Harvest Update from St. Supery Estate

Geoff Gatto, Director of Vineyard Operations for St. Supéry  Estate Vineyards & Winery, took a few minutes out of his very busy and rather sleepless schedule to give a quick update on how Harvest is progressing in the St. Supéry  estate vineyards. 

Geoff and his team officially kicked off harvest at St. Supéry’s Dollarhide Estate Vineyard at 10:00 PM on August 27th. Most of our harvesting is done at night and in the cool morning hours here in Napa Valley. Our vineyard team gets to sleep in the mid afternoon (sometimes) and starts again that evening. It’s a busy (understatement) time of year for them and they are  looking forward to November when they can catch up on their Zzzzs.

Here’s what Geoff has to say: “We are bringing in last of the Dollarhide Moscato fruit this Saturday morning, which will complete the white wine grape harvest of 2012 for St. Supéry Estate. Sauvignon Blanc finished earlier this week. Moderate weather led to even, balanced ripening and very good flavors in our white wine fruit. 

We picked the first parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon at Dollarhide on Wednesday, September 26. We will start picking Merlot at our Rutherford Estate Vineyard the first week of October. Continued optimal weather conditions promise great flavors from the reds as well.”

Vintage 2012 looks stellar so far! Stop by our newly renovated winery to catch all the Crush and winemaking in action.

-St. Supéry Estate

Napa Cellars: When a Tank Goes “Dry”

When the juice finally ferments to below 0.01 residual sugars, the “Must” is pressed. This process involves many steps. First of all the juice (we can officially call it wine at this point). Is drained into another tank. What is leftover is all the skins and seeds that have been soaking in fermenting juice for about a week. This is when the fun starts. We shovel out the seeds and stems into a macro bin. This is only a small tank so most of the must can be reached from our little gate here.

On the bigger tanks somebody has to crawl inside to shovel out the must. On the largest tanks we have, (they hold about 45 tons of grape skins and seeds) we play a little game. If you can shovel it out in under 1 hour the company will buy you lunch. Needless to say this creates a very competitive atmosphere. I will keep you posted on the times when those get shoveled out.

Once all of the must is shoveled out it goes into a press. At first the press lightly squeezes the berries and gets any leftover wine out of them. That wine is pumped into its own special tank. Next, we crank up the pressure and really squeeze whatever might be left in the berries out. Since the berries and seeds have all the tannins, squeezing them produces really tanic dark wine. This juice is again pumped into its own special tank to keep all those tannins out of our nice clean wine. Later, if the winemaker chooses to, he will add little bits and pieces of these “pressed” wines to the “free run” wine until it reaches the desired tastes and texture. Things are fermenting well and moving really fast. Yesterday we drained and pressed about 10 tanks. Its a lot of hard work but somebody has to do it. As of the end of September we have received a total of 1344 tons of grapes. That breaks down into 466 tons in white grapes and 878 tons of red grapes.

Only 2506 tons to go.

Living the dream ~ Jacob.

Follow the Napa Cellars harvest interns, Jacob & Andrew, as they work Harvest 2012!

Elyse Winery celebrates 25th harvest!

Napa Valley’s Elyse Winery has two causes for celebration this harvest - in addition to a stellar looking 2012 vintage in Napa Valley, it is the 25th harvest for the winery! It was back in 1987 that Ray and Nancy Coursen crushed 4.5 tons of Zinfandel from the Morisoli Vineyard in Rutherford to craft 286 cases of their first wine. The label is named for their daughter, Elyse. 

To A Great Harvest...

With harvest well underway at Raymond Vineyards, Winemaker Stephanie Putnam and Winegrower Eric Pooler provide a brief update on what they believe will be a stunning vintage.

Harvest 2012... It's a Good Year to be a Grapevine

One, Just One, Green Grape

It was just one green grape. It was one green grape too many. It's always something.

It has been a picture perfect vintage here in the Napa Valley and at Cornerstone Cellars. A lovely spring, with warm, dry weather for flowering and fruit-set. A “three bears” sort of summer: not too cold, not too hot, just right. So why was it there? As you passed through the vineyards you could not miss it standing out like a sore green thumb in the middle of a bunch of gloriously deep purple cabernet sauvignon, there would be one, just one, green berry.

No big deal, right? How could just one unripe grape on some bunches make any difference when all the others were perfectly ripe? One green grape is a very big deal if you want to make wines that are special.

Also there was another issue. Everything else this vintage has been perfect. The gorgeous weather has produced fruit capable of making wines from this vintage something very special indeed. When Mother Nature gives you such a gift you must take advantage of it. There is a sense of duty, responsibility, to take this gift and do everything in your power to make not only great wines, but memorable ones.

What could we do? For us there was no choice. Out into the vineyards went our crews with one mission: to remove one-by-one those individual green grapes. Armed with scissors they went down the rows with the precision of a Bonsai gardener. Was this expensive? Certainly, but this is the price you pay to go beyond good, or very good, on to greatness in a wine. For us there was no choice.

We’re getting pickier and pickier every year as finicky is a virtue when it comes to winemaking. Not satisfied with just dropping any less than perfect fruit in the vineyard, we are going beyond just sorting out any bunches that don’t meet out standards and this vintage will be sorting individual berries on a special sorting table specially designed for nit-pickers like us. Note this is not a job we farm out, Jeff and I do all the sorting ourselves.

Like our neighbors here in the Napa Valley, here at Cornerstone Cellars we'll spare nothing, not only in this glorious vintage, but in each-and-every vintage to make wines that we love to drink and, most of all, that we are proud to share with you.

Craig Camp

A perfect bunch of Cabernet Sauvignon is framed by the breaking of dawn.

Sniffing Barrels

Sean McBride, winemaker for Crosby Roamann is doing exactly what it looks like...sniffing the barrels making sure everything smells beautiful and healthy--and it does, wonderful perfume and floral aromas.  The Sauvignon Blanc is half way through fermentation! 

Supervisors proclaim Latino Heritage Month in Napa County

The Napa County Board of Supervisors today proclaimed Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, 2012, to be Latino Heritage Month in Napa County, in recognition of the County’s diverse Latino population and in an effort to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the community.

         “Napa Valley has a wonderful, longstanding tradition of multicultural inclusion,” said District 1 Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht. “Latino Heritage Month presents all of us with a wonderful opportunity to enjoy and learn more about our diverse Latino cultures."

         The Napa Valley Latino Heritage Committee, which includes Latino and non-Latino volunteer community members who share a goal of promoting multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, has compiled a calendar of events throughout the four-week observation, including  musical and dance performances at the Uptown Theatre and the Napa Valley Opera House, a book program at the Napa County libraries, and events sponsored by the Napa County Hispanic Network, the Napa County Hispanic Chamber, Latinos Unidos, the St. Helena Multi-Cultural Committee, Somos Napa, St. Helena Library, St. Helena Family Center and more.

         For a complete, bilingual list event calendar, please visit www.somosnapa.org . Printed, bilingual calendars of events also will be available in libraries and at family resource centers.

            Napa County is home to a growing multi-ethnic and multicultural Latino population.

According to the 2010 census, Napa County’s Latino population has grown by 50 percent over

the past ten years and now represents more than 32 percent of Napa County residents (about

44,000 people), including people originating from México and countries in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

            In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson first recognized Hispanic Heritage week. President Reagan expanded the observation to one month, and each successive United States President has continued that tradition. In 2011, President Barack Obama declared Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 to be National Hispanic Heritage Month and called upon the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate respect, ceremonies and activities. Today’s Board action marks the first proclaimed Latino Heritage Month in Napa County.

         Debbie Alter-Starr, director of Somos Napa – We Are Napa and a member of the Latino Heritage Committee, said, “By helping found this first annual Napa County Latino Heritage Month, I hope to help children and their families in the Napa Valley experience the riches that cross-cultural friendships and multi-lingual lifestyles can bring.”

         “The diverse Latino population of the Napa Valley makes an invaluable economic contribution to our community, as well as having profound positive, social influences through their strong commitment to family, faith, education, hard work, culture and service,” said Frances Ortiz-Chávez, Napa Valley Unified School District Board Trustee and center director Puertas Abiertas Community Resource Center.

         Jaime Peñaherrera, director of Diversity & Community Partnerships at Queen of the Valley Medical Center, commented, “Today, the Napa Valley is a truly transcultural community that enjoys contributions from families and individuals from almost every corner of the globe. While the festivities of Latino Heritage Month feature the cultures of México, Caribbean and Central and South America, they are open, appropriate and enjoyable for everyone.”

         For more information about Latino Heritage Month, contact Debbie Alter-Starr at (707) 480-7436 or deb@somosnapa.org.

Harvest Napa Valley 2012: It's go time!

Checking sugar levels in Oakville

Ari Spoto is helping her dad check the grapes in Oakville. The fruit is maturing nicely and it appears to be on track for a late September early October harvest. Stay tune for more updates.

Joseph Phelps Wines begins it's 40th harvest!

 Winemaking Team: Damian, Ashley, Kelly and David.

The Social Elements of Harvest

Before skipping to the fun "social" events surrounding Harvest 2012, I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on the activity happening here in the vineyard first.

MFV Winemaking Team

This year will be our fourth harvest of Sauvignon Blanc for our proprietary white wine, Albion. As with most varietals this year, our rows of Sauvignon Blanc had a great set and are maturing beautifully. The heat from the past few weeks accelerated ripening slightly, and we’ll continue to monitor the grapes more closely as we approach harvest. Whereas 2010 and 2011 were more concerned with ripening and fruit profile due to the cooler temperatures, this year we will focus on acid development to maintain an elegant balance for Albion. A few neighbors have begun harvesting Sauvignon Blanc, but we’re likely 10 days away from bringing in the first lots for crush. On the flipside, our Cabernet Sauvignon continues to soak up the sun and enjoy this beautiful weather. We walked the vineyard on Wednesday and were pleased with the progress. There are a few minor adjustments we’ll make in select blocks to maximize uniformity, but at the moment we’re content and optimistic! (A rarity).

2012 NVV Harvest Party

On to the harvest celebrations. This week was especially exciting as the Napa Valley Vintners hosted their annual harvest party at Bale Grist Mill in Saint Helena. Personally, I’d never been to the mill, only passing it en route to visit the McCrea’s at Stony Hill, and was looking forward to something new. Roughly 300 of our fellow vintners gathered to celebrate the growing season, and imbibe in the fruits of our collective labor. Long banquet tables were arranged under the backdrop of the mill, and Silverado Brewing Company prepared a fantastic meal. I always enjoy these events because of the people, and this year was no exception.

America's Cup Trophy

The perfect complement to our harvest party was a brief trip to San Francisco to celebrate the 161^st Anniversary of America’s Cup. The Napa Valley is the official wine region of the 34th America’s Cup, and fellow vintners put on quite a party at Club 45 to welcome the AC World Series to the San Francisco Bay. Team members mingled with vintners and exchanged sailing adventures for winemaking tips. Although this doesn't necessarily qualify as an official harvest party per se, the setting was superb and the wines of the Napa Valley helped set the stage for a great week of racing, complete with a slice of anniversary cake!

Cheers,

James

Marston Family Vineyard

Next Week: Harvest STOMP! and Preparations for White Wines

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