Electric smiles: Napa Valley VIP Reception at Club 45

Amelia Hardy with Russell Coutts. Photo credit: Greg Rodeno

Electric.  That's what it was like tonight at the Napa Valley reception at Club 45.  From beginning to end, the place was buzzing with excitement. The atmosphere in Newport last June was wonderful, but it was nothing like this.  

Attendance was impressive, as were those attending.  I met Russell Coutts, who has a perfect win/loss record in 20 match races over the course of four victorious America's Cup campaigns, and I spoke to Bob Fisher, who has written more (and knows more) about the America's Cup than anyone else alive (or not). Everywhere I looked I saw the faces of sailors who have distinguished themselves in San Francisco Bay racing for decades.

The guests crowded round the tasting counters, talking at length with the pouring vintners, clearly enjoying the opportunity to learn more about the Napa Valley and its wines.

Electric smiles.

Lester Hardy

Lawyer by day, author by night, Lester is the husband of Janet Pagano, Managing Partner at Ovid Vineyards.  An avid sailor, Lester crews for vintner Eric Sklar on Spindrifter at the Sausalito Yacht Club's Tuesday night races, and is currently working on a biography of San Francisco sailig legend Tom Blackaller, who competed in three America's Cup events. You can reach Lester at ltrainhardy@yahoo.com, or visit his blog at blackallersbuoy.com.

Dog Days of Summer on Spring Mountain

It’s official, Harvest 2012 has begun in the Napa Valley! Reports of the first bins of Pinot Noir have been crushed at Mumm Napa Valley, and the season has commenced. Although this may seem early compared to the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons, winemakers throughout the valley remind us that we’re actually “back to normal”. In any given year, the first grapes to hit the sorting table in mid-August are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for sparkling wines. If there were an opposite end to the spectrum, we’re it – mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tucker Whitehorse Leahy

We are located along the southern slopes of the Spring Mountain District Appellation, high above the fog line and west of the town of Saint Helena. Whereas most of the valley has begun measuring brix (sugar levels), we’re only 90% through verasion and estimate a mid-October Harvest. Our vineyard manager, viticulturist and winemaker are surprisingly optimistic due to the favorable growing conditions to date; however there is one member of the team that remains unimpressed: Tucker Whitehorse Leahy . With responsibilities ranging from pheasant control to grape sampling, Tucker finds the cooler temps from 2010 and 2011 much more conducive to his management style. Always the team player, he’s putting on a good attitude in this warmer year, but vows to monitor all vineyard work from the shade.

James and Elizabeth

With harvest still a distant thought, the best solution is to distract ourselves with the start to the NFL Preseason. Like the majority of us in the Napa Valley, the San Francisco 49ers are a family run organization, and it just so happens the York family has an unbridled passion for the Napa Valley. They have been terrific ambassadors promoting the region and its wines for many years, and many of us bleed red and gold in support of the team and the 49ers Foundation. Seeing as the grapes are in no rush to ripen, we felt very comfortable leaving the ranch for the big city for an exciting afternoon of Football and Wine.  Even though our winemaker is a staunch Oakland Raiders fan, he was admittedly jealous we had the opportunity to catch the first 49ers Pre-Season game. If the mere fact that Harvest and the 49ers began with such excitement on Friday, August 10^th, we should all look forward to a terrific year in 2012!

Cheers,

James

Marston Family Vineyard

Next Week: Napa Valley Vintners Harvest Party and Winemaker Preparations

Napa Valley Harvest 2012 Begins with High Hopes from Carneros to Calistoga

Harvest has officially begun in America's premier wine region and vintners throughout the renowned Napa Valley are delighted with the growing season to date, nearly all calling it a classic. Capturing the process from vineyard to glass, the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) trade association of 430 wineries will chronicle the process in a series of entertaining as well as news-driven videos. The Right Place and Time--Napa Valley Harvest 2012 Vintners believe the Napa Valley appellation to be the right place to grow and craft the highest quality wines and these grapes are picked only when at their peak of perfection. Throughout the harvest season, the NVV's go-to resource is its harvest-dedicated website, www.HarvestNapaValley.com . New videos will be appearing about every two weeks over the coming months, following the process in nearly real time. In addition the harvest website offers: • The NVV's vintner-authored blog "Unfiltered" with direct-from-the-field updates and photos posted by winemakers, vineyard managers, cellar workers and interns throughout the season • Live Twitter feed from #NVHarvest on the homepage • Harvest Live UStream series broadcast the week of September 24 from locations throughout the valley showcased on the homepage • A calendar of the scores of events to celebrate harvest in Napa Valley and beyond • And in the coming weeks, ongoing contests and quizzes from innovative social media platforms The harvest website is part of a multi-faceted effort celebrating harvest that includes 15 promotional programs and more than 30 NVV events. Notes from the Field: Season to Date from Winemakers and Vineyard Managers Anticipation, Excitement and Mindful that it's Early This is the 150th anniversary at Schramsberg. We look forward to writing another page in Napa winemaking history. Mother Nature has been kind to us in 2012 as we have one of the most balanced crops in years. The anticipation and excitement for the start of harvest is overwhelming and we are eager to get the party started. Vintage 2012 is going to be Epic! Keith Hock, winemaker, Schramsberg Vineyards This growing season takes me back to the classic Napa Valley vintages I knew as a teenager, when I worked summers at Louis Martini. The mornings start off with some fog and overcast, by midday it's burned off and the sky is vivid blue. By afternoon we've got heat in the 90s and by five or six o’clock it starts cooling down and if you eat dinner outside you need a jacket. Elias Fernandez, winemaker, Shafer Vineyards It's mid-August and we are still enjoying a beautiful summer (cue sound of me knocking on wood). Over the past thirty days, the daytime temperature in our vineyard got over 80F on all but three days and only exceeded 100F once. These warm sunny afternoons are perfect for the ripening period. On most nights, the temperature has dropped into the high 40s--which allows the vines to recharge and keeps the grapes fresh. We are well through veraison in Chardonnay and expect to begin harvest just after Labor Day. Veraison has moved very quickly in Cabernet Sauvignon, even faster than Merlot. This may be because Cabernet naturally set a balanced crop this year. Merlot, on other hand, seems to have been a bit over-ambitious requiring us to drop a considerable amount of fruit during multiple thinning passes. Jon Ruel, Director of Viticulture & Winemaking, Trefethen Family Vineyards So far--knock on wood--we haven't been thrown for any curves. We didn't have frost in spring, we didn't have cold weather during bloom or set, we haven't experienced extreme heat that would sunburn the fruit, and there's been no rain. And after 28 years of making Stags Leap District wines I can tell you, grapes do not like surprises--they like long stretches of consistent weather and as the season progresses, we look forward to that see-saw of daytime heat and nighttime cooling which will create a beautiful balance of sugars and acidity. Right now we're about 95 to 100 percent finished with veraison. We're doing a little irrigation where needed--doling out just enough water to keep the grapes healthy and on track for maturation. Our main vineyard work now is green harvesting, culling fruit that's not hitting a high mark with regard to color and ripeness. In Olympic terms, we only want to harvest gold-medal fruit, so we're pretty severe about how much fruit we're dropping to the ground. Next week we'll start sampling fruit and zeroing in on which blocks we'll likely be picking first. At this point I expect to start picking here in Stags Leap District by the second week in September which is about two weeks earlier than in 2011 or 2010. Elias Fernandez, winemaker, Shafer Vineyards Apart from a handful of temperature spikes this has been a marvelous growing season with very cool nights and sunny days comfortably in the high 80s and low 90s. There's been very low mildew pressure all season which is heavenly compared to last year. I found the first bloom in our Cabernet Sauvignon on May 22nd, veraison began two months later. We're very close to full veraison this week. Right now we're still positioning shoots and pruning off extra fruit to bring the vines into harmony. In the cellar the sort, crush, and ferment equipment is getting a dusting off and annual tune-up. We're doing our final racking before harvest sets in. Julie Johnson, owner/winemaker Tres Sabores At Schweiger Vineyards, at the top of the Spring Mountain District, we are just starting verasion. The recent heat wave has really moved things along, and it is nice to have a classic growing season. Despite record heat across most of the country, this has been a beautiful growing season in Napa Valley. Our Cabernet Sauvignon set is a little light, probably 90 percent of normal, while our Malbec and Merlot are fantastic! Cabernet Franc was heavy and required a bit of fruit drop/management pre-verasion. Chardonnay crop is normal and very promising. Right now, I'm estimating a late September/early October start for harvest. Andy Schweiger, winemaker, Schweiger Vineyards Here at Oakville Ranch, the warm days along with the quick bloom this spring set the stage for even crop load through all the varieties. As I talk to vineyard managers and winemakers throughout the valley everyone is smiling and giggling, truly everything looks fabulous as we move into the final weeks. Phil Coturri, vineyard manager, Oakville Ranch Vineyards The grape crop here in Calistoga is looking great! It is really nice to have a more "normal" vintage after the late harvests of the past few years. This summer's pattern of a hot week followed by a cooler week seems to have been just the ticket--all the vineyards I've looked at seem to be well acclimated to the heat and have healthy canopies. Crop levels are up from average and at this point everything is close to fully colored-up. If this is any indication, I have already started eating the Thompsons seedless from my backyard…. Shouldn't be too long now, but I have to get through this bottling first. Cameron Perry, winemaker, Chateau Montelena The Napa Valley Vintners is the non-profit trade association responsible for promoting and protecting the Napa Valley appellation as the premier winegrowing region. From seven founding members in 1944, today the association represents more than 430 Napa Valley wineries and collectively is a leader in the world-wide wine industry. To learn more about our region and its legendary American wines, visit www.napavintners.com . Watch the Video

It's time for the homestretch at Peju





The sacrifices we make in order to create great wine can be heart-wrenching. Take the process of thinning, or dropping fruit. A huge number of clusters were recently cut from our Merlot vines, and I must admit it is sad to see them shriveled up and baking in the dirt. But this is such an important practice because it ups the concentration of flavor in each remaining grape. Timed just a few weeks after veraison, which marks the point when the grapes begin to accumulate more sugar, thinning allows all of the plant’s energy to be channeled into a smaller amount of fruit. So from now until harvest, all of the earthiness from the soil and the ripeness from the sun is distilled, condensed, to make wines that are more powerful and refined.

These vines are pretty young, so even after thinning, the clusters are more than bountiful

On the other side of the winery, the HB Cabernet Sauvignon looks sparse in comparison. This block has seen many more years of thinning so it has a naturally lower yield--and is the source of our magically delicious Rutherford Estate Reserve.

  

         



At this point we have also stopped watering, which means the nectar in those grapes will be even more intense. All in all, it’s a rigorous time for the vines and a super exciting time for us as we wait patiently until the optimum time to pick. If the growing season is a marathon, this is about the 22^nd mile. Close enough to taste, but the absolute most important part, as that last week or so of ripening will make their journey complete.    

Hillside Select in the Vineyard: Tasting, Testing, Harvesting

As harvest 2012 kicks off in the Napa Valley, Shafer Vineyards shares techniques for making Hillside Select in the vineyard.

What is that apparatus in your vineyard?

All was quiet on the eastern front when I arrived at the winery early this morning.  It was around 6am (my circadian rhythm was disrupted by last night's full full moon), and the tranquil foggy vineyard was calling me.  There's something so comforting about the white blanket that covers up everything around us, even our magnificent view.  I started snapping pictures.  I didn't venture too far from our tasting room because I wasn't wearing proper shoes; heels actually (Yes, I'm in denial that I work at a vineyard...)  After snapping a photo of our amazing "view," I noticed a curious briefcase at the head of one of the rows of Cabernet Sauvignon.  


"Ah," I remembered, "It probably has to do with the water-monitor thingumabobs that Alan ordered."


Back in February under the direction of my mother Delia and my brother Alan Viader, we commissioned Fruition Sciences (www.fruitionsciences.com) - a cutting edge viticultural support company that uses innovative technology to study the vital signs of our vines.  We are learning what makes VIADER vineyards such a unique growing environment for premium quality wine grapes, and the results are fascinating. 



In the picture you can see the monitoring apparatus is powered by the sun, and reviews two vines at once.  Those vines are shown here completely wrapped in a foil-like material.  Sensors are placed throughout inside, and a computer captures data of how much water is getting to the vine and where it is achieving the best saturation.  We conduct this survey while our irrigation system is running to get the most accurate data.  For us science geeks, it's exciting!


It has been a great learning experience for Alan, and we realized just how efficient vines truly are as an agricultural product (compared to other products like artichokes, etc.), given their extensive root structure and water retention abilities.  I'm sure my brother can explain it in a lot more detail, but he's not here today!  It was his day to survey our friends' different vineyard properties where we have future grape-sourcing contracts.  


And more importantly, it's his younger son's first birthday!  Off to celebrate!   Cheers!


Note: Fruition Sciences has its headquarters in Montpellier, France, and an office in Oakland, California.  


Happy Thursday,


Janet Viader of VIADER Napa Valley

Napa Valley Vintners & America's Cup: The thrill of a lifetime

Saturday June 30

When Eric Sklar, Will Smith and I arrived at the America’s Cup Village Saturday morning, we were looking forward to another enjoyable afternoon watching the America’s Cup World Series from Club 45, just a few feet from the shore.  Eric was still pumped with excitement from his ride as a guest racer with Emirates Team New Zealand on Friday – if you want to know how exciting these 45-foot catamarans are, ask Eric or Clay Gregory to tell you about their guest racer rides – but we all expected a more laid-back Saturday.

We were wrong.  I was just sitting down to enjoy an iced tea and the view of Narragansett Bay, when Eric walked up to announce we had been invited to spend the afternoon out on the race course.  No one ever said yes faster than Will and I.  We all promptly gathered our belongings and headed to the dock to meet our boat.

I should explain that in order to make the most out of the relatively small areas within which the races are run, and to aid in the effort to keep as much of the action as close to shore as possible, the America’s Cup World Series uses boats – referred to as “mark boats” – to set the turning marks for the race.  This enables the race directors to move the marks as needed to adjust to changes in wind speed and direction over the course of an afternoon, and to have a finish line that is different from the starting line.  Our seats for the afternoon were on the twin-hulled power boat America, which would set up at one end of the starting line for the speed trials, and at the leeward (downwind) mark for both the fleet races.

Which means that when those 45-foot catamarans came sailing by, we were close enough to hear the singing of the wind over the sails, the voices of the crew as commands and responses were called out, the grunts of exertion as they trimmed the sails – well, to be more precise, the boats sometimes passed within just a couple of feet of America.  Watching a sailboat race simply doesn’t get more exciting than that.  It was the thrill of a lifetime.

Once again, the racing was fantastic.  Jimmy Spithill, skipper of the number one boat for Team Oracle USA, won the time trial with an average speed of 24.77 knots, which works out to 28.5 miles per hour.  I checked the true wind speed on America’s instrument panel, and I’m pretty sure it was no more than 15 knots, if that.  In other words, Spithill was sailing at least 1.65 times faster than the wind. There are limits to how fast these catamarans can go, but I’m pretty sure that when they come to San Francisco in August we’ll see boat speeds at 30 knots or better – on San Francisco Bay in the summertime, 15 knots of wind is a pretty light day.

So, if you haven’t already made your plans to be there in San Francisco in August and October, don’t delay.

Cheers!

Lester

Lester Hardy, lawyer by day, author by night, is the husband of Janet Pagano, Managing Partner at Ovid Vineyards.  An avid sailor, Lester crews for vintner Eric Sklar on Spindrifter at the Sausalito Yacht Club's Tuesday night races, and is currently working on a biography of Tom Blackaller, a San Francisco sailing legend who competed in three America's Cup events. You can reach Lester at ltrainhardy@yahoo.com

Napa Valley Vintners & America's Cup: The excitement begins!

Friday Morning, June 29

Yesterday the racing began. I had read about the NASCAR-like excitement of the America's Cup World Series, but now I've experienced it.  Wow!

The Emirates New Zealand team capsized in their match race against Luna Rossa Piranha, only to have their gleaming high-tech catamaran turn onto its rudders in a failed attempt to right it. By the time the boat was back on its hulls an hour later, the carbon fiber wingsail was severely damaged, and official reports were that the crew would be working all night to make the repairs necessary to get Emirates New Zealand back in the water in time for today's races.

Destination Napa Valley Council President Clay Gregory experienced the excitement first hand during the fleet race, as guest racer on Team Korea's catamaran. Clay told me afterwards that he got an aerobic workout while sitting still. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he was referring to the fact that his heart was racing the entire time. One thing for sure, he looked like a guy who had never had such fun in his life.

And this, for me, was the greatest part of the day: the excitement of the day's races was shared by everyone from the Napa Valley Vintners and Destination Napa Valley who came out to Newport, regardless of whether they were sailors or non-sailors. The organizers of the 34th America's Cup competition have long said that their goal was to create an event that was accessible to everyone - to create a spectator-friendly arena on the water - and if the event here at Newport is anything to judge by, they have succeeded in a big way.

Just ask Linda Reiff, Eric Sklar, Clay Gregory, Will Smith, Allison Simpson, George Peterson or Darcy Tunt.

Or me, for that matter.

Cheers!

Lester Hardy 

Lester Hardy, lawyer by day, author by night, is the husband of Janet Pagano, Managing Partner at Ovid Vineyards.  An avid sailor, Lester crews for vintner Eric Sklar on Spindrifter at the Sausalito Yacht Club's Tuesday night races, and is currently working on a biography of Tom Blackaller, a San Francisco sailing legend who competed in three America's Cup events. You can reach Lester at ltrainhardy@yahoo.com