Vineyard Diary

 

We want to thank our clients for a successful conclusion to the unique 2010 growing season.  The grapes eventually all ripened, and we were able to find homes for all but a few specimens which got taken out by the fall rains.  We enjoyed seeing a lot of familiar faces again as well as meeting some new people:  in 2010, we provided grapes for a total of 3 commercial wineries and 8 home winemakers.  We sincerely hope that we’ve provided the raw material for some stellar wines that will show well in competitions and, more importantly, in the glass.  A special thanks to those who brought us samples of your past efforts with Shaker Ridge grapes:  we always enjoy these, and have been blown away by some very impressive wines. 

As usual, we will take the down time afforded by the off-season to recuperate from the season’s toils as well as re-think our operations and see what might do differently or better.  We tentatively plan to post 2011 pricing and begin taking orders for next season in January, 2011.

Grape Chemistry

 

Varietal Date Sugar (Brix) pH Total Acidity (%)
Primitivo 9-03-10 20.8 3.13 1.48
  9-10-10 21.8 3.27 1.20
  9-17-10 24.0 3.37 1.00
  9-23-10 (#1) 24.6 3.50 0.90
  9-23-10 (#2) 25.0 3.45 0.98
  9-23-10 (mean) 24.8 3.48 0.94
  9-30-10 27.8 3.70 0.89
  10-14-10 (late) 28.4 3.70 0.74
         
Barbera (Block 4) 9-10-10 23.5 3.04 1.62
  9-17-10 25.6 3.14 1.60
  9-24-10 25.6 3.16 1.48
  9-30-10 27.6 3.26 1.38
  10-07-10 27.4 3.31 1.05
         
Barbera (Block 2M) 10-03-10 25.5 3.15 1.25
         
Barbera (Block 1/2) 10-03-10 27.5 3.09 1.21
         
Barbera (Block 1/2/M) 10-07-10 26.0 3.16 1.16
  10-14-10 27.5 3.18 1.17
         
Barbera (Block 1/3) 10-29-10 26.9 3.20 1.07
         
Tempranillo (Quinta) 9-03-10 21.2 3.37 0.76
  9-10-10 21.4 3.46 0.58
  9-17-10 22.6 3.48 0.59
  9-24-10 23.0 3.59 0.55
  9-30-10 24.8 3.64 0.50
  10-2-10 (crush) 24.4 3.71 0.44
         
Touriga Nacional (Quinta) 9-10-10 21.3 3.17 0.88
  9-17-10 23.2 3.25 0.87
  9-24-10 24.2 3.32 0.71
  9-30-10 27.5 3.43 0.79
  10-10-10 (crush) 26.0 3.40 0.64
         
Touriga 9-30-10 22.9 3.38 0.95
  10-13-10 23.2 3.44 0.68
         
Tinto Cao 10-14-10 28.0 3.64 0.66
         

Vineyard Diary

 

The harvest season is winding down, though some very good (and ripe) fruit remains hanging.  The days are getting progressively shorter, and some rain is in the forecast, so the long-awaited “off season” period of rest can’t be far off.

Still available for dry style wines are barbera and touriga.  The barbera is pickable now, but with green plants and some sunshine still in the forecast, may also benefit from additional hangtime to lower the acidity.  The fruit is at a about 27 brix now, so not as high as this one has can get in this area and in our experience.  The touriga is also pickable but appears to need a little more hang time to get the brix up; it’s currently at a little over 23 brix.

On the late harvest (dessert wine) side, there are some excellent possibilities.  Tinto cao, a thick-skinned classical port grape, has attained a degree of ripeness that we have never seen previously in our vineyard; it’s at 28 brix, and with respectable acid.  Visually, the small tinto cao berries (which come in loose clusters) seem to have achieved high sugar levels with a minimum of dehydration.  The touriga nacional, a mainstay of traditional port-style wines, has 26 plus brix and is fully ripe, though with some raisining.  It is past optimal time for a dry wine, and should be picked soon for best results on the dessert wine side.  Finally, some delicious primitivo fruit remains a possibility for late harvest wines; the fruit is in very good shape and is sporting sugars in the 28+ brix range.

Grape Chemistry

 

Varietal Date Sugar (Brix) pH Total Acidity (%)
Primitivo 9-03-10 20.8 3.13 1.48
  9-10-10 21.8 3.27 1.20
  9-17-10 24.0 3.37 1.00
  9-23-10 (#1) 24.6 3.50 0.90
  9-23-10 (#2) 25.0 3.45 0.98
  9-23-10 (mean) 24.8 3.48 0.94
  9-30-10 27.8 3.70 0.89
  10-14-10 (late) 28.4 3.70 0.74
         
Barbera (Block 4) 9-10-10 23.5 3.04 1.62
  9-17-10 25.6 3.14 1.60
  9-24-10 25.6 3.16 1.48
  9-30-10 27.6 3.26 1.38
  10-07-10 27.4 3.31 1.05
         
Barbera (Block 2M) 10-03-10 25.5 3.15 1.25
         
Barbera (Block 1/2) 10-03-10 27.5 3.09 1.21
         
Barbera (Block 1/2/M) 10-07-10 26.0 3.16 1.16
  10-14-10 27.5 3.18 1.17
         
Tempranillo (Quinta) 9-03-10 21.2 3.37 0.76
  9-10-10 21.4 3.46 0.58
  9-17-10 22.6 3.48 0.59
  9-24-10 23.0 3.59 0.55
  9-30-10 24.8 3.64 0.50
  10-2-10 (crush) 24.4 3.71 0.44
         
Touriga Nacional (Quinta) 9-10-10 21.3 3.17 0.88
  9-17-10 23.2 3.25 0.87
  9-24-10 24.2 3.32 0.71
  9-30-10 27.5 3.43 0.79
  10-10-10 (crush) 26.0 3.40 0.64
         
Touriga 9-30-10 22.9 3.38 0.95
  10-13-10 23.2 3.44 0.68
         
Tinto Cao 10-14-10 28.0 3.64 0.66
         

Current Grape Availability as of 10-09-10

 

Varietal Amount Still Available for Sale Expected Optimal Harvest Time Price ($)/lb(<1000 lb/ > 1000 lb)
Barbera  1-2 tons Mid October 0.75/0.65
Primitivo 0.75 tons Now (late harvest)  0.65/0.55
Touriga* 1.0 tons Mid October 0.65/0.60
Tempranillo 250 lbs Now (late harvest)   0.50/NA**
 Touriga Nacional 500 lbs Now (late harvest) 0.75/NA
Tinto Cao 250 lbs Now 0.60/NA

*”Touriga”, clone 1, 2009 graft.
**NA, not applicable.

Grape Chemistry

 

Varietal Date Sugar (Brix) pH Total Acidity (%)
Primitivo 9-03-10 20.8 3.13 1.48
  9-10-10 21.8 3.27 1.20
  9-17-10 24.0 3.37 1.00
  9-23-10 (#1) 24.6 3.50 0.90
  9-23-10 (#2) 25.0 3.45 0.98
  9-23-10 (mean) 24.8 3.48 0.94
  9-30-10 27.8 3.70 0.89
         
Barbera (Block 4) 9-10-10 23.5 3.04 1.62
  9-17-10 25.6 3.14 1.60
  9-24-10 25.6 3.16 1.48
  9-30-10 27.6 3.26 1.38
  10-07-10 27.4 3.31 1.05
         
Barbera (Block 2M) 10-03-10 25.5 3.15 1.25
         
Barbera (Block 1/2) 10-03-10 27.5 3.09 1.21
         
Barbera (Block 1/2/M) 10-07-10 26.0 3.16 1.16
         
Tempranillo (Quinta) 9-03-10 21.2 3.37 0.76
  9-10-10 21.4 3.46 0.58
  9-17-10 22.6 3.48 0.59
  9-24-10 23.0 3.59 0.55
  9-30-10 24.8 3.64 0.50
         
Touriga Nacional (Quinta) 9-10-10 21.3 3.17 0.88
  9-17-10 23.2 3.25 0.87
  9-24-10 24.2 3.32 0.71
  9-30-10 27.5 3.43 0.79
         
Touriga 9-30-10 22.9 3.38 0.95
         

Grape Chemistry

Varietal Date Sugar (Brix) pH Total Acidity (%)
Primitivo 9-03-10 20.8 3.13 1.48
  9-10-10 21.8 3.27 1.20
  9-17-10 24.0 3.37 1.00
  9-23-10 (#1) 24.6 3.50 0.90
  9-23-10 (#2) 25.0 3.45 0.98
  9-23-10 (mean) 24.8 3.48 0.94
  9-30-10 27.8 3.70 0.89
         
Barbera (Block 4) 9-10-10 23.5 3.04 1.62
  9-17-10 25.6 3.14 1.60
  9-24-10 25.6 3.16 1.48
  9-30-10 27.6 3.26 1.38
         
Barbera (Block 2M) 10-03-10 25.5 3.15 1.25
         
Barbera (Block 1/2) 10-03-10 27.5 3.09 1.21
         
Tempranillo (Quinta) 9-03-10 21.2 3.37 0.76
  9-10-10 21.4 3.46 0.58
  9-17-10 22.6 3.48 0.59
  9-24-10 23.0 3.59 0.55
  9-30-10 24.8 3.64 0.50
         
Touriga Nacional (Quinta) 9-10-10 21.3 3.17 0.88
  9-17-10 23.2 3.25 0.87
  9-24-10 24.2 3.32 0.71
  9-30-10 27.5 3.43 0.79
         
Touriga 9-30-10 22.9 3.38 0.95

Vineyard Diary

 

The heat returned with a vengeance this week, driving temperatures into the triple digits for a couple of days and otherwise being reminiscent of mid-summer in the Foothills.  The heat caused some incremental ripening, but also inevitable dehydration, inflating both brix and TA.

We have met all of our commitments for primitivo and–crop estimation being a fine art that we’re still learning–have about 0.75 tons still remaining in the field.  Given that we committed a little over 5 tons, this suggests that we were right on target for yield at about 2 tons/acre.  The grapes are still usable for dry wine given a healthy TA level, but time is short due to the recent spike in sugar.  After this weekend (Oct. 2-3), the remaining fruit would be most suitable for dessert wine applications, e.g. late harvest or port-style.  Our 2008 homemade wine produced with primitivo from this field won a gold medal, Best of Class at the 2010 Amador County Fair.

The barbera is coming along steadily, and though we have suffered some inevitable attrition from dehydration, there is still plenty of good, plump fruit available for harvest.  Over the past 6 weeks, we have gone back through a second time and dropped some main crop and most seconds from all of Block 4 and select sections of the rest of the barbera vineyard.  Due to time constraints, we have only been sampling Block 4 until now, but will begin wider sampling soon.  We expect that–depending on the irrigation block and client preference/schedules–this fruit will be ready for picking in 1 to 3 weeks.  We hope that the long hang time has been beneficial for flavor development, and we will continue to irrigate proactively to try to keep the brix in check.  Moderating temperatures forecast for the coming week are good news for nice ripening of this fruit.

As we had no takers for the Quinta (thanks for saving it for us!), we will be harvesting this wonderful fruit over the next several weeks and posting any leftovers for sale on this website.  This fruit will be available only in home winemaker-type quantities (hundreds of pounds) and will be picked at a ripeness suitable for dessert wine.

Separate from the Quinta fruit, we have about a ton of touriga from vines that we grafted over from another varietal last year.  This fruit was not cropped as sparingly as the Quinta touriga and so is a couple weeks behind in ripeness, but is coming along nicely and available at a discount relative to the touriga nacional in our Quinta.  It makes a dark, fragrant wine, and is suitable for dry and (at higher ripeness) dessert wine applications.

Please see our latest grape chemistry posting on this blog for recent chemistry sampling information for all of the above grapes.