Fruit On the Ground

As exciting as it is to see clusters on the vine taking shape, giving me a glimpse of what this vintage has in store, it is even more exciting seeing how much fruit is sitting on the ground underneath those vines. If you are trying to find out who is farming purely for quality vs. the growers that are in it to maximize their yield just look on the ground underneath the vines.

Last night my good friend Julio Covarrubias, owner and vineyard Manager at Casa De Vinas was asked to speak at the First Annual "Petite Sirah Stars" event in the Livermore Valley. Who better to speak at this event than Julio, whose passion for growing premium Petite Sirah is no secret if you have spent more than 5 minutes talking to him.

Julio's integrity in the vineyard is unmatched, and his passion for seeing PS shine in Livemore is what inspired him to plant 1/2 of his 20 acre vineyard to it.

I was lucky enough to meet this man in 2009, right before we moved the winery to Livermore. I knew from the moment I set foot in the vineyard that this was something special. We took four tons in 2009, what we thought was maybe a little too much but figured we could blend off whatever we didn't want to bottle so we stuck with it. A little too much, we couldn't have been more wrong.

In 2010 we doubled our Petite order before the wine was in the bottle. I was confident the wine would be a hit having tasted many in the Valley and the rest of the wine world. This year NC is looking at producing 16 tons of Petite, about 1000 cases, all from Julio's vineyard.

The reason I work exclusively with Julio on Petite is simple, he has the best Petite Sirah in Livermore. There are other growers in Livermore who take their craft seriously and are pumping out some awesome fruit, but comparing these growers is like comparing a Chevy to a Ferrari. Yes, they both drive, but one is a little more exciting than the other.

The main reason why Julio's fruit performs so well is the amount of berries that never make it to the winery. The vineyard is farmed at a few different levels. At the production level, the rows situated on the furthest west end of the vineyard, about 50% of the fruit that vine produces are left on the ground. In the 5-Star lot, the highest level of farming at his vineyard, nearly 70-75% of the fruit ends up on the ground. Amazing. The clusters that stay on the vine produce tremendous concentrated black fruit characteristics that I have yet to find anywhere else.
The fruit is dropped in several passes throughout the growing season. The first pass, which took place yesterday, is all about opening up the canopy and making sure no cluster are tangled. Just after Véraison his crew goes by again for a second pass to remove anything that isn't 70% through. This assures that all the fruit that we take in will ripen properly and not produce an acid burn in the mid-palate and back end of the wine; the major gripe I have with some Petite's I have tasted.

On top of growing what I argue is the best Petite available ANYWHERE, the man is just awesome. Humble, respectful, honest and fair. He has really mentored me in the vineyard, and in life in general. I never thought one of my best friends would be a guy that is my dad's age. Julio has a way of putting a positive spin on just about anything. Just like his vineyard he is full of life and passion.

The pictures above were taken this morning. On the top right, you can see how much fruit is dropped on the first pass. All of these clusters came from a single vine above them. Below you can see a perfectly executed Vertial Shoot Position (VSP) canopy forming with all of the clusters free from each other.

What a Year

It feels pretty amazing looking back at what has happened so far this year. For the winery, for myself, my family and loved ones. What a ride its been! Just ask my dad, it seems like the only thing that breaks up the arguing back and forth is something great, a gold medal, a news article, a score on wine, or a tremendous compliment from someone we haven't seen in years. Yes, my father and I can bicker band and forth a little, but at the end of the day we manage to keep it cool when it matters. (At least we make it seem that way when you guys are in the tasting room, right?)

Wine competitions have been great for us this year. We swept every major competition we entered this year, and would have potentially medaled all of our wines at Best of the Bay had we remembered to actually drop the Viognier off that we entered. Accolades keep stacking, but there will always be a moment I will never forget from this year.

Before the night at Taste of Terroir at the Palm Event Center had come to an end I was already strategizing with a fellow industry member about what I can do next year. I had written this year off. We weren't going to win. Not a chance in hell. I thought the Malbec we were pouring wasn't showing well that night, and I was surrounded by some pretty fierce competition. "We should have poured the Reserve Petite and put a little more thought into our pairing," I was saying. I was already looking at next year. "Next year our Casa De Vinas Vineyard Designate Cabernet, or the Petite, or a blend that we put together. Why did we choose the $&#^ing Malbec?!?!"

This conversation was taking place as the awards were being given out. I will never forget when Courtney Cochran, certified Sommelier took the stage and started her speech. "Ok, lets get this over with," I was thinking. After speaking highly of the event, its participants, the food, the wine, she finally started hinting towards the potential winner, saying something to the effect that this pairing, although simple in nature, made both the wine and the food taste better together. "Nottingham Cellars and The Hideaway Lounge..." I don't even know what was said after that. I was truly blown away. I took the podium, tried to address the crowd but all that came out was a series of unrelated words. When I knew I couldn't possibly calm my nerves enough to speak like a real person, I just blurted out a huge "CHEERS!" to the audience, they got the point.

Winning this award was a little different than any other accolade I have received. It is more like winning a grammy, because at regular wine competitions there is no ceremony. There aren't people who bought tickets to come and enjoy. Wine competitions are purely industry people in a small room flying through flight after flight of wine giving scores and then sending the wineries an email with there awards, a couple weeks later some medals come in the mail. This was the most personal feeling of accomplishment in the Wine Industry since we got started, because we felt like we were a part of the event. It also really hit home for us because it was so close to home

Thanks to everyone who came and showed support, thanks to the judges, Courtney, Sara, and my dear friend Laura. A special thank you to my dad, Jeff. Even though we don't always agree we always get it done.

2011 NC Harvest Forecast

I can't tell you how excited I am for our third Harvest in the beautiful Livermore Valley (sixth harvest since the launch of Satyrs' Pond in Burlingame, and my personal 5th). Our first Livermore Valley wines came in 2007 when our former Winemaker and my mentor decided to produce some Del Arroyo Vineyard wines for the program. At the time we had no idea these wines would launch or Nottingham Cellars program and LV would become our focus.

Here we are today, three harvests later in our warehouse on Vasco producing wines that we feel (and a lot of you do, too) are amongst the best produced in our region. As I have told many of you, my personal quest is to find the best fruit sources and work with dedicated growers to help us craft the wines in our program. With a couple new vineyards partners and some clever ideas with existing growers, 2011 really feels like something special.

A few things to look for down the road -

What We Already Knew - As with the previous vintage, Casa De Vinas Cabernet Sauvignon will make up about 75% of our Cabernet Production (about 40% of our total production) to establish the base of both our entry level and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon's as well as Supremacy, Ralphi's Red Blend, and of course our Vineyard Designate Cabernet Series.

What We Can't Wait to Try - We are pleased to announce that we will be producing Smith Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. Smith Ranch is located at the corner of Arroyo Rd and Wetmore at the main entrance to the Wente golf course. The Clone 8 Cabernet Sauvignon we selected is from block 31420 situated at the top of the bench. Smith Ranch has been on my radar for the last two vintages and I look forward to working with this reputable fruit source.

MoRhone - Riding on the heals of a very successful 2010 harvest, especially with Rhone Varietals, my production plan is including double the tonnage of Marina Ranch Grenache (In my mind the most interesting wine I have created since I started) and Hayes Ranch Syrah. Both turned out to be fantastic wines with tons of flavor and true varietal character (The Syrah is a BEAST). We will also be working with Michael Princevalle's Mourvedre from the vineyard situated at the Ravenswood Historic Site. Look for Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre stand-alones, as well as a burly GSM blend from the '11 vintage.

The Outside World - If you can't beat em, join em! Just kidding, but seriously. I have decided to further our Chardonnay production and step outside of Livermore. I will continue to produce Livermore Valley Chardonnay (this year from Wisner Vineyard, which I am very excited about) but I will also be producing Chardonnay from the Wente-Made-Famous Riva Ranch in Arroyo Seco, Monterey County. The fruit is fantastic, Clone 2A Chardonnay (the Godfather of all California Chard clones) that should provide tremendous floral and tropical fruit flavors. It is exciting to work with passionate growers like the Wente Family who pioneered both Chardonnay as a varietal, and the Arroyo Seco appellation.

As Always - All lots of fruit that we bring in are broken down into Micro-lots with the intention of creating a very diverse group of blending components with tremendous complexities. This is achieved through several means including various press times, yeast trials, barrel program trials, lees stirring, the list goes on. My philosophy is to create several different blending components to create a very complex final blend. That goes with every lot of fruit that comes through our back door.

I hope that you are all as excited for this harvest as I am. Cheers to good wine, good family and friends, and health.

SALUTE!