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WINEMAKER’S NOTES
HARVEST 2007

September 7, 2007
Well, it was yet another busy week on the farm. We picked 8 tons of spectacular Pinot Noir for sparkling wine production. When picking grapes for sparkling wine we are looking for about 18-19 degrees Brix (Brix is the measure of soluble solids in solution. In our case it is sugar). The pH we are looking for is about 3.0-3.2. (A lower pH gives us more acidity, think lemons. A higher pH gives us more basic, think milk).

We actually picked a few days earlier than we have in the past. We can thank the exceptional weather that we have had in August. This week we had an intern working with us, Josh. Josh spent the whole first half of Wednesday berry sampling different varieties (Thanks!). These samples were then analyzed and we found that across varieties the numbers were advanced. The next pick will probably be either Pinot Noir for red wine production or Pinot Grigio. The Pinot Grigio looks exceptional and is already just over 20 degrees brix! I am looking to pick this at around 22 degrees brix.

All of our white varietals and Pinot Noir will be hand picked. Hand picking is a laborious undertaking but white varietals truly do benefit from the gentle touch of human hands. Once the grapes are picked they are placed in yellow bins that we call 'picking lugs'. Each picking lug holds roughly 30 lbs of fruit. Once a row of fruit is picked the 'lugs' are collected and brought to Premium Wine Group. Hand picking is a difficult task and I do welcome anybody to join us for a little bit when we are hand picking. And that's the news from the farm!

As always, Drink what you like; like what you drink!!!
Juan Eduardo Micieli-Martinez – Winemaker