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Harvest

  • Vintage Report 2007
    An early bud break meant an early harvest; we were finished by mid-October. Sadly, it also meant several days of 80 degree weather, shoots four inches long, and then an Easter freeze which plunged the vineyard to 28 degrees. All the white wine was affected, to a tragic degree. There will be very little Viognier/Roussanne, little Riesling, and it may not even be worth bottling the Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend. Syrah was also heavily affected. The good news is the long dry ripening season was outstanding for Cabernet; small berries, high sugars. These wines will be reminiscent of Calistoga, higher in alcohol than our general practice.
  • Vintage Report 2006
    As this is written (January 2007), I've had the opportunity to both reflect on the vintage past and taste the wines as they have begun to develop. Going into harvest season, the vineyard was in excellent condition. Crop load and canopy management was on target. Weather deteriorated in mid-September and some of the harvest conditions were as difficult as I've ever experienced. October in particular was troublesome as cold temperatures and excessive rainfall limited maturities. Despite the above, white wines are turning out surprisingly well. Red wines, however, are questionable and many may end up as second label when released in 2008. So far we have had a mild winter and I look forward to a spring with little winter damage and overall good growing conditions in 2007.
  • Vintage Report 2005
    2005 in the vineyard was a vintage of extremes. Unlike 2004 where moisture, heat and humidity were well distributed, it seemed like the heat and humidity would never end. Rainfall came either not at all or in a deluge. Fortunately, harvest turned out mostly dry with only the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot caught by rain at the end of October. In the winery, most of the fruit came in low in acid and high in sugar. Adjustments were made and fermentations, though quirky, finished well. Overall, the wines show good promise, and for some, 2005 may prove to be the best vintage yet.

Photo Album

  • View from the farmhome

« December 2006 | Main | February 2007 »

DISS-connect

PART I. We finally received our Double Gold medal for the 2004 Cabernet Franc (AWS International Commercial Competition); we had been really curious what this would look like. Here it is: Doublegold_2

Those of you following our progress might remember that only 3 of these medals were awarded to over 1000 entries, and only 2 of these were for vinifera wine. Quite an achievement for our young winery!

PART II. You may also remember Mark Fisher's comments on my "Letter The Wine Spectator Wouldn't Publish." See http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/wine/entries/2006/09/20/the_letter_that.html

Well, I see the diss-ing continues. See the latest Wine Spectator, page 94. In addition to New York and Virginia, "Other states to watch include Texas, Michigan, Idaho and Missouri." Oddly some reviews of wines from these states were very very low... some in the 70s.

DISS-connect?

Nancy Bentley, Owner/Managing Partner,
Your friendly web-mistress

January 27, 2007 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

All Quiet on the Midwest Front

It's the quietest time of year. We were excited to get a nice review for the Cabernet Franc from blogger Lenn Thompson, New York wine writer for www.appellationamerica.com, click here to read.

Here is Ron's vineyard report for 2006:

"As this is written (January 2007), I've had the opportunity to both reflect on the vintage past and taste the wines as they have begun to develop. Going into harvest season, the vineyard was in excellent condition. Crop load and canopy management was on target. Weather deteriorated in mid-September and some of the harvest conditions were as difficult as I've ever experienced. October in particular was troublesome as cold temperatures and excessive rainfall limited maturities.

Despite the above, white wines are turning out surprisingly well. Some may rival the best we have ever released. Red wines, however, are questionable and many may end up as second label when released in 2008. So far we have had a mild winter and I look forward to a spring with little winter damage and overall good growing conditions in 2007."

Nancy's comment on "difficult" harvest conditions: How about torrential rain for the Sauvignon Blanc... and snow flurries for the Cabernet Sauvignon! It was raining so hard that I couldn't weigh and write the bin weights down, the list had to be kept in the cab of the truck.

Wthinktvleave_1 Luckily when the PBS film crew came out to film the Petit Verdot harvest and crush, conditions were sunny and perfect. In Cincinnati, this show will be broadcast January 28 at 6 p.m. on Channel 48, WCET. The show is called "Our Ohio" and also is broadcast around the state, check local listings.

We have friends whose Christmas letter detailed an exciting year of trips to Little Cayman, Paris, Pittsburgh, Iowa and South Carolina! Here is Ron's calendar for 2006:

January: Ron sleeps
February: Ron in the vineyard
March: Ron in the vineyard
April: Ron in the vineyard
May: Ron in the vineyard
June: Ron in the vineyard
July: Ron in the vineyard
August: Ron in the vineyard
September: Harvest: Ron in the vineyard
October: Harvest: Ron in the vineyard
November: Ron in the winery
December: Ron in the winery

Kind of like the Diary of a Cat, in which every day is the same: Ate, slept, played, slept!

January 16, 2007 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)