Pinot Noir

This is the pinot a few weeks from harvest.
The sugar levels {“brix”} must reach between 23-25 brix for harvest. These are 19-20. The winery is fussy about more than sugars but we try and keep it simple!
We taste a grape occasionally.
The winemaker begins to arrive more often to test…
Manager Francisco tests…
We keep it “simple” and taste grapes.

And as you might imagine…

Approaching harvest with 25 acres of wine grapes is frenetic.
Trucks
assorted tractors and trailers
bins of specific type
diesel and other farming necessities
equipment
crews~
All must be synchronized.
BUT regardless of how many grapes eaten or tests done,
the exact date of harvest is
unknown until just a few days before it begins.

And everywhere in Napa and Sonoma counties harvest is occurring at the same time!

The vineyard is in a part of the HUGE and diverse Sonoma Coast AVA known as
Petaluma Gap.
{Below is a link if you are interested in knowing more.}

Because the fog rolls in during summer most nights through the Gap, the temperatures are moderate. We have full sunshine all day with warm late evening breezes, windy conditions and favorable exposure. The fruit ripens slowly creating delicious wine grapes.

We have adequate rains for the cows and the vineyard.
The rocky, volcanic soil is perfect for growing great pinot and chardonnay grapes.

Early August in the pinot vineyard

The berries have not yet all turned deeply purple/blue. As they ripen fully in the heat of September, the sugar quickly increases.

At this point in our pinot, any green grape clusters not coloring{veraison} are cut off.  There is one small clump in the middle top of this photo.{below}
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Chardonnay grapes

Our chardonnay vineyard is always harvested after the pinot.
Now the grapes are turning a golden yellow as opposed to the greener grapes seen in the last photo. As they turn that delicious golden color, the flavor sweetens and intensifies.
{These clusters could be a little more plump…}

Chardonnay two months before harvest.

Old Vineyard Oak and Fog in the morning
2009 ~
one year following chardonnay graft to the existing
syrah vineyard

~Sonoma Coast Appellation video~

http://www.sonomauncorked.com/wine-country/appellations/sonoma-coast-appellation/

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Related articles

• The Mystery of the Missing Pinot Noir Grapes (napasonomawinesense.wordpress.com)
• Wine & pH (harveyfamilywines.typepad.com)
• Pinot’s promise, and peril, on the Sonoma Coast (sfgate.com)
• How To Rid The World of Sonoma Coast Wines (fermentation.typepad.com)