April 2nd, 2012
Winemaking
April 2nd, 2012
January 18th, 2012
Oak . Types of Oak used in Wine . Wine . Wine Barrels . Winemaking
The Quirks of Quercus: Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Oak but were Afraid to Ask!
This is one of those posts that I put out there not only to educate but to get some discussion going around one of the most interesting but often misunderstood aspects of winemaking. I think when most people in vision a winery oak barrels almost always show up in their mind’s eye. First off there ...
October 28th, 2011
Asti . Chardonnay . Grape Harvest . Grape ripeness . Grapes . Harvest 2011 . Italian Wine . Italy . Tannins . Vineyards . Vintage Notes . Wine . Winemaking
Harvest 2011: How California became Italy
This year has had it all. We started with heavy frost on the Central Coast, rain during bloom and spring hail. The craziness continued with a long temperate summer which was punctuated by few heat spikes (if you can call mid 90s a heat spike out here). Growers fought Powdery Mildew and numerous invasive insect ...
October 18th, 2011
Harvest 2011 . Wine . Winemaking
Harvest 2011 – Week 11 – The Grape Landslide…
Right now, things are crazy! People are rushing to pick fruit. We’re working 24/7 to get all the fruit in and we’re running out of tank space. I haven’t really had time to put all my thoughts from this week into words because I’ve been frantically trying to make the best wine we possibly can ...
September 23rd, 2011
Chardonnay . Emma Pearl Wine . Grape Harvest . Grapes . Harvest 2011 . Masters of Wine . MW exam . Vineyards . Vintage Notes . Viticulture . Wine . Winemaking
Harvest 2011 – Week 8 – Harvest Halfway and MW preparations
At this point we’re halfway through the harvest season. In another 8 weeks it will all be wrapped up. Wine will be tucked away in barrels or tanks either going through ML, extended maceration, and sur lee aging. Between now and then is the most complex time during the harvest. This is when the bulk ...
September 19th, 2011
Asti . California . Chardonnay . Grape Harvest . Grape ripeness . Grapes . Harvest 2011 . Vineyards . Vintage Notes . Viticulture . Wine . Winemaking
Harvest 2011 – Week 7 – The Waiting Game
This past week brought cooler temperatures to the regions around Asti Winery. We saw a noticeable slowdown in sugar accumulation and thus a drop in tons being delivered as growers waited to see movement again. This week is forecasted to be warmer and hopefully this will kick ripening back into gear. Chardonnay is coming in ...
September 13th, 2011
Grape Harvest . Grape ripeness . Grapes . Harvest 2011 . Physiological Ripeness . Vineyards . Vintage Notes . Viticulture . Wine . Winemaking
Harvest 2011 – Week 6 – How One Decides When to Pick
We just finished Week 6 which saw the bulk of the Pinot Gris that we’re harvesting along with the first part of our Chardonnay. We even brought in some Zinfandel last week at 26+ Brix! No joke! Weather was a bit warmer last week with some days in the 90s but it has still remained fairly ...
September 4th, 2011
Alexander Valley . Asti . Austria . Chardonnay . Elegant and Floral . Germay . Gewurztraminer . Grape Harvest . Grape ripeness . Grapes . Harvest 2011 . Italian Wine . Italy . Light and Bubbly . Pinot Gris . Portugal . Power Punch . Sauvignon Blanc . Spain . Spicy and Smoky . Tasting Notes . Vineyards . Vintage Notes . Wine . Wine and Food . Wine Tasting . Winemaking
Harvest 2011 – Week 5 – Things REALLY get moving…
This week we’ve started seeing far more grapes than the previous week. Our Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc were joined by our first Chardonnay of the season! Fruit quality looks really nice and acids are still staying put thanks to the more moderate day time temperatures as well as the cool nights. The Alexander Valley ...
August 26th, 2011
Argentina . Asti . Elegant and Floral . Fresh and Grassy . Grape Harvest . Grapes . Harvest 2011 . Hungary . Italian Wine . Italy . Portugal . Spain . Stone and Chalk . Tasting Notes . Vintage Notes . Wine . Wine and Food . Wine Parings . Wine Tasting . Winemaking . Zesty and Fruity
Harvest 2011 – Week 4 – Grapes, Pigs, and Fun Varieties at Asti Winery
Week 4 has come to a rather quiet close as we only processed a few hundred tons this week atAsti. It’s a drop in the bucket for what is to come this season. We were led by Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris from the Lodi area which both had perfect Brix, crisp acids, and really ...Harvest 2011- Week 2 Recap
Driving around last week in Alexander Valley I’ve really started to notice serious veraison. A sister winery of ours down on the Central coast has Pinot Gris scheduled to be picked tomorrow. Harvest is truly upon us. The weather this week has been beautiful. Cool, foggy mornings have given way to bright, sunny mid-days and ...
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