Harvest Update!

October 16, 2014

We are now just over halfway through October and believe it or not we are much more than halfway through harvest. In fact, Niels predicts we will be completely through with harvest before November 1st, which would be the first time in a long time and possibly the first time ever! It also looks like all of our grapes will be picked before we see any rain.

Today we are in the process of picking our Cobble Creek Zinfandel and the fruit is looking very good. At this point, almost all of our remaining fruit is ready to be picked but tank space at the winery needs to be made available before we bring in more grapes. When we experience these condensed harvest seasons it can be challenging for the winery to keep up with the incoming fruit. Now that it has cooled down we can use this time to make space and prep for the next round!

Some other exciting news you may have heard about is the addition of 11 new AVA’s (American Viticulture Area) under the Paso Robles AVA. This means the Paso Robles appellation can now be distinguished more clearly based on where grapes are grown, giving consumers more information and wineries a chance to showcase the different micro climates within the Paso Robles AVA. Before the subdivision, Paso Robles was the largest un-subdivided AVA in California at roughly 614,000 acres. At Castoro our vineyards fall under three of the new AVA’s including the Paso Robles Estrella District, Paso Robles Willow Creek District and the Templeton Gap District. To learn more about the new AVA’s click HERE.

Last but not least, don’t forget we have Harvest Festival this coming weekend October 17-19 with live music, barrel tasting, food and much more! It all kicks off on Friday night with a concert by local favorites the Damon Castillo Band and on Sunday morning we will wind down the weekend with Yoga in the Vines and Organic Brunch at 9am. For more details on the upcoming Harvest weekend click HERE.

Cheers,

Luke