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Harvest report: Week 5
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CommentThe 2006 harvest is well under way with most of the whites picked and the reds getting ripe and full of flavor. The weather continues to please most of our correspondents, although the late harvest for the reds will compact the season in some of the AVAs.
By AVAs (American Viticulture Areas), from north to south, the reports are as follows:
By AVAs (American Viticulture Areas), from north to south, the reports are as follows:
Calistoga (Pending) — Paul Smith, owner, OnThEdge Winery, “Continued spectacular harvest weather edged the Calistoga non-AVA into hefty volumes of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and some Cabernet Sauvignon this week. Sugars are on target to a bit high; pH and acids are holding nicely as flavors and seed lignification develop. Yields are slightly low.”
Diamond Mountain — Dawnine Dyer, Dyer Vineyards, “Five days of above-average temperatures, warm nights and drying winds on Diamond Mountain have seen sugars jump, berries soften and pH’s come into line. Norm Kikken at Reverie has pulled in his Roussanne and some Merlot and Tempranillo. He’s reporting ripe flavors at slightly lower sugars than usual, which is another indication of the even ripening that seems to characterize this vintage.”
Diamond Mountain — Dawnine Dyer, Dyer Vineyards, “Five days of above-average temperatures, warm nights and drying winds on Diamond Mountain have seen sugars jump, berries soften and pH’s come into line. Norm Kikken at Reverie has pulled in his Roussanne and some Merlot and Tempranillo. He’s reporting ripe flavors at slightly lower sugars than usual, which is another indication of the even ripening that seems to characterize this vintage.”
Howell Mountain — Pat Stotesbery, Ladera Vineyards, “Merlot is being picked at various ranches this week. Cabernet, with average crop loads, is ripening nicely with most people, other than east side slopes, waiting for more flavor. The concern, more and more, is that lots of Cab will ripen at once, which will be challenges for both picking schedules and tank space.”
Chiles Valley — Volker Eisele, Volker Eisele Family Estate, “The whites are almost completely harvested and the reds are set to begin this week. The weather is absolutely perfect with 45-degree nights and 85-degree days. Flavor development is superb and if things continue at this pace 2006 will be a year to remember.”
Chiles Valley — Volker Eisele, Volker Eisele Family Estate, “The whites are almost completely harvested and the reds are set to begin this week. The weather is absolutely perfect with 45-degree nights and 85-degree days. Flavor development is superb and if things continue at this pace 2006 will be a year to remember.”
Spring Mountain — Charles Smith, winemaker, Smith-Madrone, “Beautiful, temperate weather continues to make everyone very comfortable on Spring Mountain. There is fairly widespread activity with early varieties, other than Cabernet, and the story continues to be increased crop levels. The hillsides, in our district anyway, didn’t do much to contribute to last year’s near record harvest in the county as a whole. This year we are getting it back, as varieties such as Chardonnay, Riesling and Merlot have returned to normal. This means a dramatic increase from last year, much to the relief of all those growing these varieties. Quality so far appears to be extremely high.”
St. Helena — Grady Sibert, general manager, Ehlers Estate, “Ah, Sept. 21 will be a day to remember. The sun gently danced with Virgo in the cosmos, slowly pushing the stars from the sky and dripping its golden morning dew upon a small block of our Merlot for the last time. The sun’s dance had created an optimal fruit day on the Stella Natura calendar and with the chemistry and flavors of the grapes indicating they were ready; we began our harvest. The grapes left their quiet sanctuary on the vine to become not only our first grapes of 2006, but also the first grapes, with wonderful flavor, to pass into our new winery.”
Rutherford — Jeffrey Stambor, director of winemaking, Beaulieu Vineyards, “Perfect ripening conditions continue. The first of our estate Merlot from the west side of the highway was harvested early in the week with great results, deep color and varietal intensity. Young Cabernet and low yielding Cabernet could be ready by the end of the week. Established Cabernet blocks are maturing at an even pace — sugar accumulation is even with flavor development. By next week harvest will be going full tilt.”
Oakville — Pat Garvey, vineyard manager, Flora Springs Winery, “We finished harvesting our Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio this past week. Both varieties were down almost 15 percent from our estimates. We should begin harvesting Chardonnay this week. Merlots and Cabernets, although not ready to pick, are sampling at 23.5 Brix and higher. In some cases we may be harvesting Cabernet before Chardonnay. The warm weather coupled with the wind has us irrigating blocks on a regular basis.”
Yountville — Mitch Cosentino, winemaker, Cosentino Winery, “Harvest is now in full swing, you can tell by the chaos everywhere. But in Yountville we are in a little lull as whites are virtually all finished and most reds are still a week or so away. Some small amounts of Pinot are about to be harvested. Stay tuned for Cabs, Merlots and Syrahs.”
Stags Leap District — Elizabeth Vianna, winemaker, Chimney Rock Winery, “Red grapes continue to roll in gradually in the Stags Leap District. Elias Fernandez at Shafer might bring in some SLD Merlot this week. Andy Erickson at Hartwell got his crusher wet with some young vine Merlot but says the next red fruit won’t be ready until October. Stacy Clark is bringing in Malbec at Pine Ridge this week. Here at Chimney Rock we’re still waiting on our first Merlot, which could very well come late this week. Consensus on flavors for the early Merlot seems quite promising. The strong winds and heat this past weekend will definitely catapult us into harvest officially.”
Atlas Peak — Patrick Elliott-Smith, Elan Vineyards, “Finally, the waiting game is over. Harvest is well underway in the appellation. The yields are on the light side, so far. The small berry size and the ripe flavors of our Merlot are promising. We are three weeks earlier than last year. We are praying for more of the same weather, but without the strong winds we had last week.”
Mt. Veeder — Brian Nuss, Vinoce Vineyards, “The weather could not be more ideal for us in the mountains. Our harvest is starting this week with six tons of Merlot from the lower vineyard and Friday the first load of Cabernet Sauvignon will be heading down the mountain. The sugars and flavors are right on target. My guess is the lower blocks will be picked out by Oct. 6 with the upper blocks right behind.”
Oak Knoll District — Jon Ruel, director of Viticulture, Trefethen Vineyards, “We have been picking some Chardonnay as well as some Riesling. We also finished all of our Pinot last week. We still have a lot of fruit in the vineyard but should really be getting into the Chardonnay and Merlot by week’s end. The Cabernet Sauvignon is not far behind.”
Los Carneros — Lee Hudson, Hudson Vineyards, “The sparkling wine harvest is a thing of the past. Pinot Noir quality has been very strong with above-average yield. Chardonnay has retained the desired acid to make great bubbly.
“The still wine harvest is in full swing with perfect condition. Chardonnay has average yields with superior quality. What little botrytis there was is gone due to the warm dry growing conditions. Still wine Point Noir has exceptional field flavors and color with above average yields. The Merlot and Syrah look fantastic and should start coming in mid-week. All indications point to an exceptional harvest with superior quality wine.”
Wild Horse Valley — John Newmeyer, Heron Lake Vineyard, “Wow! Our Pinot Noir came in Saturday and it was a big crop at 24.5 Brix. This makes 2006 the shortest growing season ever for that varietal: 23 weeks from budbreak to harvest, briefer even than the 24 weeks recorded in 1996. This year’s interval from veraison to harvest was shorter by a fortnight than any other in the past 20 years. The Chardonnay is above 24 Brix and will be picked this week.”
Contact David Stoneberg at wines@sthelenastar.com.
St. Helena — Grady Sibert, general manager, Ehlers Estate, “Ah, Sept. 21 will be a day to remember. The sun gently danced with Virgo in the cosmos, slowly pushing the stars from the sky and dripping its golden morning dew upon a small block of our Merlot for the last time. The sun’s dance had created an optimal fruit day on the Stella Natura calendar and with the chemistry and flavors of the grapes indicating they were ready; we began our harvest. The grapes left their quiet sanctuary on the vine to become not only our first grapes of 2006, but also the first grapes, with wonderful flavor, to pass into our new winery.”
Rutherford — Jeffrey Stambor, director of winemaking, Beaulieu Vineyards, “Perfect ripening conditions continue. The first of our estate Merlot from the west side of the highway was harvested early in the week with great results, deep color and varietal intensity. Young Cabernet and low yielding Cabernet could be ready by the end of the week. Established Cabernet blocks are maturing at an even pace — sugar accumulation is even with flavor development. By next week harvest will be going full tilt.”
Oakville — Pat Garvey, vineyard manager, Flora Springs Winery, “We finished harvesting our Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio this past week. Both varieties were down almost 15 percent from our estimates. We should begin harvesting Chardonnay this week. Merlots and Cabernets, although not ready to pick, are sampling at 23.5 Brix and higher. In some cases we may be harvesting Cabernet before Chardonnay. The warm weather coupled with the wind has us irrigating blocks on a regular basis.”
Yountville — Mitch Cosentino, winemaker, Cosentino Winery, “Harvest is now in full swing, you can tell by the chaos everywhere. But in Yountville we are in a little lull as whites are virtually all finished and most reds are still a week or so away. Some small amounts of Pinot are about to be harvested. Stay tuned for Cabs, Merlots and Syrahs.”
Stags Leap District — Elizabeth Vianna, winemaker, Chimney Rock Winery, “Red grapes continue to roll in gradually in the Stags Leap District. Elias Fernandez at Shafer might bring in some SLD Merlot this week. Andy Erickson at Hartwell got his crusher wet with some young vine Merlot but says the next red fruit won’t be ready until October. Stacy Clark is bringing in Malbec at Pine Ridge this week. Here at Chimney Rock we’re still waiting on our first Merlot, which could very well come late this week. Consensus on flavors for the early Merlot seems quite promising. The strong winds and heat this past weekend will definitely catapult us into harvest officially.”
Atlas Peak — Patrick Elliott-Smith, Elan Vineyards, “Finally, the waiting game is over. Harvest is well underway in the appellation. The yields are on the light side, so far. The small berry size and the ripe flavors of our Merlot are promising. We are three weeks earlier than last year. We are praying for more of the same weather, but without the strong winds we had last week.”
Mt. Veeder — Brian Nuss, Vinoce Vineyards, “The weather could not be more ideal for us in the mountains. Our harvest is starting this week with six tons of Merlot from the lower vineyard and Friday the first load of Cabernet Sauvignon will be heading down the mountain. The sugars and flavors are right on target. My guess is the lower blocks will be picked out by Oct. 6 with the upper blocks right behind.”
Oak Knoll District — Jon Ruel, director of Viticulture, Trefethen Vineyards, “We have been picking some Chardonnay as well as some Riesling. We also finished all of our Pinot last week. We still have a lot of fruit in the vineyard but should really be getting into the Chardonnay and Merlot by week’s end. The Cabernet Sauvignon is not far behind.”
Los Carneros — Lee Hudson, Hudson Vineyards, “The sparkling wine harvest is a thing of the past. Pinot Noir quality has been very strong with above-average yield. Chardonnay has retained the desired acid to make great bubbly.
“The still wine harvest is in full swing with perfect condition. Chardonnay has average yields with superior quality. What little botrytis there was is gone due to the warm dry growing conditions. Still wine Point Noir has exceptional field flavors and color with above average yields. The Merlot and Syrah look fantastic and should start coming in mid-week. All indications point to an exceptional harvest with superior quality wine.”
Wild Horse Valley — John Newmeyer, Heron Lake Vineyard, “Wow! Our Pinot Noir came in Saturday and it was a big crop at 24.5 Brix. This makes 2006 the shortest growing season ever for that varietal: 23 weeks from budbreak to harvest, briefer even than the 24 weeks recorded in 1996. This year’s interval from veraison to harvest was shorter by a fortnight than any other in the past 20 years. The Chardonnay is above 24 Brix and will be picked this week.”
Contact David Stoneberg at wines@sthelenastar.com.
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