2008 Pinot Noir Harvest

On Saturday September 20th we harvested our Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir. One down two to go!!

Friday night we got together in Hollister to load our bins on our rental truck in preparation for the morning harvest which started at 6AM. Gary met the crew at Olsen ranch first thing in the

morning and by 6:30am the bins, crews and tractors were in the vineyard and busy harvesting. The weather cooled off this week and the morning of the 20th was cool but not cold while we plucked the fruit from the vines. Vineyard samples of the fruit showed 24 brix the day prior to harvest and the morning of the pick I was getting between 24 and 25 depending on which bunch I sampled. The berries this year were exceptionally small which offers the promise of concentrated flavors in the wine. The rows in block 13 of Olsen where we source our Pinot Noir run roughly east/west and the south facing fruit zone was just beginning to show signs of stress and some dimples when we picked. We picked up notes of coffee and chocolate in the dimpled berries while the more north facing bunches showed more plump fruity ripeness.

Our vineyard manager Bryan pulled together a crew of 10+ which made the work go swiftly and we were finished by 8:30am. After weigh in we dropped off the fruit to begin its cold soak as we typically do to extract maximum flavors and tannins. The must is still soaking now in its three separate lots and we'll pitch our yeast selections tomorrow to begin fermentation. There is still lots to do but there is always some feeling of relief to bring the grapes in. Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon still have some ripening to do and we expect to harvest them in about another week. The warm weather up in Dry Creek Valley means that we're going to bring in the Cab nearly two weeks earlier than last year.

IDC