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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

« September 2007 | Main | November 2007 »

Ron's World. The Brutality of Punchdowns

How would you like to get up at 3 a.m. in the morning, drive 3 miles to the winery to punchdown, for more than two weeks. That's Ron's world. Punchdowns at 9 a.m./3 p.m./9 p.m. and 3 a.m. It's brutal but necessary.

Here's a 3 p.m. punchdown, filmed by three engineers from GE who visited today; they had some very good questions.

   

I'm still waiting to see if Ron can make it to New York for our prize for being a finalist in the Wine Spectator video contest: two tickets to the Grand Tasting at the New York Wine Experience, Wine Spectator. If he can't make it, I'm hanging out with Amy! Her video, about Hocus Pocus, their friends,  and their syrah, won the grand prize!

The weather is glorious. It's as good as it gets in Ohio. The trees are turning color, and it looks like a Vermont fall. Puffy clouds, warm days, cool nights.

 


Your friendly wine blogger
Nancy Bentley, Owner/Managing Partner, Kinkead Ridge

October 20, 2007 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The Picking Spreadsheet... and Stem Mayhem

PickinglistYesterday we picked over 8,000 pounds of Cabernet Sauvignon. Many techniques are used to pay the pickers; in Oregon each picker takes off his or her hat, and a "ticket" gets punched, one per bucket. We pay by the pound, so each bin is weighed by me and recorded. Here's what the picking sheet looks like. The blue stains are Cabernet Sauvignon juice!

After the pick, the fruit was crushed. Here's Ron imitating Lucy Ricardo in the stomping department...  this video shows the tedious process of hand-picking stems from the fruit, and what happens to the stems.

   

Your friendly blogging queen
Nancy Bentley
Owner/Managing Partner


October 13, 2007 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The "Bin of Shame" becomes the "Joy of Jelly"... and Cabernet Franc comes in at 25.6 Brix

Jelly3_4 Readers of this blog know about the "bin of shame"; the 40 pounds of Cabernet Sauvignon that was mistakenly picked with the Cabernet Franc. Happily, this came into my possession, and today I made Cabernet Sauvignon jelly, and it is awesome! The worst part was de-stemming the fruit by hand. Jelly1_4 Here we are bubbling away, and the final product. Jelly2_3 These jars are given away at holiday time, and if you happen to come in the winery and it's your birthday or anniversary, you get one too! (while they last).



2007 CABERNET FRANC comes in at 25.6 Brix!

Although we don't like high alcohol wines, we have to work with what Mother Nature gives us. Ron mentioned similarities to a Calistoga vintage. Still to pick... Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.

Your friendly web mistress and blogging queen,
Nancy Bentley

October 07, 2007 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Kinkead Ridge and Harmony Hill Square Dance For You!

This JibJab site is waaayyyy cool!

October 04, 2007 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A Magical Twilight

 A charming surprise! Tonight a hot air balloon flew right over the vineyard! They dropped down as I waved to holler: "What road is this!" Here's a picture, and the reaction of Marshmallow the vineyard cat!
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October 02, 2007 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The "Bin of Shame"

What exactly is the "Bin of Shame"?Binofshame_2 It's a $180 mistake! Yesterday, during the Cabernet Franc pick, one of the pickers drifted into a row of unripe Cabernet Sauvignon, despite the note clothes-pinned to the end of the row that said "Do Not Pick". So about 40 pounds of grapes (that might be about 10 bottles of wine at $18 apiece) will now be made by me into Cabernet Sauvignon jelly! Ron was not pleased, but I'm sure the jelly will be delicious. The Cabernet Sauvignon is about one-and-a-half weeks away from harvest.

We had the pleasure of photographers on the hill both Monday and Tuesday of this week; John Johnstone, a professional photographer from Dayton was here at the crack of dawn for the sunrise shot and pictures of the Franc harvest. You can see the photos on John's website, click on Index and then Wine Harvest. The second shoot was for the Cincinnati Enquirer, a story about the fifth anniversary of the winery. Highlight of the Enquirer's lunch was the famous "Marshmallow Coke" at Rockin' Robins Soda Shop, a Ripley tradition since the 1960s.

The Cabernet Franc fruit is gorgeous. 5852 pounds, around 200 bins.Grapes1

Michael of the Enquirer took digital photos of the Cabernet Franc crush. My latest mini-movie is a 360 degree circle around the stemmer/crusher.

   

October 02, 2007 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)