Bubble, bubble . . .

For me there are a couple of favorite things during harvest. Whacking my shins against equipment is not at the top of the list of items, but these two photos capture one of them. Somewhere around day 2-5 of the primary ferment, the multiplication of the yeast cells really takes off and those little critters voraciously eat up the grape sugar - an activity that eventually leads to their fatal encounter with ever increasing amounts of ethanol. The yeasties are really happy during this exponential growth period and punching down the "cap" (the mass of skins, intact grapes and some seeds that congeal and float to the top) results in a huge mass of purple foam. As the foam bubbles burst the most incredible smell of young wine and fresh grapes emerges. This is day three of the 2009 Estate Tempranillo. Intoxicating!!

Cruelty

Mother Nature is a harsh mistress. With grand plans, eager and generous volunteers converging on the vineyard, equipment cleaned and ready to go, Joan and I fretted over the rain. She smelled the rain throughout the night. I just slept. At 5:30am I tried to persuade her that the break in the storm meant we could go ahead with harvest. She was more realistic. No Cabernet Sauvignon yet. Hopefully the weather will turn dry as will the soil and the fruit and we can get in our maiden C.S. harvest later this week. There's much to wine grape farming and life over which one has no control. Thanks to Therese, Sage, Heidi, Dave, Karla and Nichole.

Blog Quiz: What happened here?

This one is a little complicated, but if you can describe how these interesting shapes were created, and you're the first person to comment with the correct answer, you'll win a free tasting for your next visit to Canelo Hills. Happy puzzling!

2009 Sangiovese Harvest

One Saturday ago I picked up the 2009 Sanigovese from Peter and Judy Lecthenbohmer. They farm a small but very prolific and well tended vineyard just south of Willcox, AZ, in the winegrape farming region called Kansas Settlement. The 2007 grapes resulted in the wine that garnered a silver medal in the 2009 National Women’s Wine Competition. This past Saturday, one week later, the fermented 2009 grapes were pressed and the new wine is now settling in a big stainless steel tank, waiting transfer to oak barrels for aging and maturing. In about one year the wine will be ready for release. I love the sights, smells and tastes of handling wine at this stage and the pressed, dried out grape skins are deliciously chewy and pungent.

Harvest 2009 Begins

Harvest is always a mixture of excitement and pure exhaustion. Grapes wait for no man and the best wine is made with the freshest fruit so when the grapes are ready I need to drop everything and get them started on their journey to wine. Three weeks ago I picked up some Sauvignon Blanc from Chris at Rancho Rossa down the street and last week it was Syrah and Zinfandel from Peter in Willcox. The fruit is absolutely lovely this year and I predict 2009 will be a spectacular vintage for Arizona Wines.