The Countdown to Harvest is Beginning!

Vacation is over and the pursuit of being prepared for harvest has begun. At Rack and Riddle, sparkling grapes are anticipated to begin coming in the week of the 16th. BUT- it has been unusually cool, no-cold here. At present my weather station(Asti - Tres Palmeras Vineyard Weather) is showing 48F, yesterday it was 52F. The highs have been in the 60-70's, a few 80's- even Southern California is reporting lower than average and lots of coastal fog. So what does that mean? There are some vineyards in higher elevations or coastal that may not ripen this year. And in general most vineyards are going to be late to start along the coastal regions. The central valley areas and foothills are reporting being more on average as they have not had the fog influence- crazy year!

So prep for harvest has begun, cleaning crush equipment, grapes bins, making sure everything runs- it definitely gets my blood running with excitement - the beginning is drawing near......

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

Veraison is here!!!!

Last week veraison started in ernest at Tres Pameras Vineyard- can't believe another harvest is truly right around the corner! Now is the time to get as ready as possible for the onslaught of grapes, which means time for a vacation. I am on my way to Portland as I write this-my sister is celebrating the half century mark and I want to be there. The grapes will do as they wish whether I am there or not. The pic on the right is a quick pick I took before I left of the new tasting room- which is doing well thanks to all of you out there- Thank you!

During this trip I will be cooking, eating and drinking my way up the coastline of Oregon- which is absolutely spectacular! Inland the temps are in the 100's, so I am staying as close to the coast as possible until I have to land in Portland Thursday night.

Sunday night was a panned seared rib steak, steamed artichokes, nad an incredible bottle of Topel 2005 Mendocino Cabernet- it was a match made in heaven for my first night on the road.

Last night (Monday) was freshly caught rock fish that I sauteed with fresh heirloom tomatoes, green beans, garlic, thyme, and of coarse butter. Yes, I know I should be using olive oil, but vacation, I hiking, walking the dog more, watching sunsets on the beach.......the wine was a Longboard Sauvignon Blanc- wow, was it yummy! Big tropical notes, no grassy- just the way I like Sauv Blanc.

Tonight is steamers - steamed in a Widmer pale ale and garlic, some fresh sourdough. Haven't decided the wine yet- may have to break out another Sauv Blanc..........

Well, back to the beach- before the craziness begins!
The Mustang Winemaker, Penny

TAPAS at Fort Mason

I am just now recovering from the best TAPAS event ever! I also want to acknowledge the great volunteer team, many whom are bloggers and wine lovers themselves- THANK YOU! A friend and fellow Tempranillo grower shot these pics of the event:
TAPAS San Francisco

The tasting room in Healdsburg has been open for 2.5 weeks, not that I am counting......It has interesting watching the ebb and flow of traffic to the tasting room. Days that you would think would be busy are not, and vise versa. I have been told there is no rhyme or reason and I am starting to believe it. It is so great to be able to share my wines daily rather than at random events.

The summer is trying to get going and we have just crossed over the solstice- days will be getting shorter. So far this has been unusually cool this season. I have a consultant friend who is usually firm about a harvest date, even this early- he has changed the date and now has said he just doesn't know. Not that we ever really know, but this is a man that has been winemaking for 40 years and is rarely baffled.

Well, I hear the wines and vines calling my name- hope to see some of you in the tasting room- 118 North St., Healdsburg, CA- The Mustang Winemaker, Penelope

Two More Inches of Rain=Happy Grapevines

We have had a nice bit of rain here in Sonoma County-actually saw the Russian River rise and it was muddy. Even with the rainfall, here in Cloverdale we are on water rationing and making decisions on the water regimen for the vineyards as well as ourselves-very short showers these days! Check out my weather station data for rainfall udpates- Palomino Lakes/Tres Palmeras Vineyard

Aside from the weather I attended a great event at the Sonoma Mission Inn supporting the YWCA -what a great event-Women, Wine, and Cheese benifits the YWCA women's shelter and features women winemakers and cheesemakers. An auction lot of wines made by the winemakers there landed $4,000 - not bad!

There is another Benefit coming up May 16 - Cigar BQ -always a great event whether you are into cigars or not- great wines, great foods, and it all goes to charity- what a great mix!

Not much to report on the wines- they have all finished with their '2nd' or malolactic fermentation and are resting peacefully in barrels.

Pending licensing, the tasting room is a go! I and 4 other wineries have joined together to have a tasting room in Healdsburg- Yippeee! The room is across from the Raven theatre - 118 North St.
Will be having a Grand Opening the first part of June- but will be open for some limited tasting beginning this weekend.

Well, the cellar is calling-
Cheers from the Mustang Winemaker

Yippeeee It's Raining - Time for Bottling

The rain has arrived - the lifeblood of the earth and the vineyards! My raingauge at Tres Palmeras has clocked in over 5 inches since my last post. Still not all we would like to see, but certainly way better than where we were seeing ourselves. Still going to put that bucket in the shower, just need to find something to put it into from there.

With the rain comes indoor sports. In the winery that sport is bottling. See Bottling pics. Before bottling there can be many chores-coming out of barrels, possible filtering, lab analysis-alcohol is very important to the government! Then there is the FDA, USDA......that is why some of us turn into chemistry geeks, but we really want to be artists.........

Speaking of filtering- this is something I do try to avoid. Sometimes that means a little sediment in the bottle, but it is worth it knowing that I have good fruit, have minimized my impact on that fruit and since I make red wine which allows me that latitude.

It is not wrong to filter, in fact many times it is the smart thing to do- for white and Rose' wines, generally it cannot be avoided. Those wines are not 'stable' as we refer to them in the winery. That means that sometimes they have a little sugar or malic left in them and microbes. Those things left alone without filtering are looking for a party- fermenting and bubbling- and usually stinky and nasty in a closed bottle. Supposedly that was how champagne originally came about, but these days, a little more control is a good thing.

Well, the barrels are calling- the Mustang Winemaker