News from the Vineyard
Harvest is in full swing on Blue Mountain! We allowed the fruit to ripen a little longer on the vine and we have benefited from the dryer and sunnier days we have had more recently. We are now able to harvest the fruit with much higher sugar levels at the time of picking. This means the quality of the fruit is much better and we will benefit from balance and good concentration of flavors.
The first grapes harvested were just under 5 tons of Pinot Grigio (pictured right) last week and almost 6 tons of Chardonnay was hand picked by the team this week. The remaining varietals to be harvested are the Merlot, Vidal Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Perhaps not necessarily in that order, but the lab tests will tell. We test the fruit several times to ensure we are picking it at the peak ripeness while also paying attention to the weather. We're harvesting as much as possible this week while we pray for no extreme weather and rain as a result of Hurricane Ian coming up the Atlantic coast.
We have experienced more difficult weather this year with extreme rain in the early part of the summer. This year's harvest will not beat 2021 in terms of quantity, but we are very optimistic about the quality of the harvest we are bringing in. Regardless, you have to play the hand you are dealt and we are doing our very best with our first harvest and working hand in hand with our winemaker, Tom Payette, with every step and lab result we take.
Today in the cellar, we are moving the 2021 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay from the barrels into a tank to get ready for bottling this winter. It has benefited from a full 12 months in oak and tastes fabulous. This frees up our oak barrels for the newly pressed 2022 Chardonnay that we are processing this week. The Pinot Grigio fermentation is underway in the tank and we are moving onto preparing to harvest and process the reds.
We look forward to seeing you soon in the tasting room or for the October food and wine pairing. The leaves are starting to show their fall colors and it's beautiful crisp Autumn weather on the mountain.
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