Harvest!

Here’s “The Rest of The Story” many of you have requested...

Joullian Estate Harvest started Tuesday, September16th, versus the 12th....grapes are a little ahead of last year...we wanted Sauvignon Blanc a little riper, hence 4 extra day delay. Semillon will come in late next week, and we will probably harvest Primitivo as this year’s Harvest Party “Stompers vs Crushers” varietal on Oct. 4th. Zinfandel, and Zin blend varietals (Aleatico, Grenache, Petite Sirah, etc.) , Syrah and Merlot all are about average to above average crop, and at least 7-10 days ahead of last year. Cabernet Franc is down a little due to frost on April 24th, and Cabernet off nearly 50% for the same reason. We hope harvest finishes in early Nov this year...feels like an Early Fall... the Poison Oak on the hillsides has been red for over a month, and the tarantulas are starting to come out of their nests (old timers say rain’s just 2 weeks away when tarantulas start movin’).

Our Chardonnay from Santa Lucia Highlands and Arroyo Seco will start Friday, September 19th, and continue into Mid-October. The crop is down about 10-20%, but the quality and sugar/acid balance looks very good... just give us the Woodstock Cheer”NO RAIN, NO RAIN, NO RAIN” for about another 60 days and this will be a top vintage !!

Note the lack of any leaves, rot etc in the pictures of the merlot in bins!!! We spend a lot of time and $$ sorting out M.O.G. (Material Other than Grape) so the grapes look like supermarket quality... this is one of the most important facets of top-flight winemaking. Even winery sorting cannot compare to removing M.O.G. as each lug is dumped....we pay one to two people with an eye for perfection to do this on each tractor, as well as the driver. And we don’t have to “fix” problem wines in the winery due to problem grapes... fixed wines are rarely ever great wines, period. Keep buying, drinking and selling as much wine as possible...your confidence , enjoyment and support is what makes this all worthwhile.

Salud!!

Ridge Watson