Pressing Estate Zinfandel

Today was the first day in quite a while that wasn't HOT. We took our time and enjoyed a much needed sleep-in.

We've been so busy with harvest and tasting events - Friday in Solvang and Saturday at Lund's, after picking Syrah in the morning.



We did get it together today and pressed another three barrels of Estate Zin. This is going to be a very nice vintage for our Estate wines.

Petite Sirah the Last Fruit in 2008

We harvested the last of the Toucan Vineyard on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the Petite Sirah came into the winery looking great and perfect numbers. The only fruit left is struggling second crop and a few clusters forgotten on the vines. We'll make a pass through and get these grapes soon.

Wine Volcano and Harvest

Our latest little video on YouTube is Wine Volcano - take a look! Harvest again this past weekend was perfect and great fruit as expected. We've picked pretty much the last of the Estate Zinfandel and this coming week we'll tackle the Estate Petite Sirah. Thanks to all the volunteers for helping!

Pressing the Wines and New Barrels

We pressed the first wines of the vintage after a few days off harvesting. Starting tomorrow were back in the vineyard cleaning off the remaining Zinfandel and hopefully next week taking the Petite Sirah. Everything is going well, so far so good, all the equipment is working great and the fruit is coming in just right.

It's an interesting year - strange weather all year, but more interesting to me is the the lack of birds attacking the fruit. And the lack of yellow jackets at this time of year - they were heavy in early summer and I was worried - but they seem to have left of died off.

Also the lack of fruit fly and ladybugs this year is very odd - maybe the strange weather disrupted the insect development cycle. Not that I'm wishing for more fruit fly - but more ladybugs would have been nice.

Fermentation, Picking, and Sleep

Picking Sunday and yesterday went very well. Four of us on each day took our time searching for only the ripest fruit and the results have been great. The sugars are strong, the color is deep and the flavors beautiful.

The pace has allowed for good nights sleep so far, but the middle of the night punch downs start today.

We'll pick again tomorrow and Saturday (and enjoying a taco party with my folks in town) and take a break allowing the fruit to continue down the path of ripening fully. I'll use this time to catch-up on the winemaking, and press the Carignane just before picking again next weekend (out of towner sleep-over weekend).

I'm really slammed for space this year with extra barrels, and bins filling with must - I've had to kick out tables, bottles and anything else that took floor space.

Toucan Wines Zin Harvest

Harvest began here on the Toucan farm this past Sunday. The first Zinfandel fruit came into the winery looking great and the sugars and flavors are terrific.

This week we'll be harvesting nearly everyday to get the vineyard picked at the perfect ripeness.

24 Hours of Carignane

12:30am Friday, Sept. 5th starts the 24 hour Carignane road trip. Two guys, one truck and trailer and 5,ooo lb of old vine Carignane.

Little sleep, XM radio and hundreds of miles to drive - it's the middle of night towing a flat bed and driving in Bob's Luxury-Truck. We arrive in Oakley at 5:30 in the morning and weigh in at the local scale and grab a quick bite and coffee at the only place open - micky-d's.

Picking starts on time but our picking slot is delayed, so I use the time to clean bins while Bob snaps a few shots of the old vines in the Evangelho vineyard. The fruit finally comes out of the field and it looks great. Once loaded and the 6 bins are tied down - were maybe an hour and a half behind my schedule. In route back toward 101 south we cleverly use the delay to our favor and stop in Dublin for BBQ at an old favorite of mine Armadillo Willies. We arrive just as they open.

Back on the road and after a few miles we do a driver switch. Now I'm behind the wheel of the Lux-Truck pulling the fruit to make the next Toucan Wines Carignane. Looking back I notice what seems to be grapes flying off the trailer. Turned out to be what was left of a trailer tire. I pull over, fortunate that the other tire held the weight on this loaded 9000 lb trailer, facing another delay at getting these grapes safely in the winery.

On the side of the road in Gilroy, 100 degrees outside, and after a run-around from a local towing service we hook-up with Bruce's Tire who get to us in 10 minutes, replaces the tire, checks the pressure all around - putting us back on the road. Of course it didn't hurt that Bob had high-speed Internet access and a computer in the Lux-Truck to find the right resource.

Bob's back behind the wheel, XM Radio, and we're jamming to get to the nearest dry-ice store before closing. Arriving back at the Toucan farm we unload the bins and noticed one of the other tires on the trailer was starting to separate and had gone flat. That was our second lucky break.

We crushed the fruit (with the kind help of neighbor Paul and Terrie of course), and cleaned up the mess of leafs, fruit pieces, and bins.

Once finished for the night and a beer in my hand I was able to look back at one of the craziest 24 hours in recent memory.

A big thank you to Bob for joining me on wine-train trip, his Lux-Truck, trailer, Internet from the road, and a successful 24 hours of Carignane.

Also thank you to Paul for hanging with us way into the evening to get the crush finished.

These pictures taken by Bob are 120 year old Zinfandel vines in the Evangelho vineyard.

September: Harvest Time

Harvest season is here and the picking has started all over the central coast. Our weather has been perfect for ripening grapes over the last week. We're dry and very warm and the fruit is nearly ready for harvest.

We're working on the last minute prep as harvest is nearly here. Terrie is recoating the press with a food grade epoxy, I tore apart the destemmer and cleaned it top to bottom, all the bins, and tools have been cleaned. The new barrels, yeasts, nutrients are all here waiting and I think we're ready to go.

Yesterday the rails for our barrel hoist system arrived and today we'll power spray those and paint them before installation. This hoist will enable a three barrel height in our barrel room - necessary as we leave our wines longer in barrel.

This time of year is perfect for celebrating harvest and the long year of work in the vineyard. This photo taken by a guest while I talk with our dinner guests about the vineyard and it's progress. Above, the netted vineyard stands out over the back drop of our home. Thanks Morley for the pictures.

Overall the vineyard looks good and the crop is developing nicely. Harvest will be the key, we'll work through the vineyard with several passes to capture only the ripest fruit.