2011: Post-mortem.

I should make this my last post about Harvest 2011, I really don't want to remember it due to it's coolness and nastiness.
I borrowed this graphic from the front page of today's Napa Valley Register which is reporting that the California Department of Food and Agriculture has just released it's 2011 harvest report. As expected, crop yields were diminished, as compared with the yields from 2010, meaning that Napa's grape crop was only worth a paltry $412,000,000.

One bright spot, however, was that the 2011 Chardonnay crop was the smallest since 1984....yippee! 

Harvest 2011...finished!

I have been busy all week dropping dodgy looking Cabernet sauvignon grapes and removing leaves in the fruit zone to facilitate a headache free harvest. Prepping for harvest takes a bit of time, but it makes the actual picking of the crop go so much easier. In the course of stripping leaves from the bottom 8-10 inches of each shoot I came across this bird's nest, most likely that of a California Towhee.

Vinoland's Cabernet sauvignon is now cooling its heels as it waits patiently to be inoculated sometime tomorrow.

Vinomaker and I survived another harvest. Whoo hoo!

Syrah soup.

At only 22 Brix, but fantastic flavours (and lots of juice), our Syrah fruit was detached from their Mother Vines today - perhaps slightly prematurely. But, when one is faced with the prospect of more rain, and ever decreasing opportunities for photosynthesis, a Vinogirl has to do what a Vinogirl has to do. Or, something like that!

Cluster's last stand.

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself!

The past two nights have seen the crew at Far Niente strip their vineyard bare of Chardonnay grapes...except for this one lonely cluster. Well, I'm sure there are more clusters abandoned deep within the rows and aisles of this vineyard, but I'm very particular about what items I anthropomorphise and this little, solitary, sad bunch of grapes is the item of my obsession right now.

Anyway, I wish the winemakers at Far Niente a happy fermentation.

Vinoland's Syrah is coming in tomorrow, whether it likes it or not.

Let's pick!

Harvest 2011 began in Vinoland today. The Pinot grigio juice (a respectable 23.2 °Brix) is now tucked up in the winery for the night. It is most likely resting and readying itself for an initial racking tomorrow that will separate the juice from the solids. We also brought in a tiny amount of Orange muscat. This is just fun stuff...the Cabernet franc is due to arrive on Thursday.  Yay!

It was a beautiful day to begin harvesting. With the temperature hovering around the 72 °F mark lunch on the deck, after a busy morning, of a modified Caprese salad and garlic bread was just what the Vinomaker ordered. To drink? Wine? Nah, beer!

Biding time.

The folks at Far Niente have not been letting the grass grow beneath their feet, in fact they disked said grass into their Coombsville vineyard's floor a couple of days ago. The FN vineyard crew also, whilst playing the waiting game with Mother Nature, made hay while the sun shined and drilled-in this coming winter's cover crop.

The Chardonnay clusters are looking very nice right now, just a little bit of sunburn, but with more rain forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday who knows how long the fruit will stay looking this pretty. Waiting for harvest is not a total waste of time, there are a number of other vineyard operations for vineyard managers to busy themselves with whilst they wait, and wait, and wait. Sigh!

Let the grapes begin!

Harvest 2011 may indeed, for many reasons, qualify as an Olympic event, least of all for it's degree of difficulty. Logistically, getting every last grape harvested may prove to be a slightly nightmarish game in the valley this year.

On Monday, at last, the sparkling wine producers of the Napa Valley began to harvest Pinot noir and Chardonnay for their bubbly production. It's always good to see harvest get under way, however this year it is at least two weeks late.

As you can see, the temperature in Vinoland got up to a whopping 75 degrees today - barely hot enough for photosynthesis to take place - not to mention that the marine layer did not burn off until noon. Our Clone 4 Cabernet sauvignon, hailing from the Mendoza region of Argentina, is used to some what warmer temperatures. At this rate it may never ripen. Ho hum!