Wine is bottled poetry.

"Wine in California is still in the experimental stage; and when you taste a vintage, grave economical questions are involved. The beginning of vine-planting is like the beginning of mining for the precious metals: the wine-grower also "Prospects." One corner of land after another is tried with one kind of grape after another. This is a failure; that is better; a third best. So, bit by bit, they grope about for their Clos Vougeot and Lafite. Those lodes and pockets of earth, more precious than the precious ores, that yield inimitable fragrance and soft fire; those virtuous Bonanzas, where the soil has sublimated under sun and stars to something finer, and the wine is bottled poetry: these still lie undiscovered; chaparral conceals, thicket embowers them; the miner chips the rock and wanders farther, and the grizzly muses undisturbed. But there they bide their hour, awaiting their Columbus; and nature nurses and prepares them. The smack of Californian earth shall linger on the palate of your grandson."
Today, there isn't one square inch remaining of undiscovered land in the 'long green strath' of the Napa Valley where Robert Louis Stevenson once briefly sojourned. In the 1880s, when the above passage was written, wine making pioneers settling in northern California must have indeed seemed much like the gold prospectors of some forty years earlier, who came en masse to seek their very own El Dorado. Even to this day people come to the Napa Valley in pursuit of some hitherto elusive viticultural mother lode, hopefully overlooked by perhaps hundreds of like minded wine-prospectors before them, that will yield up to them alone a wine of mythic proportions - perhaps a new Pétrus, or even a Le Pin. Search on! In the meantime, I'll sit back with a glass of Vinomaker's finest and observe their endeavours from my little, gilded corner of the valley that is Vinoland.

Happy birthday Robert Louis Stevenson.

Though the land be good...

...you cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation. Plato.
Harvest may be over, but the work of farming the vineyards of the Napa Valley is never at an end. Valleywide, growers and vineyard managers are performing many necessary vineyard operations; sowing cover crops, spreading composted waste solids between the vines, making soil amendments (such as additions of K2SO4), and in some cases ripping out old, tired vines that are no longer viable.
This vineyard on the Oakville Crossroad was bulldozed about a week ago. I'm fairly positive it belongs to Franciscan Winery (but it could be Flora Springs Winery). Yes, it is sad to see the dead vines neatly piled high with the last of their summer foliage turning brown, but in their place new, vigorous vines will be cultivated. Nothing lives forever, but the 2010 wine that was made from these vines, before they were pulled from the earth, will be around for decades to come.

Remember.

Raise a glass of your favourite vino, and remember the sacrifices that members of the armed forces, men and women, made in times of war so that we could enjoy freedom today.

Remember, freedom isn't free.

There's a fungus among us!

The first two measurable rain events of the season have brought on an abundance of fungi that are furiously sprouting up all over Vinoland. I'm pretty sure this cluster, bursting forth through the landscaping outside my front door, are just plain, ordinary meadow mushrooms (Agaricus campestris). If I have indeed identified these fungus correctly, I believe they are quite edible. Not that I am going to be consuming them, I'm just not that adventurous - too many bad mushrooms look like good mushrooms (the 'shrooms in tonight's Stroganoff are store bought). I had some sautéed golden chanterelles recently at a winery event and they were delicious. I'm hoping one day some of those will grow in Vinoland, but then again, I probably wouldn't eat them either.

Napa Valley Viticultural Fair.

Just this last Thursday, Vinomaker and I attended the 2010 Napa Valley Viticultural Fair. This biennial event, held at the Napa Valley Expo and hosted by the Napa Valley Grape Growers, is a rather small affair, but none the less informative and entertaining - especially if you are a vine geek. I couldn't help but notice that it was a very green fair this year with an energy saving this, and a composting that.
Everyones favourite nemesis, and the current bane of grape growers, the European grapevine moth was the star of the show. Whilst the EGVM isn't the only vineyard pest it is the biggest threat to Napa and Sonoma grape growers, and the emphasis on eradicating this invasive insect is more than justified. There were many other pests in attendance that I got up close and personal with through the lens of a microscope, so many in fact that I am surprised I didn't have nightmares that night.
To aid in curing me of my creepy-crawly induced trauma, I participated in the complimentary wine social that was held at the conclusion of the event. There were a lot of wines that had been donated and I couldn't possibly get through them all, but I did my best. Here are my speed-tasting notes;

Elizabeth Rose 2008 Sauvignon blanc - tasty.
Cakebread 2009 SB - nice.
Honig 2009 SB - blah!
Cade 2009 SB - similarly blah!
Teaderman 2008 SB - am I in New Zealand? Grassy!
Detert 2006 Cabernet franc, Oakville - just plain delicious.
Piña 2006 CS - OK.
Hornberger 2006 CS, Rutherford - tastes unfinished, lacks finesse.
Elodian (Eddy Family) 2006 CS - nice.
Newton 2007 Claret - passable.
Teaderman 2005 CS, Oakville - thin and blah!
Cade 2007 CS, Howell Mtn - oak and sulphur with a cherry on top.
Larkmead 2006 Syrah - tastes like plastic, most likely Brett.
Paradigm 2006 Merlot, Oakville - rubbing alcohol or mouthwash? I can't decide.

There you have it! And, the Napa Valley Expo probably has a lot of dead patches of grass now because there was no dump bucket!

Happy Halloween.

Nothing says Halloween in these parts like a late harvest Sauvignon blanc, spicy pumpkin and cream cheese muffins...and a few spooky plastic Halloween rings.
Happy Halloween.

A load of Old Bull.

Sorry, couldn't resist that.
A very grey Napa day found me traversing the valley in search of landscapes to photograph for the class I am taking. There was just one rule - no vineyards. Do you know how hard that is in this valley? The Napa Valley, a place where every postage stamp-sized plot of land has grapes on it. The day didn't end in tears, I did alright.
On my travels, I stopped off at Turnbull Wine Cellars, primarily to visit a photography exhibit that they are currently showing in their gallery (I also have to write a paper on a gallery visit.) To my delight, included in the exhibit was the iconic portrait, by Yousuf Karsh, of my True Wine Lover 1 captured at his most statesmanly. This was turning out to be a great day. But, whilst I was there I also decided to take advantage of an inter-winery discount that most wineries offer to each others employees. It's a great way to try wines, at a very reasonable cost, that I have never tried before. For $13.30 (plus tax) the Old Bull proved to be a more than worthy tipple with dinner; a bit plummy and overripe, but enjoyable none the less.
Of course, I am with little doubt that the discount helped the Old Bull go down.

My poor grapes!

Rain, rain, go away...
We've just suffered through 3 days of rain in Napa, and the forecast for the week ahead isn't looking too rosy. Vinoland's Cabernet sauvignon looks beautiful right now (pictured above a couple of hours ago), but will it stay that way until it is time to harvest?
Humph!!!!!

True Wine Lover 10.

Hugh Johnson OBE. Or, as he is known in Vinoland, just plain Hugh.
No, I've never met Hugh, nor are we likely to ever cross paths, but I feel I have come to know the man through his writing. Hugh is arguably the world's best wine writer, I personally believe he has no equal (although Ms. Robinson comes awfully close.) If you are a wine enthusiast who is reading this post and you do not know who he is I suggest you find out.
Cambridge educated, Hugh has been writing about all things wine since before I was born. But to simply call him a wine-writer is a gross understatement. Hugh's 1989, 13 part mini-series Vintage: A History of Wine, tells the story of wine from ancient times to the present (well, 1989 at least.) Vintage is probably one of the best television programmes I have ever watched, in fact Vinomaker and I own it on VHS.
Hugh's book, Wine, was the first serious wine book that I ever owned. Hugh's 2006 memoir, A Life Uncorked, is the most recent of his books that I have read. Fascinatingly, it was like Hugh was reading it to me, I don't believe I have ever read any other book in which the author's voice, and personality, resonated so thoroughly from each and every page.
I just love Hugh!

See ya, Syrah!

Vinoland, and it's immediate vicinity, was a hive of activity today. We harvested our Syrah, and I am happy to say the fruit looked to be of great quality.
The folks at Far Niente harvested their Chardonnay overnight (this photograph was taken a week ago), perhaps more due to logistics this year than just the desire to bring the fruit into the winery for processing as chilled as possible. 2010 is shaping up to be one of those vintages where the time between harvesting whites and reds is being considerably shortened.
This evening, Vinomaker and I attended the Napa Valley Small Vineyard Owners Association's harvest party...there were some vineyard owners of normal height there also.

Baume, Balling, or °Brix?

In Vinoland, we use degrees °Brix (°B) - the percentage of total solids in solution - to measure the sugar content of our grape juice. As I have mentioned before, this is only a guideline as to when grapes are ready to be harvested and made into wine.
Today was the first time that I have bothered to test our Cabernet Sauvignon to see just exactly where it is on it's little annual journey towards maturity. I took several readings and they all came in exactly the same, (no need to take an average of the readings - which was a first for me), 22.6 °B. Yes, Thomas, I know that that is approximately 12.9% potential alcohol, but look at the squished grapes in the above photograph; seeds are still partially green, pulp is still firmly attached to the seeds, and there is almost no colour extraction. The flavours are quite promising, but merely measuring the sugar content is no indication of phenologic maturity.

Just a thought.

Maybe it is just my inner 10 year old English-school-boy-sense-of-humour, but I wonder if these people have ever seriously considered changing their surname...or at the very least not putting it on a wine label!

Grapey goodness.

Yum! The St. Helena Clone 7 looked and tasted good.
Everything went smoothly this morning; fruit arrived in a timely manner, sorting and destemming went according to plan, clean-up was quick and painless...should make for a good glass of wine three years from now. Cheers!

Ready, steady...wait!

Our Zambelli crusher-destemmer is patiently waiting. It was used briefly, on Monday, for our small Pinot gris harvest, and will be used tomorrow on Clone 7 Cabernet sauvignon from a friend's St. Helena vineyard. It may be a while before we use it again on our own grapes.
Vinoland's Syrah is coming along decently, I got a respectable sugar reading of 23.4 °Brix today. This was, of course, an average taken from several individual readings of juice, from berries selected randomly throughout the vineyard. But, more importantly the fruit tastes good; the seeds are maturing, and the berries are softening nicely. Slow, but sure.
The Italians definitely know how to make great small winery equipment...and great wine...and great food...and great shoes.

My Diploma.

At last. My diploma from Napa Valley College arrived today. I was beginning to think that I hadn't really graduated after all. It's finally official - Vinomaker can now take me for a celebratory meal.

Harvest begins in Vinoland: 2010.

On the right, Pinot grigio. On the left, Red Globe (a table grape.)
Harvest 2010 began in Vinoland today. Better late than never!
The Pinot grigio may be small, but it's awfully cute...and tasty!

Happy Birthday V2!

It's that time of year again. Today is V2's 3rd birthday...whoo hoo!
Breakfast this morning was followed by the opening of presents and the munching of chicken jerky. Of course, V1 was included in the festivities, in fact I think she liked the fluffy, honking Canada goose present more than V2. A good time was had by all, even me! Vinomaker and I will celebrate with a glass of something special tonight.
Happy birthday V2!

Tasting in the 'hood: Coombsville.

Napa county contains, within it's geographical boundaries, certain areas that exhibit distinct microclimates and terrains that are said to impress upon the grapes grown within them, definite and distinctively recognisable characteristics. Sort of comparable to the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, these appellations in the United States are known as American Viticultural Areas (AVA). To be even considered for AVA status, supporting data must be submitted to the government which, after requiring applicants to jump through hoops of red tape, decides whether the proposed AVA designation will be granted. The entire Napa Valley is itself an AVA, but within the Napa Valley there exist 15 distinct sub-AVAs.
I work in the Oakville AVA, but I live in a different part of the valley known as Coombsville. I can personally attest to the fact that the microclimate in Coombsville, or as Vinomaker likes to call it, The Tundra, is considerably cooler than the rest of the valley. Coombsville looks like it is on track to be the Napa Valley's newest AVA. It's ironic, considering the Coombsville area has a longer history of winemaking than most of the rest of the valley. Indeed, the Coombsville area gets it's name from Nathan Coombs, the founder of the city of Napa, and historical records show that some of the first vineyards in the valley were planted here prior to 1870.
This afternoon, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Coombsville Vintners & Growers Association's inaugural trade and media tasting. There are currently 38 member wineries in total, 21 showed up for this event. The wineries that were pouring definitely offered up wines that really seemed to display characteristics unique to this area located in the south eastern corner of the Napa Valley. The temperate climate here, the one that Vinomaker so often complains about, effects an extended growing season which lends itself to full phenologic maturation of the grapes. This, in turn manifests itself in medium to full-bodied wines that display true varietal characteristics with fabulously, finessed flavour profiles.
It was a pleasantly eye-opening event. I suppose it took the petition for AVA status to cause many of these wineries, (that I wasn't even aware existed until very recently), to seemingly appear from out of the woodwork. Hats off to whomever was responsible for organising these wineries into one association. Wineries that particularly stood out for me were; Black Cat (Tracey Reichow's wonderful Syrah was, as always, delicious), Daviana, Farella, Inherit The Sheep (adorable label), Porter, and Prime. Working my way around the different stations it was glaringly apparent that this is a collection of like-minded individuals who are in the wine business because they are very passionate about the wines they craft. This is a group of vintners and growers who are very happy to share their wines with anyone who wants to taste them, and you could tell they were loving every minute of it. The whole atmosphere struck me as very different from the sadly jaded attitudes that can often be encountered in many of the upvalley wineries.
I spoke to a lot of people and tasted a lot of nicely, handcrafted wines. One of my favourite comments came from the winemaker for Blue Oak Vineyard, Grant Long. Although the majority of the wines being showcased were Cabernets, Grant was pouring a really bold Merlot. At 200 cases this is a tiny production which apparently was aged in oak for 30 months. I questioned the length of time in oak and the winemaker responded thus: "If you make Merlot, make it memorable." Fair enough.
For me, this was a thoroughly enjoyable event. I wish all concerned the speedy confirmation of their, in my humble opinion, well deserved AVA status.

You say Garnacha, I say Grenache.

Today is International Grenache Day - the first ever. Who knew? Apparently, back in June, a Grenache symposium was held at some French château or another. Co-hosted by British wine writer (and Francophile) Steven Spurrier it was decided, there and then, that September 24th would indeed be a feast day of sorts. It seems only fair seeing as Grenache, one of the component grapes of the venerable wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is said to be the fourth most planted grape variety on the face of the planet.
Well, not needing much prompting, Vinomaker and I decided to imbibe in a glass of Grenache ourselves this evening whilst we feasted. It's still September (Ca. wine month, although I have strayed twice already), so I decided on something domestic - a 2008 'Horse & Plow' Grenache offering from the Alexander Valley. It's nice to get out of Napa once in a while, even if it is only via a wine glass. Whoa Neddy! This wine's got some horse power. At 14.5% alcohol by volume all the soft strawberry flavours and supple tannins that you'd expect to find in a Grenache are gone, maybe they were never there. Yikes! Guaranteed not to improve with age...hate when that happens.
Stateside, September 24th is also National Punctuation Day. You can tell by my run-on sentences and a writing style verging on criminally abusive that I am not celebrating along with the rest of America. (I wonder what these particular revellers are drinking.) I can almost hear my sister, La Serenissima, rolling her eyes across the miles...mixed metaphors permitting.
Sorry sis!

Tasty, but tart.

Emboldened by yesterdays not too frighteningly low sugar levels in the Pinot gris, today I ventured into the Syrah block to get a quick sugar reading over there. The clusters look fantastic, so I had my fingers crossed. A mere 17.8 °Brix...yikes! When growers normally expect to reach sugar levels of at least 24 or 25 °B before they'll even consider harvesting grapes, it seems like maturity is at least 3 or so weeks behind this year compared to previous vintages.
The rain did not materialise today as forecast, but it remained grey and overcast until late afternoon. We need more sun!