Autumn in the Vineyard 2015

It's been a full and busy season of harvest this year! Jacques detailed the harvest in our last newsletter, and we decided to include it on the blog too, to keep you in the loop. If you missed the newsletter, sign up here by scrolling down to the bottom of the page! 

We had a hot summer with 28 days over 90F and a couple to 106F at the end of July. After this hot summer, September turned out to be cooler than expected and allowed us to let the fruit hang two to three weeks longer than we thought possible at the beginning of summer. This hang time allowed for great fruit flavor development while keeping the high sugar accumulation to a reasonable level.
Our 2015 harvest started with picking grapes from September 12 to September 29 for Pinot Noirs. Olson Estate Vineyard was harvested on September 27th with good yields, an average of 3 tons per acre, a total of almost 29 tons, including 2.8 tons Pinot Gris and 1.5 tons Chardonnay, all with great flavors.
Fermentation was speedy for the Pinot Noirs, a normal occurrence in warm vintages when the fruit comes in cool from the vineyard, but the air temperature inside the winery is on the warmer side. The resulting wines have good intensity and great finesse.
We still have Pinot Blanc, Viognier, and Riesling out in the field for the whites and the Syrah for the Port, all of which should be in before mid-October.
The vineyard yields were on the high side, with full and heavy clusters, two to three clusters per pound instead of the average of four to five per pound!  
Needless to say, the winery is full, and Jon and I are strategizing on how to make everything flow and fit in the winery. 
We have begun pressing this week, starting with the first Pinot Noir that came in. Now it is going to be the dance of the barrels since the dance of the grapes has almost ended.
Another vintage is in, and it is looking like a great one!
Cheers to 2015!

Jacques Tardy, Winemaker

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