Vineyards

Harvest 2011 – Week 1 – Going through Veraison

Now I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself…Grapes can not be being harvested already.  So what’s this week 1 thing all about you ask???  I count the first week in August every year as week 1 of a 16 week harvest season.  Week 16 falls in the middle of November by which time normally all the ...

Wine Bloggers Conference 2011; A Winemaker’s Perspective…

Last Friday I attended the Wine Bloggers Conference 2011.  This was one of those events that really brought out why the wine industry is so amazing! So many people in one room that were all excited to learn about and discuss topics pertaining to wine.  Unfortunately I was only able to attend the Friday sessions ...

Vintage 2011, The Mid-point Check In.

When I last talked about how vintage 2011 was going in the NorthCoast was in bloom and the weather was truly dismal indeed!  Now after several weeks of beautiful, warm, sunny weather our outlook on the vintage is beginning to lift.  The rain during bloom did impact the crop levels negatively.  So far I’ve heard that ...

Crazy Times: Notes on Blogging, Vintage 2011, Winemaking, and the MW exam…

To my returning readers, my apologies that I have been unable to get a post up for the last two weeks but my life has been insane between full-time winemaking, an on-going house renovation project, a 50 mile bike ride for Diabetes research and my MW studies.  To my new readers…Welcome to the Personalities of ...

Layovers and Trellis Systems!

So today marked a milestone in my career as it’s the start of my first official Sales Trip!  This trip is for my new brand Emma Pearl however the day so far has been less than pearly.  I decided for reasons that still escape me to not leave out of the tried and true San ...

Wine Trails and Weeping Vines

I spent a good bit of my Saturday at the Asti Winery tasting room for the Barrel Tasting Weekends for the Northern Sonoma County Wine Roads.  This included an event for Dry Creek, Russian River, and of course my stomping grounds the Alexander Valley.  I love events like this because I was able to talk ...

The First week of Harvest 2010!

First of all I must apologize for not getting this post up last week but as you can imagine the first week of grapes is always crazy.  We received Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc from California’s Central Valley as well as some Alexander Valley Gewurztraminer.  This week we’ll be seeing our first Chardonnay as well.  ...

Bud Break 2010

Over the weekend in Alexander Valley we reached an important milestone in the growing season…Bud break. Now all through my drive to and from the winery you can see the beginnings of little green shoots all over the cordons that have been barren these last few months.