July 2002
July 31, 2002
Pinot: Sources for 2002
Last Friday, I spoke to Al at Dutton Ranch about getting some of their coveted Pinot Noir. He offered fruit from: Morelli Lane Vineyard (Occidental, CA) Located east of the small Russian River Valley town...Posted by Sasha at 11:00 AM
July 30, 2002
Need to buy barrels
Since I will go on my two week honeymoon this Friday, I need resolve my barrel strategy for the 2002 wines. I want to buy some 1-2 yrs. old French barrels. Over the next couple...Posted by Sasha at 09:53 AM
July 26, 2002
The Importance of Soil
One of my Zinfandel grape growers, Ray Teldeschi has always told me that its his Dry Creek soil that makes the grapes; he often says, "You can taste the soil". A recent post on the...Posted by Sasha at 09:25 AM
July 25, 2002
Grapes Looking Good
The articles keep coming in professing the same things: a bigger and later harvest thanlast year, the grapes are undergoing verasion, and weather for the rest of the year is critical to maintain high quality....Posted by Sasha at 09:17 AM
July 24, 2002
Topped of Zins
Yesterday, Tom topped off all the reds at the winery. He went through 14 gals. of GrapeLeaf: Syrah- Nicholson Ranch. Most were down about a liter. Also, he added 15ppm SO2 to each barrel(50 ml...Posted by Sasha at 01:25 PM
2002 California Grape Tonnage Estimates
According the Allied Grape Grower's article, 2002 crop forecast is released by the State, Early in July, the State of California Ag Statistics Service released the first 2002 grape crop forecast. In August the State...Posted by Sasha at 09:29 AM
July 23, 2002
Topped off home wines
Last night, I topped off my home wines with about 300 ml. of 1999 Grape Leaf: Cuvee Noir and 350 ml of 2001 Baobob: Chenin Blanc. The ambient temperature was 64. Slight thermal expansion but...Posted by Sasha at 09:56 AM
July 20, 2002
Vineyards Cutting Crop
Tim Tesconi's article, Grape glut prompting growers to cut crop, in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat explains that many growers are thinning their crops. Faced with what could be the biggest grape crop in North...Posted by Sasha at 07:51 PM
July 19, 2002
Harvest Report: Grapes are Changing Color
For those interested in how my babies, the grape vines, are doing they are changing color in some regions but not in others. The grapes in Russian River have been changing colors from green to...Posted by Sasha at 03:33 PM
July 18, 2002
Winemaking Flaws: Brett
Janet Fletcher's article, "Does this smell funny? A pesky yeast causes a stink" in SF Gate is an excellent article on Brettanomyces, the funky smelling yeast residue. Overview of Brettanomyces A trade-off of California winemakers...Posted by Sasha at 10:42 AM
Winemaking Trend: Unoaked Chardonnay's
As witnessed by two articles on the same day, a very popular topic is oaking strategies for Chardonnay. Linda Murphy's article, "When oak gets in the way" in SF Gate about the growing winemaking trend...Posted by Sasha at 10:41 AM
Red Wine Headaches
While giving wine tastings, people occasionally mention that red wines give them a headache. When I told my land land, I made wine, she said that she suffers from red wine headaches (RWH). She tried...Posted by Sasha at 10:41 AM
July 17, 2002
Winery Visit: Siduri
After going to Gary Farrell, I called Adam Lee, the winemaker and proprietor of Siduri. He invited us to swing by but had only about 30 mins. The winery is in a non-descript office park...Posted by Sasha at 09:55 AM
July 16, 2002
Vineyard Visit: Teldeschi Zin
On Sunday, Kiara and I went up to Hotel Healdsburg to decompress, detox, and possibly intox after our epic 3 Day Wedding weekend. Monday we went to visit Ray Teldeschi, a grape source of my...Posted by Sasha at 10:49 AM
July 11, 2002
Weather Report
The heat wave that has impacted all of Northern California, is leading to consistently hot weather in wine country. For the past two days, in Healdsburg where Teldeschi vineyard is, it has reached close to...Posted by Sasha at 09:23 AM
Another Grape Source?
Looking at WinerySite.com, I found a potential Russian River Pinot source. In light of yesterday's Grape Surplus posting, I have been seeing more pinots posted on the site. 2002 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. 4th...Posted by Sasha at 09:17 AM
July 10, 2002
Grape Pricing this Year
More evidence of grape prices going down this year due to a surplus of grapes. Adam Lee from Siduri Wines posted yesterday that Napa Valley Chardonnay prices are bottoming out and Sonoma Pinot may be...Posted by Sasha at 09:41 AM
July 09, 2002
Current Winemaking Activity: Bottling
As I've mentioned, I regularly David Coffaro's Winemaking Journal. Today, his entry today explains that he is busy bottling his 2001 Wines. When I visited his Home Page this morning, I saw this picture on...Posted by Sasha at 05:11 PM
2001 Harvest & Wine Industry Synopsis
Leveraging the knowledge from wine industry experts can inform what grapes I decide to buy, which areas I choose, and how much I should be willing to pay. After reading the Caroline Meredith's post to...Posted by Sasha at 05:00 PM
July 08, 2002
Tasting my Mentor's Wine
Tom Leaf, my friend, mentor, and winemaker at Grape Leaf, came over this weekend. We tasted his wines: 2000 Grape Leaf Chardonnay: Devil's Gulch (Marin) 2000 Grape Leaf Chardonnay: Nicholson Ranch (Sonoma) 2000 Grape Leaf...Posted by Sasha at 10:53 PM
July 05, 2002
Removing Wine Labels
Some folks like to keep wine labels to remind them of a great bottle, a special moment, or to keep a record of the wines they've drunk. Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, authors of...Posted by Sasha at 12:01 PM
July 02, 2002
Harvest Update: from David Coffaro
Since I live in San Francisco and work in Sunnyvale, I track the harvest and weather in many ways. Some of the most accurate information is from the grape growers or winemakers. I frequently check...Posted by Sasha at 11:55 AM
US Wine Production: Hits all 50 States
USA Today published an article, A Very Good Year For Vintners, and a supplementary US Wine Production Flash animation. The Flash animation contains a useful map where you can click on the state for more...Posted by Sasha at 09:57 AM
Heat Wave
The weather around the Bay Area has been very hot the past couple of days. I checked NorthbayWeather.com Healdsburg 72 hour temperature chart. Looks like yesterday had a high of 99 and a low...Posted by Sasha at 09:29 AM
July 01, 2002
The Problem with Corks
An interesting article, "Seal of Disapproval" on TizWine.com about corks, corked wines, and emerging trends with bottle closures. (Note: I can't find much who is running the site but it looks like they specialize in...Posted by Sasha at 04:30 PM
For Pinot Noir Lovers
I came across a great resource for those who love Pinot Noir. The Carneros Group publishes a monthly report, appropriately called PinotReport and published a book, Chalone: A Journey on the Wine Frontier. Gregory S....Posted by Sasha at 02:50 PM
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