Pressing business.

Vinomaker and I pressed off a lot of wine this afternoon.  A lot!  (Two batches of St. Helena Cabernet sauvignon and Vinoland's Syrah.)  As usual, Vinomaker had slightly underestimated how juicy the Syrah grapes were and so there was a bit of a scramble to find another container to transport the wine from the crush pad up to Vinoland's modest barrel chai.  It was a busy day.
But not before I had taken a quick jaunt up to Oakville to join my co-workers at TWWIAGE in celebrating the end of Harvest 2016.  The vineyard crew at TWWIAGE had harvested the last grapes back on October 8th.  (TWWIAGE's last tank of Cabernet Sauvignon was pressed off on October 17th and was commemorated with a sparkling wine toast.) Those vineyard lads definitely know how to throw a harvest party: it is by far my favourite celebration of the season. Actually, it will be my only harvest party this year, as I won't be able to make it to the other two that I have been invited to.  I have other pressing engagements.

Syrah strip.

I spent most of today pulling leaves in the Syrah vines in preparation for harvesting tomorrow.  Stripping the leaves from the fruit zone makes the picking of the clusters much quicker, and easier.  The yield looks average, but the quality of the crop looks great.  I ate some grapes as I worked and they tasted lovely, so I am predicting that 2016 is going to be a nice vintage.
Vinodog 2 accompanied me whilst I worked my way along the rows.  Well, actually, she was busy harassing four deer in our neighbour's property who were staring her down.  Then, tired with all that patrol-activity, she passed out on a comfy bed of leaves I had just removed from a vine.  It's a dog's life.

Frequent Filler Program.

The title of today's post is not a typo.  I did actually intend to type the word 'filler' as opposed to the word  'flyer'.  (However, I do take exception to the American spelling of programme.  Just sayin'.)
I haven't had a drop of wine for over two weeks now because I have been dealing with a nasty summer cold.  But on the way home from work tonight I stopped at the Napa Wine Company (NWC) to pick up a growler of something to pair with dinner.  My nose is better.
After an initial investment of $10.00 for the bottle, an ever-changing selection of wines-on-tap can be had for a mere $10.00 per refill.  The NWC growler-programme also comes with a 'Frequent Filler' punch-card: for every five refills the sixth is free.  To pair with tonight's chicken dinner I chose a rosé of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault.  Very, very nice.  And fun. And a truly genius idea.  Growl on.

Pretty in purple.

The Syrah crop is looking fantastic this year.  And it's beginning to taste fantastic too.  I think Vinoland is going to be in for a bumper crop.  I wouldn't be surprised if the average Syrah cluster weighed in at about 10 ounces.  But first things first, the whites need dealing with before I can even think of messing around with weighing a Syrah cluster.  Tomorrow, I will test the sugar in the Pinot grigio vines to see how they are maturing.  Although August has been a relatively cool month, I have a feeling that my little grey grapes are ready to meet some yeast.

Happy Birthday America!

Born, or rather grown, in the US of A!  That's my Syrah grapes not me.  But not one to be a party-pooper, I'm all ready to don my glad rags and join the natives in a convivial afternoon of patriotic revelry.
Happy 237th birthday America!
Oh...and God save the Queen!

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.

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?

Eureka!

At seemingly the same rate that the sugar in Vinoland's grapes is increasing, the local avian population are increasingly looking fat and happy.  But the realisation that the number of grape clusters available to Vinomaker, to make into wine, is going down at almost the same pace that the °Brix in the grapes is going up, is not actually my eureka moment.
No one will remember, but back at the beginning of 2011 I had a viticultural epiphany.  I decided I would focus all my pruning know-how towards altering the relative maturation rate of Vinoland's Clone 4 Cabernet Sauvignon (CS).  I planned to do this by flipping the order of pruning the CS with that of the Syrah.  I had no idea at that point that 2011 would turn out to be such a peculiarly cool year in which to try such an experiment.  Roll on 2012.
This year has been the perfect growing season thus far - and it's nearly at an end.  The past two weeks of sugar sampling has revealed a not before seen phenomenon in Vinoland: the °Brix in the CS is ahead of that in the Syrah.  Today saw 24.2 °B in the CS and only 23.4 °B in the Syrah - the Syrah that is usually ready to harvest at least two weeks prior to the CS. Both grape varieties had progressed exactly 2 °B since this time last week.  Of course, sugar is not the only factor in determining when the fruit is ready to be harvested, but it is a very useful indicator.
So eureka!  Pruning a little earlier does indeed seem to bring about earlier phenological maturity.  At least it does in my mini Petri dish that is Vinoland.

Move over California.

I just couldn't do it.  I could not limit myself to only drinking California wines this month.  I've gone Français, yet again.
California Wine Month 2012 has been a non-starter.  What had the potential of being a great marketing tool for California wines fizzled and sputtered into oblivion.  This blog was perhaps one of only a few places to even mention California Wine Month's existence.  The whole concept was generally met with great apathy the few times I brought it up in conversation with various folk.  I won't bother mentioning it next year.  So jettisoning my well meant intentions, I reverted to imbibing in an old favourite rosé when I was craving something pink the other night.
The 2011 Château Routas Rouvière is a blend of 45% Cinsault, 35% Grenache and 20% Syrah.  With a pleasing aroma of red currant, pear and fresh mint leaves this really is just a wonderful wine.  At 13% alcohol and with wonderfully balanced acidity I treated myself to 2 glasses.  And to be had for the paltry sum of $9.07 at BevMo it was a steal.
Yum!

Sugar-o-meter.

Today, I decided to test the sugar in Vinoland's grapes.  So I got out my trusty refractometer and off I went in search of sucrose. Measured in degrees Brix, one can ascertain with a refractometer the volume of sugar, a percentage by weight, in an aqueous solution - in this case grape juice. Primarily, I wanted to know how advanced the Pinot grigio grapes were. I knew they were tasting pretty nice, but who am I to gauge whether or not they are ready to harvest by taste alone. The Pinot grigio came in at, a rather surprising, 24.6 degrees.  Erm, Vinomaker, I think we ought to put some thought into harvesting here soonish. However, the Pinot grigio's seeds were not fully brown, so a little more physiological maturity is needed - that'd be hang time.
With 2010 and 2011 being such cool vintages, one could be forgiven for thinking that harvest was still a way off.  But this growing season has been nigh on perfect and all the different grape varieties in Vinoland seem to be maturing at a more normal rate. The Cabernet Sauvignon weighed in at 18.6 degrees and the Syrah was at 19.6 - both varieties' seeds were still partially green. Whilst the Cabernet Sauvignon still displayed the expected vegetal character associated with this variety the Syrah tasted simply marvelous. The 2012 vintage holds such great promise.

California Wine Month 2012.

Happy Labor Day!
California's Governor Moonbeam has once again proclaimed September as California Wine Month.  Yes, the great state of California - once described as "the world's largest outdoor mental asylum" - is promoting a  month long celebration of all things fruits and nuts, well, specifically wine-grapes.  I did my bit last night and kicked off the festivities by imbibing in a home-grown and homemade 2006 Syrah.  I'll be drinking nothing but California wine all month - except in my wine class, as academia trumps wine-marketing every time.  Now, kind readers, do your bit and keep Vinogirl gainfully employed.
Cheers!

The time is ripe...

...for veraison.  Whilst I have been busy with visiting family members, bottling wine and my day job, Vinoland's grapes decided it was time to get serious about vintage 2012.  All four grape varieties are showing signs of veraison in varying stages.  Of course it means a little extra work for myself and Vinomaker: we now have to get the bird netting up on the Pinot grigio vines so that there will be some grapes left for us to harvest.

Coffee break.

The third of four bottling events took place today: Vinoland's Cabernet sauvignon and Syrah are now recovering from bottle shock down in the cellar.  It was thirsty work, so Thud, family OTW and I went down to the Oxbow Public Market afterwards for a well deserved cup of java from Ritual Coffee Roasters.  And a very nice cup of coffee it was.

Photograph by Princess OTW.

In praise of photosynthesis.

As I look out, from where I sit, at the verdancy that is Vinoland's grapevines, I can't help but wonder at the small miracle that is photosynthesis.  Sure, I mostly understand the soil chemistry that provides the mineral nutrients that aid in the production of plant materials such as cambium, leaves and fruit.  I get the importance of water - for all living things.  And I can actually feel the energy from the sun - in the form of sensible heat as I raise my face to the sky - so I grasp the role of light energy in the synthesis of raw materials into elaborated compounds.  Still, it never ceases to amaze me that the mass of plant material that I can see out in the vineyard seemingly sprang, almost impossibly, from my pruned and skeletal dormant winter vines.
Perhaps it is the not so lowly plant cell, or an ensemble of cells that form as tissue to perform specific functions, that I should be lauding instead: Cells that provide the intricate, physical structure of the vine and perform complex, chemical transformations within the vine.  For instance, the vascular system of the vine which provides mechanical structure, but whose chief function is to conduct mineral nutrients, water and compounds throughout the entire plant.  Or the tightly packed party-in-a-plant palisade cells whose gathering loci (calling all chloroplasts) are the primary site of photosynthesis.  And let's not forget the spongy mesophyll, the primary leaf tissue.  Well, actually I just like it's name: say it after me, spon-gy mes-o-phyll.
In the late afternoon sun, this Syrah vine is not baring its teeth in a malicious way.  Instead, the leaf blade is showing off its hydathodes - specialised secretory tissues that purge toxins from the vine - and is smiling right along with me, in praise of photosynthesis.
Aren't grapevines great?

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

I fibbed.  I said I wasn't going to bore anyone with yet another picture of bloom, but it's just such a fascinating time out in the vineyard that I couldn't help myself.  So, sue me!
Vinoland's Syrah vines are about 10% into bloom, not much I know, but it's a start.  Unfortunately, it rained today.  Not a lot, but three rather heavy cloudburst-like showers which were enough to send the Vinodogs and me running for cover in the barn each time. Vinomaker had just sprayed the vines with sulphur on Wednesday morning, so this rain event was particularly badly timed.
I hope this vintage is not going to be like 2011: a vintage in which Mother Nature roundly reminded the Napa Valley's winegrowers, by way of delivering rainy weather through to the very end of June, just who is boss.  Natural crop control at it's finest?

Beginnings and ends.

This morning, after I had finished clearing up last night's tasting score-sheets, wine-sticky pencils, runaway corks and a seeming million grains of rice (that, inexplicably, the Vinodogs had not hoovered up) I, and the aforementioned canines, went for a walk.
Whilst enjoying our promenade I noticed that the nearby Far Niente Chardonnay vineyard is experiencing budbreak - the exact same timing as last year.  Far Niente's vineyard fans were running long before daybreak, but with the temps only getting down to 36 degrees F the little budettes were not in danger of frost damage.
I was going to go back and take a photograph of the Chardonnay vines this afternoon, but I noticed Vinoland's Syrah is well and truly on it's own way through budbreak, so I photographed one of my own little buddies instead.

Also today, I finished tying down all the Cabernet sauvignon canes. That means I am finished with pruning.  Whoo hoo!  I am sitting here with a glass of bubbly as I type.

Go grapes!

Progress report.

The Orange muscat vines are seemingly full of the joys of spring and are racing, bud first, towards their initial sulphur application of the 2012 growing season.  The vine's leaves don't look like they were damaged by the two most recent frosts in Napa.  However, frosts this time of year are an ongoing threat to winegrowers the length and breadth of the valley. Back on April 21st 2008, Napa experienced it's latest spring frost in 35 years, causing widespread losses to growers of white and red grape varieties.  Nobody wants to see a repeat of those particular climatic conditions.
I finished pruning the Syrah vines today...whoo hoo!  Like last year, the buds were already pushing which made tying the canes down a little difficult.  I still have to finish tying down the canes in the Cabernet sauvignon block and weather permitting I hope to be all finished by Sunday.  At least, that's the plan.

A helping hand.

I started to prune Vinoland's Syrah vines yesterday afternoon, but rain stopped play!  Today, when I finally made it out into the vineyard, after my weekly phone call to Blighty, I was joined in the Syrah by a Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor).  This beautiful butterfly fluttered from the vine on to my sleeve and then proceeded to get quite comfortable on my hand, then a vine, as I took his photograph.  Most likely docile because of the 31 degree temps this morning, he was quite content to rest on my thumb, in the sunshine, until I got bored and unceremoniously dumped him on a stray daffodil - a Vinogirl has to prune!

What wine goes with...No. 6.

...goulash?  This one is fairly easy:  I'm pairing a spicy beef goulash with a Napa Valley Syrah.

A gift from the grower of the very vines that make up this Syrah (crafted as a homage to the wines of the Northern Rhône), this bottle of Phoenix Ranch 2005 Syrah was a more than worthy contender for this particular food pairing.

Redolent with dark berry fruits and hints of dried herbs, the wine partnered successfully with the goulash as it complemented the dish's spicy-sweetness whilst adding an earthy element all of its own (beyond that of the paprika).  A surprisingly, racy acidity ensured the pairing remained lively until the last morsel of food, and drop of wine, had disappeared.

Good job Phoenix Phamily.