Start your engine! On the heels of fantastic 2012 and 2013 vintages, 2014 has been a near perfect growing season as well. We’re going for the three-peat here. We’ve seen Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel come in already and everything is spot on so far!

Temperatures in Rutherford are currently and forecasted in the mid 90’s to mid ’80’s for the next 10 days, so we’ll see the fruit come around nicely. We expect to make the call during the above dates and dealing with Mother Nature is a moving target – so we won’t have a firm date until about 48-72 hours out.

Above are a few images from our yesterday’s visit to G3. You’ll notice the canopy is just starting to break down. The “yellowing” of the leaves makes photosynthesis less efficient, which is what we want at this stage.

Here is the lab panel from the juice analysis on the must:
Titratable Acidity             7.5 g/L
pH                                     3.15
Brix                                   23.5 degrees

As we approach our pick, we’ll see the acid decline inversely parallel to the degrees Brix. Sugars rise, acid drops… Patrick, Eric, Fernando and Dez will make the call based on the optimal compliment between the two flavors. At the end of the day… we can adjust most every component in the winery, but can’t change the overall flavor.

If you have any questions about any of the information or if you would like to be at the winery when the fruit arrives and join the sorting line, please let us know as we’d love to have you join us!