Taking a Breath! Harvest is not Over Yet,,,,,,,,

Going non stop since August 8 and there are still more grapes to go! All of the 'sparkling' grapes are in as well as most of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Some of that still trickling in. Now waiting for the rest of the reds, like Cabernet, to come in. It has been an odd harvest- there is always a little lull in between the rush of the early grapes transitioning to the later reds- this year has been a big break!

Last week was the third harvesting of the Tres Palmeras vineyard- it is great to bring in the fruit that you have labored over the past year. The crop was very light due to the drought, but the flavors are incredible. It is fermenting away and will be pressed in about four days from now. Barrels are ready- time to start thinking about what will be ready to bottle.......

The break in the action allowed me to show my wines at the Monterey Wine Festival . I was able to share a table with friend and fellow Winemaker Gabriella Gazzano with Rielle wines which allowed me a few moments to view the incredible seahorse exhibit within the Monterey Aquarium . What a moving exhibit! I could have easily spent hours watching these creatures. The Wine Fest was a good one this year having moved the second day to the Hyatt- much nicer and more comfortable venue than the Fairgrounds. It was great to see some of you out there!

The grapes are calling- the 'second' round of grapes is que'ing up rapidly- about 120 tons today!

The Mustang Winemaker, Penny

The Fast and the Furious Harvest

I am totally immersed in harvest - the grapes keep a comin' and I keep a pressin'. The past month of harvest has been primarily grapes for Sparkling wine and we are just beginning to see some of the 'Still' wine grapes, like Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc start to trickle in. For those of us that make bubbly, harvest starts about one month ahead of those that do more of the still. Since the winery I work with does both, it makes for a very long harvest- about 2 1/2 to three months.

Speaking of Sparkling wine, my dayjob with Rack and Riddle has partnered up with CrushPad to make bubbly- whoohooo! When they were here with their first load of grapes they did a video interview with me about the process - CrushPad Sparkling
This was a fun day with them and am looking forward to working with them on this project.

So far the grapes are looking pretty good. Yields are down from what was anticipated due to the weather patterns of the year. Clusters are undersized or have shot berries for some varietals, but quality is good. It is always interesting to me to see how the weather patterns effect the vineyards- rain or heat at critical times of growth can have major effects on the grapes- specifically at budbreak and bloom. Since not all grapes set bud or bloom at the same time, every varietal is effected differently, sometimes escaping what has effected another varietal. Last year was a good example of this- some vineyards wiped out, others not effected-an extreme example.

I have promised videos of harvest - still working on that. Today I have a bit of a lull between grapes, yeast inoculations, barrels, pumpovers, rackings, and the endless paperwork.........

Cheers, the Mustang Winemaker, Penny

Let the Harvest Begin!

Pinot Noir for Sparkling wine started coming in last week- yippeee! The smells of the grapes and the juice from the press is magical- I really don't know how to explain it. What I have seen so far are very small berries and a fair amount of shatter. This is when the blooms to do not create berries, creating a cluster that does not have all of its grapes. I will talk more about shatter later with pictures. It is early yet to see what all varieties will bring us as far as crop load.

Yesterday the bird netting went up in the Tres Palmeras vineyard. The birds are starting to come in droves and without some protection on the vineyard they can take a substantial amount of fruit. I don't mind sharing the fruit, but the birds don't take the berries, they tend to pierce them. The juice of the berries then get bacteria and mold and create a problem to the whole cluster.

I do want to 'document' this harvest and have my phone set up to be able to blog and send pics-wish me luck with my tech skills on this one.

Before I sign off, Today at 6pm, tune into KSAV radio (http://www.ksav.org/) for Wine in Real Time- The Mustang Winemaker will be talking about Coral Mustang and my dayjob with Rack and Riddle Custom Wine Services, and the new tasting room in Healdsburg. I hope you will tune in.
Cheers to a new harvest,
The Mustang Winemaker