Notes from Paso Robles
Update:
I’m back with news from the vineyard! I’ll try and make this short because I am running around the winery. But can you believe it…we did not harvest this week?! Instead we spent the week in winemaking duties like pressing, racking, barrel organize, pallet moving, making room, pumping wine and resetting the crush pad for more projects. Fermentation Update:I’m REALLY impressed with our Grenache-El Libro fermentation, it smells like fresh Guavas (no joke), so tropical and incredible! I’m making both Rosé as well as regular Grenache from the same lot. I can’t wait for that to finish. My Primitivo lots are going to be full bodied, bold and ripe, my first lot pressed off at 15.88% Alcohol and I’ve got 2 ripper lots still fermenting. Balance is key and these Primitivo acids are nice and high and I do not get “heat” on the finish. It’s a great Primitivo vintage and I’m still mulling around which brand to bottle for: Sculpterra or Héroe. I may even make a small amount of Late Harvest Primitivo depending on how fermentation ends up.
Praise God for this weather
It’s been a PERFECT week of weather. It got hot the last 2 days reaching 95 degrees on our property but the mornings are a perfect 50 degrees. The fog showed up a few days this week but was quickly burned as the sun came out. Fog/moisture can be concerning for rot and botrytis, but vines/fruit are disease free and we are close to bringing everything in! The warm weather provided good grape growing conditions this week and I’ve seen a nice BRIX spike since last Friday. Cabernet Franc is now 28.0 BRIX…we need to pick it. Eugene’s Syrah is 25.5 BRIX and also…we need to pick it. I’m harvesting both Tuesday night/Wednesday morning next week. Our Estate Mourvèdre is finally showing ripeness and the vines are starting to show FALL like colors. Our Autopista Cabernet is now 24.5 BRIX and the bucket sample is smelling more on the fruity side than the green-spicy side. Cabernet is almost ready.
Praise God for the weather report, “No Rain for the next 10-days,” so we can certainly get ripper in the coming weeks…no need to jump the gun and pick early. It’s almost October and we are 50% picked out. I’m looking forward to the 2nd half of the harvest, let’s get ready and finish strong!
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