Game Face
Our leisurely harvest pace has come to an end with the forecast of rain. Today begins a stretch of bringing in as much fruit as logistically possible.
Read MoreFingers Crossed
This time of year the first thing I do in the morning in check the weather forecast. Its the last thing I do before going to bed. I also check it during the day, at lunch and in the evening.
Read MoreRed Wine Fermentation
Yesterday was one of the easiest “big” days we’ve experienced. I’m always a bit apprehensive when day one involves large quantities, but all the equipment worked well. More importantly, the grapes were in excellent shape, so very little sorting was needed.
Read MoreIntuitive Winemaking
Today in the first day of red crush. Many hours will be spent on the sorting tables pulling out stem jacks and pink berries. The Merlots are very ripe. I feel confident that we picked at the right time.
Read MoreLessons Learned From 2010
Merlot harvest starts today. It seems that the weather will be good next week, so we are only picking the riper blocks this week.
Read MoreRipening Synchronicity
Today we crush red grapes for Rosé. We weren’t able to finish picking all the ‘corners’, so in between press loads some of us will head out to finish picking.
Read MoreForecast
Today is a big harvest day of red grapes for Rosé. We were hoping to get started yesterday, but the rain didn’t end until noon. The vines and clusters didn’t dry until mid afternoon.
Read MoreRosé
We are picking red grapes for rosé today and tomorrow. Today is rain delayed. This is the first rain since harvest started. I’m hoping that we get less than an inch and things dry out quickly.
Read MoreLast Harvest for My Nemesis Block
Tomorrow we pick red grapes for Rosé. More on that later. Included in this picking will be a vineyard block that has been my nemesis since 1988 when it was planted.
Read MoreDecisions
Today we crush and press the old vine Hardscrabble Chardonnay. This is the fifth vintage in a row for an exceptional Chardonnay harvest. Maybe exceptional has become the norm?
Read MoreTannins
Yesterday was shift day. The shift was a mental one where obsession with acids was replaced with obsession of tannins: the transition from whites to reds. Today we are picking the last of Hardscrabble Chardonnay.
Read MoreHardscrabble Chardonnay
When to pick is by far the most important of all winemaking decisions. A large part of this process is about reading the vintage. Our goal is to make wines that express terroir and vintage.
Read MoreGrape Palate
This week continues another methodical harvest/crush sequence. Pick Monday, chill grapes over night, crush Tuesday. Repeat.
Read MoreHedging Bets
This weekend we crushed and pressed more small lots of Avenius Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay along with Boisseau Viognier. Our strategy of “micro picking” parts of blocks based on soil, vine age and ripeness seems to be working.
Read MoreBear Strategies
When I first planted Hardscrabble Vineyard in 1985 our biggest problem was deer predation to the young tender shoots and then eventually to the clusters.
Read MoreCompressed Harvest
It is becoming evident that 2016 will be a compressed harvest. Typically we start in early September with Sauvignon Blanc and end in mid to even late October with Cabernet and Petit Verdot.
Read MoreGood Routine and a Good Team
Thursday was a very good, productive crush day. We worked out the kinks on Tuesday which was the first day of crush (a few small lots), so our first big day was wonderfully uneventful
Read MoreBig, Hot Pick
Wednesday, September 7 marked the beginning of what looks like a very intense, productive couple of weeks of harvest and crush. The result of this hot, dry weather, most of the whites are ripening simultaneously.
Read MoreVintage 2016 off and running
Linden’s 2016 harvest started on September 5. We picked Boisseau Viognier, but only the vines on the top of the hill, as the lower vines were behind in ripening.
Read More2014’s spring tease is more pronounced than usual. Temperature swings from the 80º’s down to the 20º’s aggravate humans more than our vines. The season had a very late start.
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