There is no better physical capacity then your sense of smell, I believe. It is definitely more powerful then most of us think and has the ability to notice the most acute differences. Our eyes seem to be the sense we rely on most but our noses are really underrated by most. When thinking about my dog Abigail, she can find the ball in complete darkness with only her nose, like a needle in a hundred haystacks. It almost seems that her entire world is interpreted and experienced through her nose, one sniff at a time.
So why am I going on and on about our sense of smell. Well for us winemakers there is no other tool, human or mechanical, which we use more. We are constantly smelling everything especially during harvest. Every fermentation is monitored daily by checking the sugar, temperature, and by smelling the odors that are being released. These smells are what give us the most useful information about the progress and condition the yeast are in and if there are any signs of stress. To me this is the most rewarding part of the job. The aromas these fungi (yeast) create by eating sugar is astounding and so many times it is almost impossible to detect any one flavor or fruit characteristic because of their complexity. They are constantly changing daily and show different things at different times. So here is to nosin’ around, Cheers!
An active Syrah ferment. Smells like blueberry cobbler.
Yeast and fresh malbec juice ready for the Rosado.
Last nights feast. Local crab and white burgundy. Why not?
The first week is always the toughest. Waking up at five in the morning gets you begging for a cup of coffee. However, once you walk in the door and see the tanks full of soon to be wine the excitement comes right back. That first whiff of CO2 coming from a tank is the first indication that the yeast you added the day before are happy and on their way to making wine. And there you are running around getting everything done before more fruit shows up so the whole process can begin again.
Carver Vineyard Pinot Noir, York Mountain.
This morning Jason handed me a bag of Pinot Noir grapes from our Carver vineyard on York Mountain to sample. There is nothing like squeezing cold fruit in the morning with your bare hands and drinking fresh grape juice, full of flavor, color, and acid. The fruit had the right chemistry so were off to pick first thing tomorrow morning.
The most crucial thing when thinking about when to pick, especially Pinot Noir, is the acid. The sugar really is almost irrelevant because it is the acid in the finished wine that gives Pinot its life, that which allows it to be so light on its feet and yet extend the depth of flavors that makes good Pinot. Being an assistant winemaker in Paso, it is almost ironic making Pinot Noir here because of our sun drenched landscape, (avoiding terroir purposely) but site, or place, is everything. With the correct elevation, proximity to the ocean, well drained soils, and viticulture, it is possible to produce a wine of correct typicity and overwhelming individuality. Tomorrow will be the first glance at 2012, cheers!
Tractor, check.... Bins, check..... Truck, check....Here we come!
After a day of fulfilling wine club we were back at it getting the first red fruit of the year. Today we harvested over five tons of Syrah from block 6 here on the estate. This block is one of the steepest slopes we have on the property making it really labor intensive to pick. The fruit tasted and looked great with very clean, oval shaped berries. This year the vines came into balance from the beginning with an even fruit set which led to us not having to green harvest after veraison. These homogenous clusters ripened rather early for us and came off the vine without any raisins. Usually we don’t pick this Syrah until after the Pinot Noir from York Mountain, but like anything in life there are no normality’s when it comes to vineyards. Each year, each block sings to its own tune so it’s imperative you stay on top of fruit sampling and don’t rely on previous year’s harvest dates.
The ever so awesome sorting table. Today was smooth sailing.
We destemmed all of the fruit we harvested today without the use of any crushing to be as gentle as possible. We like whole berries fermentations to maximize the fresh fruit characteristics achieved by keeping the berries intact. I will post more about this in the future as it mostly applies to our Pinot program. The fruit then went into various size tanks to undergo a cold-soak for up to three days before any yeast gets added. This allows several things; first it cools the fruit down so no unwanted native and/or wild yeast can begin fermenting within the must. Second it allows for the extraction process of colors and tannins to begin without the presence of alcohol and at a consistent temperature to stabilize the enzymes within the berries themselves. Lastly, and most basic, cold soaking extends the amount of time the must sits on the skins simply by delaying when we would inoculate.
Just another day in paradise for us in Paso Robles as we were blessed with an amazing Sunrise, Cheers!
Today we finished picking our Estate Chard and inoculated the first lot of the season. We like to use a dependable yeast stain isolated from Burgundy, which ferments slowly and efficiently and enhances the varietal and fruity esters we look for in Chardonnay. The temperatures here in Paso are above normal for this time of year pushing everything to ripeness rather fast. This week will be the beginning of all day and all night shifts and the magnificent juggling act that takes place when you are harvesting red and white grapes on the same days while also processing fruit for custom crush clients. It’s always interesting to think, “well I wonder how this is going to work?”, but with a good team you get the job done and at the end of the day still like each other. Here is a picture of lunch on Labor Day, cheers!
Ceviche de Atun, local caught albacore tuna. Wonderful way to celebrate!
Vineyard Manager Martin getting the show on the road.
The day has finally arrived when we get back to work and start making wine. Not to say we haven’t been working these past few weeks scrubbing tanks and equipment, but that really isn’t the part of the job description we aspire to. So the 2012 COSECHA (Harvest) kicked off today with the first pick of our estate Chardonnay. The morning fog was perfect keeping us and the fruit chilly while we happily took the grapes from the vines. This year was everything we hope for in a growing season, very warm temperatures allowing the grapes to mature evenly and smoothly.
The first fruit for our 2012 harvest, Estate Chardonnay Block 10.
The estate Chardonnay was characterized by small pocket clusters yielding just over a ton per acre and the summer heat during August made for just enough golden skins on the cluster shoulders indicating the ripeness we look for in this style of Chardonnay. We are definitely not aspiring for any rendition of an old world wine and appreciate the climate in Paso Robles that creates full flavored, textured, and layered wines. We make three different styled chardonnays here at Calcareous, mainly differing in oak and malo-lactic levels.
The fruit we harvested today will be cold settled then racked into a variety of French oak barrels letting each fermentation to go slowy by managing temperature. Then we let it rest on its lees occasional stirring allowing secondary fermentation to carry out naturally in barrel. The miniscule yields we get from the vineyard really concentrate the flavors within the berries themselves giving us the components we desire. Every year the vines get a little bit older, the roots dig a little deeper, all adding more depth and typicity to the final wines each vintage. Not only is this wine the most exciting because it gets harvested first but because it is so much fun to make and watch evolve during its elevage in the cellar.
I made a guess in June this year when we would start harvest and I chose September 1, so I was pretty close only missing it by a day, not bad! For the first time in two years we began picking in August so hopefully this year won’t be such a nail biter going into the fall season. We will be posting daily Harvest on-goings and pictures so stay tuned. Cheers!
The 2012 Calcareous Vineyard Harvest Team and cadet toasting with Champagne and Chardonnay press juice mimosas. (John, Luis, Martin, Ignacio, Rory, Herschel, Jason)
The Zinfandel festival is alive and well at Calcareous Vineyard! We are kicking it off tonight with a four course menu created by Chef John which will be paired with three Zinfandels. All weekend we will have our single-vineyard Zinfandels pouring in the tasting room. Make sure to come check out the VIP tours happening Saturday and Sunday were will be tasting six vintages going back to 2002. This will be a great oppurtunity to see the unique characteristics of each vintage and the aging potential of Paso Robles Zinfandel. Have a good weekend and look forward to seeing you up here!
The winner is… a Syrah?
This past weekend was the 29th annual San Diego International Wine Competition. Monday morning we got the news that a wine from Calcareous Vineyard took top honors, earning the title ‘Wine of the Year’ from this celebrated competition. With over 1,400 entries from around the world, including some very prestigious Napa Valley wineries, this is an accomplishment we are proud of. The funny thing is that our team and wine club members have known for a while just how good this wine is, (and all of our wines for that matter), but what a joy it is to see that 40 judges thought our 2008 Estate Syrah deserved to be number one.
The judges for this competition are mostly winemakers and/or are closely related to the industry in a variety of ways. To me this award is of more validation to the quality of wine here at Calcareous Vineyard than earning a score given by one person. To get forty people to agree through democratic means seems more relevant in this day and age than earning one score from one person. Given the vast ranges in varieties and styles, from Carneros sparkling wine to hillside Napa Cabernet, it seems unlikely that a Paso Robles single-varietal wine could be the most impressive. Besides touting about ourselves, the interesting thing above all else is that the wine that amazed the judges the most was a Syrah.
This past Sunday I was fortunate to attend the annual Rhone Rangers event held at Windfall Farms here in Paso Robles. The event consisted of a seminar conducted by local winemakers followed by lunch and a general public tasting of many Rhone varietal producers from here in the Paso area. There are 22 Rhone varietals, both red and white, that are acknowledged by the French Government as well as the Rhone Rangers organization. The event was one of the best tastings I have been to this year and was especially exciting to see such quality wines coming out of Paso.
The seminar included ten winemakers presenting their wines and giving a brief description about the varietal, production methods, growing strategies, etc. Four of them presented white wines, while the rest were all red. Each winemaker showcased a different wine/varietal or a blend in some cases. It is interesting to note how some were very disclosing in the exact methods they used to achieve the wine they presented whereas some were not. However, it definitively appears that some prefer to follow traditional methods while many are eager and determined to try different techniques/methods to create something unique.
The most interesting wine on the panel was a Grenache Blanc from Cypher Winery. The wine was 100% Grenache Blanc produced in all stainless steel. The wine itself was very clean, almost clear in color, and extremely light on the palate. Too often this wine can easily be overdone and be real heavy on the palate almost as if it has been over-oaked and aged. Grenache Blanc has enormous flavor and phenolic composition that must be contained to allow it to posit its structure and show off its gracefulness. This wine was exactly that, picked at a low brix to restrain the maturity of the skins and to obtain the striking acidity and "sexiness" as Christian Tietje (Cypher winemaker) called it.
A few interesting facts noted by some of the speakers about the Rhone wines in general. First, is that the actual total acreage of Grenache Noir (red) in California has actually decreased in the past decade. This mostly has to due with the Central Valley, however, with the recent increase in consumer popularity and quality of this wine it would seem as if it would be increasing in plantings all over the state. I hope it rebounds soon and continues to grow in consumer demand. Secondly is that Petite Sirah was the first Rhone varietal to be planted in California (pre-prohibition) but was the last to be accepted by the Rhone Rangers organization due to the fact it does not exist in the Rhone Valley anymore. It was not until the sixties that Syrah cuttings were brought to California and the revolution began. Today we are lucky to have almost all Rhone varietals at our disposal. This must be credited to Tablas Creek and the work they did importing and certifying these cuttings from France.
Calcareous Vineyard has been producing Rhone wines and blends since we began. Our founder, Lloyd Messer, originally saw the potential these varietals had and planted them high-atop our west-side location. The estate vineyard has Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre which continually accounts for the majority of our flagship red blend Tres Violet. On Sunday we poured the 2008 Tres Violet, 2008 Syrah, and unreleased 2009 Estate Grenache. All of these wines were showing beautifully and really are great examples of the Rhone here in Paso. If you have yet to try them please come on up and taste.
Feb 23, 2012 at 11:26 AM
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