Vintage 2023 has taught us a few things about being patient. After the kids went back to school Labor Day quickly approached, which normally would mean our first pick of Chenin Blanc and almost always on that holiday. We did know in advance that this year would be late but, how late was the only question. Our cleared calendars for harvest turned into long days of waiting, cleaning and organizing the winery over and over again. Long discussions with other winemakers on when this harvest would really begin passed the time. In the end the wait was worth it, as the warm days and cool nights coupled with more hang time helps create balanced, expressive fruit.
Once the fruit started coming in, it continued at a steady pace. Our harvest started off with some lovely Chenin blanc for our second vintage of sparkling. We are still working on the 2022 vintage and planning on disgorging in December and ready for release in Spring 2024. This will be a special offering with a unique artist designed label.
The Rosé of Grenache is underway and we set aside some for a small batch of 5ed. The Rose Ranch vineyard is a certified biodynamic farm that is rich with many other crops besides grapes. Owned by Steve Rose, a retired restaurateur, who believes that what goes in the ground comes out in the fruit.
Our Saini Farms Dry Creek Chenin Blanc was deliciously abundant this year. This is our 19th year working with this dry farmed vineyard just steps away from Creek. The 2023 vintage reminds us of other favorite years where we had hot days and cool nights which helps create the perfect acid/sugar level in the grape.
The Peaberry Chenin Blanc is tasting wonderful and we couldn’t keep our boys out of the juice before fermentation. The juice is high in sugar and tastes so delicious before it goes through the fermentation process. They happily came to work with dad just to get a sample.
We have a new Chardonnay vineyard we are working with located in the Gabilan Mountains AVA and we couldn’t be more pleased. This vineyard straddles the slopes between Monterey and San Benito counties and is primarily defined by its high elevation of 2,370 feet on average. Wonderful granitic soil with pockets of limestone help create intense fruit profiles. It took a lot of work to get this fruit back to the winery but we made it, and it is tasting fantastic!
In past years we’ve had long, intense hot days where the fruit ripens all at once and it becomes a logistical nightmare, so this year’s consistent pace was a welcome change!