The lapse between posts is not because of lack of things to write about, but just too much going on to get it down on paper. Harvest is in full swing at the winery, bins line the floor at the winery, our barrel ferments are all complete, some going through Malo and lees stirring, others just aging. So far this harvest has been slow, but what we have in already really has me excited. Especially the white program.
This year we decided to branch out and produce Chardonnay and Viognier from the Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellation with an intention to find fruit with brighter acidity and some other cool climate flavors than we have been seeing with our Livermore wines. The result was better than we expected. The Viognier is showing a tremendously bright fruit base with loads of tropical fruit nuances. With a few months of lees stirring this wine should be bottle ready as soon as January. I am certainly seeing more potential in this Viognier than any other I have produced in the past.
The Chardonnay from Arroyo Seco is showing excellent as well. Aging primarily in neutral barrel, with a few new and once filled barrels, the flavors are awesome. We also produced a more buttery toasty style Chardonnay that we use more new oak and aim for a more California style. This year we sourced our Chardonnay from the Fraiser-Howard Vineyard on Buena Vista. This vineyard is making its debut in our program and flavors are great.
I finally feel like we have a grip on our white wine program. What we want to produce, how we want to produce it. As a general rule wines from Arroyo Seco will be more fruit driven, less new oak (if any). Our Livermore Valley Chardonnay, which feature predominantly new oak and a longer aging regimen, will essentially take the place of our current "Reserve" Chardonnay.
Check back soon for a more extensive harvest update with information about our Red Wines!
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