2011 Harvest, Chugging Along
In my last blog I wrote about the impact of climate and weather on the harvest and how this year we are experiencing a year of low yields and exceptional quality. This continues to be the case and as of late we have been blessed with amazing ripening weather! Warm dry days with little to no wind is the kind of weather that will get our reds off the vine before we run into more trouble! Earlier this week it was 102 degrees in San Luis Obispo, just one degree shy of their record! Yikes!
As of now pretty much all of our whites have been picked and although the yields have been way down, the quality is very high and that is really the most important thing. This week we have been picking Zinfandel from our Dos Viñas vineyard, which is a 30-year-old vineyard and the first Zin we have picked in 2011. If all goes to plan, the rest of our Zin will be next followed by Merlot and finally our Cabernet. Our Whale Rock Pinot has also come in and is looking to be a real gem. This is only the second year we have harvested Pinot from our Whale Rock vineyard in Templeton, which means we have not yet released the first vintage but when we do, be on the lookout because this is a great wine!
In other exciting news, the Harvest Festival is right around the corner, taking place October 21st-23rd. Friday night we are having a “Barefoot Barrels Bash” with dinner provided by Thomas Hill Organics and music by the Barflyz. Tickets are on sale now so don’t miss out! All weekend long there will be live music, grape stomping, barrel tasting and of course plenty of Dam Fine Wine! Please check out the events page on our website for more details on this fabulous weekend. http://www.castorocellars.com/events.php
Cheers,
Luke
