Home | Wine Vintage | 1999
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1999 Harvest HighlightsApril 30 Leaving Alsace, incredibly inspired to produce complex, layered white wines from low-cropped vines that are exceptionally ripe. On route to Burgundy, then Paris. Vineyards budded out and look beautiful. May 1: Picture perfect day in Paris. Walk about 50 miles. Looking forward to harvest, great things in store. May 4: Arrive in Portland. Its raining. It'll stop soon. May 13: Do tour for 25 from Honolulu. All they talk about is how beautiful it is in Hawaii. I agree. It's raining. May 17: Lunch with Lalvin yeast researchers from France. They talk about the lovely weather in Burgundy. It's raining. The shoots are barely showing in the vineyards here. May 28: Finishing setup for Memorial day open house. For once it's not raining. Pray that the vines are growing. May 30: Customers at open house ask how the vineyards look. I answer that I'm sure they will look great whenever they start growing. June 20: Usually mid-bloom now. Ha. Ha. June 28: Talk with Doug from Brickhouse, he says bloom is just starting there. No sign in the other vineyards. It's usually 100-105 days from mid-bloom to harvest. In 1995 the rains started September 26th. Hmmm....that would be in 89 days. Panic begins to set in. I smile a lot when people ask how the grapes are. July 5: Al from Seven Springs Vineyard says that the vineyard is in mid-bloom. I thank him and begin to research making ice wine from Pinot noir. Thank God it's sunny. July 28: Dick Shea calls regarding the grapes at Shea Vineyard. Other winemakers are cutting the crop back to one ton per acre. Do I want to do the same? Let's see... that would make it about $5000 a ton for unripe grapes. I say no thanks and resume prayer. August 14: I visit Freedom Hill. Usually it's mid-veraison, when the grapes are half colored up. The only color in sight is Dan's blue T-shirt. We cut the crop back to 1.8-2.5 tons per acre. More prayers. August 17: We visit Shea Vineyard. Some portions are hanging as much as 6.2 tons per acre. We decide to cut off 4 tons per acre. I decide to build a grape conveyor that will allow water to drain off the clusters prior to going into the destemmer. Any hope of a dry harvest has been abandoned. No color in sight. Decide to fly to NYC mid-September to sell wine. Hope the sparkling grapes will wait until Sept. 17 when I return. September 7: Finally, color in most of the vineyards. Learn to weld stainless steel as I fabricate conveyor. Sunny September 17 Sparkling grapes are barely colored and taste like very sour peas. Decide to go sell wine in LA. No sign of rain. October 1: Preharvest bottling done. Conveyor and new bin dumper finished. Sparkling grapes still only 15.8 Brix. Beautiful sunny day. Nap on lawn. Never waited this late to pick. October 6: First day of harvest. Pick O'Connor Espiguette Pinot noir clones for Brut. Perfect fruit. Gorgeous weather. October 10: Pick first Pinot noir from Shea and Brickhouse. Perfectly ripe, no rot, no rain. Lots of sun! October 14: All Pinot noir is picked, except for Temperance Hill. None of the white grapes are ripe. Resume praying. October 20: Pick the long awaited Shea Pinot gris. Hope it's close to the exceptional 1998 picked at 23.6 Brix. The juice tests 25.1 Brix. I run around screaming. Karla smiles. October 21: Dijon clone Chardonnay harvested from Seven Springs. Tests out at 24 Brix, riper than the great '98. Finally pick the Temperance Hill Pinot noir. I have never seen fruit this ripe from Temperance Hill. I am speechless. I smile too. October 25: Begin pressing the Pinot noirs. Beautiful fruit, intense color, great balance. The impossible has happened. I don't have to make ice wine. November 3: Pick Tocai fruliano. First harvest ever in Oregon. Exotic aromas. Harvest is over. Latest year ever. Sun is still shining. Wow. Thanks, |
