2007 was only tough if you weren’t around in 1996 and 1997 (or earlier).
Harry Peterson-Nedry on 2007: “As always, experience tells us not to freak out about dreary rain days, but to drink another cup of coffee, continue to pick on flavors and jump only when botrytis seems ready to show.”
How many of today’s producers and labels were around in 1996 and 1997? I don’t pay anywhere near the level of detailed attention that you guys do…but has there been a “typically rainy” OR harvest since 2007?
RT
Some would say 2019. It only rained the last part of August/first part of September but it certainly impacted when harvest happened.
Rich…I’m a bit frustrated as I spent half an hour answering you, hit save draft to tale my three year old to the potty and now can’t get the draft. It’s not showing in the “manage drafts” tab at all.
A shorter recap:
2007 was a challenging green but very makable putt. And it gave everyone plenty of time. While stressful, I was able to make the wines to my full capabilities. So while it wasn’t “easy”, it was more drama thsn disaster. And the wines reflect that.
2006 and it’s ilk(heat and the dehydrating east winds that Vincent referenced) are, IMO, the most challenging putting situations. The green doesn’t look that bad, but when you’re 5 yards from it, your informed that you have 10 seconds to putt or you’ll be assessed a stroke.
You had better have your putter in your hand already, and the most successful golfer is the one with the tap in. And these vintages occur with more regularity than the rainy ones. Vintages that lean this direction, are becoming common. 2012, almost 2013, 2014(mid season heat, not late), 2015(see 2014), 2016, 2017, and 2018 all had the opportunity to pick past the balance point. YMMV as wineries have different goals in their wines, but mine are 12.5-13.5 abv, no higher.
That’s why the short irons are the most important to me. Transitioning from focusing on managing yields to managing canopy has drastically improved our ability to resist late season heat(or be picked out before it arrives). In cool vintages it means that I have to make up some ground, but the house style is on the leaner side anyway. And 2010-2011 are the rarity.
Why is this thread giving me the urge to watch the PGA Championship next week?
LOL I would rather watch a round of golf between Marcus, Jim, Todd, and Vincent.
I would rather watch them drink wine than watch golf ![[popcorn.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/1/1ca9f29573458cca2424a66a50d6c1261081dd3e.gif "[popcorn.gif]"){kind=small}
LOL…a virtual round. Please believe that you would never want to watch me play a real round…
Harry is a sharp guy who deserves better attention for the fine work that he has done.
Oof! Thanks for your thoughts.
I know and appreciate that you and others are increasingly focused on honing your skills in the vineyard and making your wines long before there’s anything close to harvest-ready grapes. IIRC, back in 2007 there was still a lot of economic tugging towards riper styles. A recipe for agita in that vintage.
I’m still a big fan of 2007…but there were lots of missed putts. As a dramatic change of pace, many producers were subsequently overjoyed with 2008. A vintage that Bob Wood claimed his dog could make great wines from. It’s taken a long time (and still waiting) to figure out which producers made par or birdies on that one.
RT
Back in the day of less winemaking I could play a little bit. Usually broke 90 (shot 91 at Pacific Dunes once and was pretty happy with that) and had a birdie putt on 18 once to shoot 79, but I not only missed it I 3-putted. Not sure what my golf game would look like these days. I know my drinking game is strong.
There were quite a few misses in 2007. But even then, there were quite a few new producers, short on experience(including myself) and a lot of bigger producers have to ferment in waves, emptying a finished ferment in order to fill it again. That makes picking optimally a big challenge.
Bump. We had a nice, warm August: A strong long iron shot?
Any worries about this heat wave, especially given how dry things have been? Daytime temps in the 90s as far as I can see. Do things still have a ways to go, or is there a danger of some vineyards overshooting the green? I have zero sense of how close harvest is for a year like this.
Things look a little less hot over the next 10 days which will actually push things even harder. We still have low night time temps giving us high-low differences of 35 degrees or more. I think of you don’t view the coming of harvest with a mix of excitement, trepidation, angst, anticipation and a tiny bit of fear you are not in the right headspace. I think the general feeling is cautious high level optimism.
I am pretty certain there are a couple of blocks at least that I will pull in the next 10 days.
+1
I think we’re 2 weeks out on fruit. With the warm days and cool nights we should be in a good spot, but it could be very easy to miss a pick call. With the small crop load, Brix can jump very quickly.
I’m definitely in the “mix of excitement, trepidation, angst, anticipation, and fear” headspace. Being a newer winemaker, I’m still trying to lock down logistical details like trailer rental, let alone picking decisions. Luckily, my Grenache is still probably 3-4 weeks from being ready.
How far out do you feel like you have to make the call on picking, just from the perspective of locking down your labor? Do some folks with more cash and established relationships just have a crew on call for a fairly wide rage? Or do teams get booked up early? I imagine that gets real tough when it’s warm around harvest and Brix is changing rapidly, and I imagine covid makes this a lot harder than normal.
Good luck this year. While great wine is definitely an art, it’s a logistical business. Also remember that the sudden stresses happening to you are also happening to every other winery at pretty much the same time. So even easy solutions can become unavailable due to sudden demand.
That’s a really good question. The answers can vary pretty widely. With our size at 4000 cases, and working with 5 sites, we’re rarely picking large volumes from a single site. At Whistling Ridge, typically we’re picking between 5-10 tons in a day. We have two guys that work for us through the growing season and utilize their relationships for picking. It should be pointed out that while picking is very tough work, it’s pretty lucrative for motivated pickers.
At Temperance Hill the vineyard manager shares a crew with Bethel Heights through the growing season, and the crew does the picking. It’s a great bump for them financially right at the end of the year and they are a great crew for picking. The only issue is that TH and BH alternate who gets the crew first in the day during picking. So fruit can come later in the day. That said, Temperance Hill Pinot Noir for us is less than one acre. And we’re off quickly with the Chardonnay, so not much competition for the crew. Although picking Chardonnay early seems to be becoming a thing the last few vintages…
Still, where there’s leeway, I try to give our growers 3-4 days notice on picks. But in a vintage like this that could be an unaffordable luxury. And I’ve reminded my growers that we go early and this year could race, so they need to be ready.
Labor is tougher these days. In 2013 there were crews getting bid off of jobs mid-pick. Terrible behavior, but a lesson for all of us. With Covid, it will be more challenging than ever. While the naturally low yields will make the costs higher this year, I am happy with having a conservative volume that we can focus on quality with, and not be maxxed out physically and mentally.
If you’re talking about working with vineyards selling fruit it is generally their responsibility to have pickers on call. If you’re buying from mom and pop type places you might have to provide some level of assistance. The bulk of Oregon sites are managed in some professional manner now though. Notice of a couple of days is nearly SOP unless it’s your vineyard or you’re the main buyer. Not sure how the Covid stuff will play out with vineyard crew organizing. We are going with a skeleton crew for winery purposes and bulked up on state of the art equipment to make things easier for the people who are here.