrise. This late season heat is sure to accelerate the ripening process after a relatively cool summer so far.

Here at Trefethen Family Vineyards, in addition to growing all the grapes for our estate wines, we also grow grapes for sale to about a dozen other Napa Valley wineries. These winery clients include a few sparkling wine producers and theirs are always the first grapes to come off. They pick at lower sugars to ensure great natural acidity.

We started the sparkling harvest last week and this morning we continue with a block of Pinot Noir going to Domaine Chandon. There's a lot of action in the vineyard right now but we'll be out of there by noon, before the heat really kicks in.

It will likely be another couple weeks before we begin harvest for our estate wines - with our ripest Chardonnay blocks still only around 20 brix. Having just finished bottling the 2008 white wines, that should give us just enough time to prepare the winery for the first load of grapes!

Merryvale continues harvesting Sauvignon Blanc

Harvest began for Merryvale on August 20th with Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Musque from Juliana Vineyards. Since then, we have also picked Juliana Vineyards Semillon, and additional Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Musque from the Oakville appellation, all crushed at Starmont. On average, we have been harvesting Sauvignon Blanc around 23 or 24 Brix and it has nice natural acidity. We are optimistic about the quality as the vines have shown beautiful melon, citrus, and floral flavors, and yields have been average or slightly below average. We will finish harvesting our warmer climate Sauvignon Blanc early next week, and two Oak Knoll blocks of SB will continue to ripen on the vines.

We anticipate beginning the harvest of Pinot noir at Stanly Ranch in Carneros near Labor Day. Some of our blocks of Chardonnay are also close.

We also have Merlot in Calistoga that is now at 23.5 Brix, with nice early berry flavor development. This block will likely begin the harvest at the Merryvale facility in St. Helena, and we also anticipate harvesting this near Labor Day.

Harvest has begun at a nice pace, with moderate weather. The forecast is for some warming this weekend, and then a return to average temperatures next week. Harvest will really kick into full gear for us after Labor Day, as we currently have Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Merlot and even some Cabernet between 20 and 23 Brix.

Cheers!

UNFILTERED: 50 Vintners Talk Harvest 2009

Crush is upon us! It is both an exciting and exhausting time of year for most folks in the wine business, especially those with production jobs. Our goal is to get you as close to the action as possible. A sort of fly-on-the-winery-wall point of view, so.....

Starting this week we have deputized 50 Napa Valley winery professionals as Harvest Reporters to upload their UNFILTERED impressions and experiences of the 2009 harvest season. Our reporters span the gamut. Winemakers are well-represented but we also have vineyard managers, hospitality and marketing staff, and operations managers sending updates. Participating wineries range from micro-producers with a few backyard vine to larger wineries utilizing fruit from throughout the valley. The blending of these individual stories should result in a complex and layered view of Napa Valley's winegrape harvest, just like the resulting wines of this legendary appellation.

We invite you to join us in this most energizing of annual experiences. And, of course, your comments and questions are welcome and encouraged!

Harvest 2009: Game On!

Harvest season is a contact sport. Game on!

If wine growing/making were a sport, this past week would have been the start of playoff season. The "regular season" typically begins in March for most varieties grown in Napa Valley, with bud break.

Sticking with the sports season analogy, you can think of bud break as tryouts where the crop of hopefuls make their intentions known. Some make it, some get cut. Strength training of the selected vine shoots constitutes the spring routine, progressing into the season opener: bloom. Bloom, typically in May for most of Napa Valley, is when the young grape clusters flower and things get a bit more serious, and vineyard folks start keeping score. A good bloom is akin to an impressive, winning-streak jump start. A good start gives you momentum and options. A bad start (foul weather, like high winds or rains) can interfere with pollination and cause poor fruit set, meaning that the vineyard team will need to run a tight ship the rest of the season to produce a profitable harvest. Veraison is the mid-season progress report, when the grapes color and analysts weigh in with opinions. And then, five or so months into the season we get to this past week...the first round of regional playoffs.

The sparkling wine houses always go early, as evidenced in this video. Close behind is Sauvignon Blanc, with reports from both Honig and St. Supery that they've begun receiving grapes. Over the next 2-4 weeks the other varietals will start coming in from the fields, too, as the season ramps up to a traditional state of semi-mayhem for most of September.

There you have it; harvest = playoffs. It's sleeves up, head down, dig deep and push hard time. You just have to love this time of year!

For Napa Valley vintage recaps and super-informative harvest charts going back to 1990, click here.

Vintner Office On Track With Vineyards

Oh, so many fun puns in that header...IF you know that the new NVV office is flanked by railroad tracks on one side and vineyards on the others. It is also a nod to the fact that our construction schedule is roughly mirroring the annual winegrape timeline: ground broke on restoration of the old Jackse Winery in March, before vine bloom, and is on schedule to complete by end of the year, relatively soon after most of this year's grape crop will have finished their tenure in fermentation tanks and moved to oak aging barrels.

Below, NVV Board of Directors tour the work in progress. Pictured left to right are: Rick Jones, Jones Family Vineyards; Paula Kornell, Oakville Ranch Vineyards; Kathleen Heitz Myers, Heitz Wine Cellars; Pat Stotesbery, Ladera Vineyards; Rachel Wyckoff, Auction Community Board Member; Ray Chadwick, Duckhorn Wine Company; Linda Reiff, Napa Valley Vintners; Bruce Cakebread, Cakebread Cellars.

The Five W's of Social Media

On Tuesday, August 13th, more than 200 winery owners and staff turned out for a half-day training on the growing importance of social media and the most popular tools of engagement.

An esteemed line-up of industry consultants and vintner practitioners contributed to the workshop, which was the third in a series of programs hosted by the NVV on the topic of social media. Thank you to our guest speakers, listed here in order of appearance:

• Paul Mabray, VinTank
• John Hingley, Crush Direct
• Jean DeLuca, Jean DeLuca Consulting
• Lisa Adams Walter, Adams Walter Communications
• Regina Weinstein, Honig Vineyards & Winery
• Caroline Shaw, Jackson Family Estates
• Judd Finkelstein, Judd's Hill
• Lesley Russell, St. Supery Vineyards & Winery
• Michael Wangbickler, Academy of Wine Communications (moderator)

Softball Bragging Rights

Woo Hoo! Slow-pitch softball was the excuse; beer, hotdogs, and friendship were the real reason for the 5th Annual Napa Valley Grapegrowers vs. Napa Valley Vintners Softball Challenge. Result? A good time had by all!

Click to see more pics.

Congratulations to the Vintners' pitcher and MVP Tom Bracamontes of Mi Sueno Winery, and to the rest of the NVV team:

• AJ Fairbanks, HDV
• Bob Torres, Trinchero Napa Valley
• Cante Swearingen, Viader Vineyards & Winery
• Hugh Davies, Schramsberg Vineyards
• Jackie Diaz, Joseph Phelps Vineyards
• Jeff McBride, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
• Keith Hock, J Davies Vineyards
• Paula Schweiger, Schweiger Vineyards
• Peter Godoff, Castello di Amorosa
• Richard White, Mumm Napa
• Robert O'Malley, V Sattui Winery
• Sheryl Stillman, Sterling Vineyards
• Taylor Bartolucci, Madonna Estate

We Aim To Please, Responsibly

More than 65 winery tasting room and hospitality staff attended our ongoing "Responsible Beverage Service" (RBS) certification workshop on Thursday, July 30 at the Bardessono in Yountville. As part of the two-year RBS certification, attendees learned

Best practices for responsible beverage service

Tips for dealing with intoxicated guests

How to prevent service to minors.

The course -- taught by Jerry Jolly, former Director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), who spent 31 years with the California ABC -- is part of the Napa Valley Vintners' broad effort to encourage sustainable business practices in the Napa Valley.

Summer School Was Never This Cool

On July 28 the Society of Wine Educators held events at various Napa Valley venues, including a panel on "Leaders in Cabernet" hosted at Staglin Family Vineyard.

Forty-two participants joined Shari Staglin, Doug Shafer of Shafer Vineyards, Jeff McBride of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, and Jan Krupp of Krupp Brothers Estate for a lively one hour discussion. Both the participants and the vintners learned a lot from the exchange.

Photo credit: Garen Staglin, Staglin Family Vineyard

Bloggers Get The 411 On Napa Valley

Assistant Director of Vineyard Operations, Geoff Gatto, explains St. Supery's sustainable farming practices to guests of the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference on Saturday, July 25th.

"The quality of our wine starts in our vineyard and that is why we farm sustainably. Being green isn't just a fad, it's a way of life for us," says Tina Cao, PR/Marketing Manager. St. Supery is one of 38 wineries enrolled in Napa Green, an industry-leading sustainability certification program.

Asked why St. Supery chose to host a vineyard visit by bloggers during the 3-day conference, Cao's response echoed the sentiments of the other 85 vintners throughout the valley who also hosted, presented or poured for the bloggers: "We realize that consumers are getting information from their peers. Information isn't one-sided, it's viral and everyone's opinion is valuable to someone."

The day began with keynote addresses at The Culinary Institute of America-Greystone, after which 8 shuttle buses branched out to distribute the 250 bloggers on unique experiences across the valley. Over the course of the day, 25 wineries throughout Napa Valley hosted 20-30 guests each for a series of picnic lunches, vineyard tours, discussion/tasting panels, and dinners. One winery, Quintessa, hosted all 250 bloggers for a Grand Tasting of top wines from 50 Napa Valley wineries.

And what did the bloggers think of the day? Feedback has been mostly positive. Jim Preston of the blog WineQuesters left an enthusiastic yet not uncommon response on our NVV Facebook Fan Page: "NVV did an AMAZING job of hosting us bloggers last Saturday! I'm suffering psychological problems from having to spit and dump so many outstanding Cabs. Fantastic adventure, fantastic wines, fantastic people, and worse yet, fantastically exhausting."

To view more event photos or submit your own, click here.

Purple Pushes North

Jon Ruel at Trefethen Family Vineyards in Oak Knoll District sent this report today: "For the early varieties, it's always a race between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This year, just as other areas are reporting, we're seeing Pinot a bit ahead of the Chardonnay. This block of clone 115 Pinot is about 40% colored up. We're skipping irrigation this week as the weather is mild and a little stress might help speed the ripening."

Season's Greetings: Veraison '09

Sign of the Times: Pinot Noir clusters in Carneros have begun coloring (called veraison), a significant milestone in the winegrape growing season. Three grower-vintners weigh in with progress reports....

All photographs and quotes taken Tuesday, July 21st, 2009.


Amelia Ceja provided the photo above. "Our Pinot Noir vineyard on Las Amigas Road has pinkish and red clusters already. It’s exciting!" Photo courtesy of Ceja Vineyards


Remi Cohen reports, "the Pinot Noir at our Stanly Ranch Estate is at about 30% veraison. Photo courtesy of Merryvale Vineyards

These Pinot Noir clusters from Foster Road Ranch - located just north of the Stanly Lane pumpkin patch - are farther along than most. Toby Halkovich explains, "Foster Road Ranch is on a hill which may account for this site being ahead of the other Pinot Noir vineyards in Carneros from which we buy." Photo courtesy Cakebread Cellars

Q: How does this compare to other years?
A: "The time between bloom and veraison is about 7-14 days shorter than previous years for our Carneros Pinot Noir and upvalley Sauvignon Blanc," says Halkovich.

What about other varieties?
A: "The Chardonnay in Carneros is going slowly and veraison has not really started. We see Merlot and a few Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards upvalley just beginning to color (berry here and there) but no real trend yet for those varieties," according to Halkovich. Cohen concurs, "Although we have seen veraison in some of our Bordeaux varieties, it is still a small percentage of berries. But this is the first hurdle....harvest is coming!"

You can read Napa Valley's 2008 Harvest Report by clicking here...or read short season summaries going back to 1990 by clicking here.

Welcome to Our New Home!

Literally: groundbreaking on a permanent home in St Helena began on March 19, 2009. By the end of 2009 the historic Jackse (jack-see) Winery will be transformed into the NVV's office, complete with conference rooms and a working vineyard. Read more

Figuratively: in our 65th year of service to the Napa Valley appellation we're starting a blog! This space will evolve over time but the mission remains constant: to promote and protect this special land we call home. Read more

Going Once, Going Twice...Gone Green!

Vines "recycled" from a replanted vineyard make for a dramatic and green chandelier in the Live Auction tent. Not only did this year's Auction Napa Valley raise more than $5.7 million in charitable donations, but it also achieved giant strides in our ongoing green efforts to reduce waste, improve recycling, and increase composting of food waste. Read more

Two Kinds of Giving at Auction Napa Valley

Napa County Superintendent of Schools and ANV volunteer Barbara Nemko celebrates a guest's bid in the Barrel Auction. More than 600 volunteers donated their time to planning and executing the June 4-7, 2009, community fundraiser, Auction Napa Valley, which raised $5.7 million from generous bidders over four unforgetable days of incredible food, wine, and festivity. Read more

NVV in NYC

From March 9-12, vintners from 100 Napa Valley wineries stormed New York City to share their wares during Taste Napa Valley: New York - a series of 35 consumer, trade, and private events, all featuring Napa Valley wines - including a benefit tasting for Elevator Repair Service at Lucky Strike Lanes. Read more