Harvest Update: Summer to Fall

Mellow weekend here. I was out of the winery by noon both days and had time on Sunday to cook the cellar crew breakfast, chilliquiles with fresh salsa. There is no more appreciative audience for a late breakfast than a crew that has been working since 5:00 am. Sunday, when we typically don't bring any fruit in is the only day when it's practical to cook breakfast as there are only 8-10 folks working including the lab staff. This weekend was for me the break between summer and fall. While the equinox may have been two weeks ago, fall really began this weekend with the first cold nights and cool windy days. The ripening will now slow dramatically as the vines are getting the signal from the cold nights that it's time to pack it in. The only fruit still on the vine are the Syrah and Grenache blocks. I'll probably bring in the fruit for rose a bit earlier than the red wine picks.
All of the Pinot is down to barrel. It looks very nice - a bit like '06 looked at this stage with dark colors and above average tannins. The first barrels of Chardonnay are dry and are being topped up. The later Chardonnay both barrel and tank are still fermenting. It looks good so far. The only wine that is truly done at this point is Pinot Gris. I've racked it off its fermentation lees and added some SO2. It's pale as platinum and very tasty.
The next week or two will be fairly easy, some vineyard sampling and fermentation monitoring and then there'll be another couple weeks of fermenting the Syrah and another vintage will be "in the barn"
-Larry