Can you feel it? Can you smell it? In time you'll be able to taste it - the 2009 harvest.
Beads of sweat and heightened heartbeats of anticipation fill the air. Every phone call, e-mail and communication of every sort headed toward winemakers, vineyard owners, waiting winery staff resounds through the Calaveras foothills with high excitement along with a bit of anxiety.
It's harvest time - long-awaited, and this year's bounty is bountiful. After 2008's devastating frost, the vines have stored their energy for the burgeoning 2009 grape crop, literally exploding with fruit. According to vineyard divo (that's male for diva) Mark Skenfield, owner of Vinescapes, "The grape crop this year is big and quality is high." Those are two phrases the Calaveras wine industry really wants to hear. "Even after thinning the fruit 25-50% on the vines, the crop is larger than normal. The pendulum is swinging back."
Already white varietals are being plucked from the vine and in fermentation. Soon Tempranillo, Merlot and Sirah will hit the stemmer-crusher, with other red varieties following suit.
How does one determine when to pick? It's a decision that is heavily weighed. Picking time depends on a number of factors. Many base picking on brix (sugars), breathlessly pausing until the magic numbers appear. Determing those numbers can be based on berry or cluster sampling. "We try to get the best samples that represent the whole field for that varietal," says Mark. It's definitely an art.
Others blend brix with the taste of the grape juice from samples, waiting for the just the right flavors to produce the best possible wine for that particular variety and/or from a particular block of the vineyard.
"If sugars are too high, the winemaker risks producing a wine with big, bold and intense fruit and a high alcohol content," adds Mark. Complexity is key. Balance is ambition.
The 2009 toast will be huge. Let's celebrate!
Jan Hovey, CWA Blogger and Fan
E-mail me at jhovey@goldrush.com!
