Harvest 2015 Update!
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It’s that time of year again and by that time of year I mean Harvest! As farmers we live for this season and all the ups and downs that come along with it. As you know, California has been in a historical multi-year drought and we are definitely feeling the consequences. We have been blessed over the years with many great harvest seasons and definitely some challenging ones as well. This harvest in particular is ranking up there as one of the most challenging seasons we’ve seen. Drought, coupled with irregular weather patterns, including a July thunderstorm that brought 3 inches of rain, have put many of our vines to the test.
What we are seeing, across the board, are very small yields and very small berries with concentrated flavors. One thing we are noticing is that our younger, newly producing vines, are handling the drought conditions better than our older vines which seem to be really struggling in these conditions. Another factor we are dealing with at the moment are high sugars and a low PH or high acid. The intense heat we have experienced in the past week has led to spikes in sugar level and typically when we hit these sugar levels we also start to see lower acid, which is not the case this year in many vineyard blocks. Being at the whims of Mother Nature is just part of the game and rest assured we are making the most of it and this ain’t our first rodeo!
On a positive note, our Whale Rock Grenache and most of our Zinfandel/Primitivo is looking pretty good, especially in comparison to everything else. Cabernet, however, is looking to be pretty light and our Sauvignon Blanc is about 50% of our average yield. Before you jump to conclusions and write off the 2015 vintage, remember, what we are getting is looking very good and has concentrated flavor and intensity. Despite production being low this year, the wines we do make should be very good and memorable!
Stay tuned for more harvest updates and hopefully we’ll see you soon!
Cheers,
Luke
