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!!

Our 2009 Harvest

Last weekend we harvested almost all the grapes from the Canelo Hills vineyard. After a few nervous days worrying about the damage from a bad hail storm, we were relieved to discover that nature smiled on us this year. The hail damage was minimal, and a few days of hot, dry weather made the grapes ready for picking before bees or ravens or coyotes could get to them.

The crop looks great. The Syrah, Zinfandel and Tempranillo that we picked are going to make some fantastic Estate wines. Be looking out for them in fall 2010.

I shouldn't say "we" picked--by the time my mother and I arrived to open the tasting room and take turns picking, the harvest was within minutes of completion! Our friend Ken drove down from Tucson and was a huge help.

Now only the Cabernet Sauvignon, which needs another couple weeks of ripening, awaits harvest. My dog Charlie and I inspected the clusters of nice little grapes, and they look great.

It's a happy time when the grapes are in and the wines bubbling away. Too bad we have to be patient and wait a whole year to enjoy the awesome 2009 Sonoita AVA vintage...

Grapelings

So much is happening in the vineyard this time of year. As a farmer it’s a challenge to keep up with the plants. Thankfully Joan does an amazing job and manages to deliver incredibly luscious grapes for our Estate Wines. (Did you know that according to the Federal Government a wine can only be called an Estate Wine if it is totally the product of the owners’ vineyard and winery and only if the property is located in an American Viticultural Area? For us that is the Sonoita AVA, the only AVA in Arizona). So busy farmers we are. But the grape vines just keep chugging along, single minded in their pursuit to make a biological impact on this earth. These young Tempranillo grapes are gorgeous and will make a dynamite 2008 vintage wine when they grow up.