Seeds of success.

Vinomaker and I pressed off our Syrah today and I am happy to report that the young wine looks great - fantastic colour extraction - and has a very fruit-forward aroma.  The general consensus in the valley this year, now that the majority of grapes have been harvested, is that 2012 is going to be a stellar vintage.
Perhaps, one more indication of how fantastic 2012 has been as a growing season is to take a quick peep inside, in this case, a Syrah berry.  Whilst four seeds is considered the perfect number of seeds in a grape, two is more normal - at least here in Vinoland.  Climatic and nutritional conditions at bloom can really affect the success of fertilisation in the embryonic grape, so to see four seeds is evidence that the vines were loving life at that particular stage of their development.
Of course, double the number of seeds also doubles the potential amount of seed-derived compounds in wine, some of which are undesirable in higher concentrations   That is why, when pressing off wine, it is important to press as gently as possible to avoid breaking the seeds and releasing any compounds non grata. Pity I can't personally squish every single berry by hand.

Fermentation Frenzy: Part 2.

That's it, harvest 2012 is at an end - we picked our Cabernet Sauvignon today.  And not a moment too soon, I might add, as Vinoland is running out of places in which to ferment grapes. Photographed is just one of the rooms that Vinomaker has set aside for fermentations, in the off-season this room doubles as storage for winemaking equipment.
A great growing season has resulted in slightly larger yields than expected.  In addition to the bigger crop the fruit is of fantastic quality, so there is a lot to ferment.
Go little yeasties, do your stuff!

Change in all things is sweet.

Indeed it is.  The metamorphosis from grape juice to wine is a sweet thing unto itself.  Just look at that colour extraction - and this Syrah juice is not even 24 hours old yet!  I just love Syrah, the grapevine and the wine.  And the grape juice's specific gravity? See for yourself.

The long and short of it.

Vinoland's Syrah is harvested!  After two sunless days, the weather today couldn't have been more perfect for picking.  A little chilly to begin with, the morning quickly warmed up to a very pleasant 74° F and stayed that way for the post harvest festivities.
The fruit is perfect this year and seems to be juicier than previous vintages.  The clusters also seem to be a little larger and more dense this year.  Of course, not as big as the clusters of Vinoland's Red Globe table grape (which I have photographed before), but then again, what is?

Stripped off.

The folks at Far Niente were busy diligently leaf pulling today in preparation for their Chardonnay harvest (or at least in this vineyard).  It's a tiny bit earlier than last year, but then 2012 overall has been a more even growing season compared to that of 2011.
The beginning of this week saw temperatures in the high 90s here in Vinoland.  Today it was just 75°F, partly overcast and rather breezy - what a difference.  The cooler weather will slow the sugars down a tad in our Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah vines, but I won't have any specific data until I do a sugar sampling on Sunday.

Once more unto the breach.

Yes, it's that time of year again.  A gorgeous autumnal day, albeit a slightly longer and busier day than anticipated, heralded the beginning of the 2012 harvest in Vinoland.  A day that saw Vinogirl and the Vinodogs in all their gloriously, sticky foolishness.  And Vinomaker happily employing his new Zambelli destemmer.
All good fun!