Pounding Rains

Good for the Garden, Not the Grapevine

The rains have returned to Sonoma County and they just won't stop. To the chagrin of farmers the meteorologists forecasted the rains dying off today to drying rays of sunlight. Unfortunately for vinters and vignerons alike the downpours continued this morning, increasing the chance of rot and plump, watered down fruit.

With only two vineyards left with Chardonnay, we braved the mists and sporadic cloudbursts this morning to salvage the what we could. The big question was whether or not we could use the Kubota Pak-fork in the vineyard with out sinking it along the way.

By 6:30 I was on the highway, a set of eight macro bins behind the cab and the Kubota on a tilt trailer, slightly swaying back and forth on a 2 and 5/8's ball-hitch. Roughly an hour later the crew showed up to lift up bird netting begin severing the umbilical chords.

The cyclical life cycle of vine to wine has begun again. Fruit to custom crush facility. Conveyor belt to shaking table and sorting line. Grapes crushed and destemed, destemed only or neither of the two before being sent to the press. Pressed juice flows to stainless fermenters or barrels for a cold soak and stabilisation period. After 24-48 hours must is innoculated with a cultured yeast strain and fermentation begins. For the next two to three weeks must ferments to wine with yeast nutrient, di-amonium phosphate and other additives entered into the mix. Following fermentation some whites continue in stainless while others, like Chardonnay (although not all, no generalizations please!), are sent to barrel which will be followed by malo-lactic fermenation. Four to five months later your wine could be bottled and be ready to shipped out to your local package store.

For a number of reasons, demand, back supply, ageing, etc, etc., you are more than likely not to see a new white vintage for upwards of a year after it is produced. After all, who wants to release a new vintage before they have completely sold out of last year's stock.

Arriving at the cellar, the receiving winemaker "apologized" for forcing us to pick his vintage in the rain. The idea that we actually worked in the rain was a joke. If this man wanted to see people harvesting in the rain he might want to take a trip to Burgundy, Marlborough or even Western New York. My first vintage it rained for two weeks straight and yes I was the guy in the vineyard harvesting the grapes by hand.

Oh, California! You've got it so rough!