This month had been ideal for wine growing until early last week when the wine country was hit with a late rainstorm which dropped over an inch of rain in some areas. While I enjoyed the change of weather personally, I worried about the increased disease pressure which comes with the increased humidity. After that the freak weather spun another direction when in the span of a few days we went from rainy and below 60 to high humidity and close to 100! I’ve been able to get out in the vineyard quite a bit the last few days.
The namesake Carmelite Monastery looking down on Monastery Block.
So far the season has been very good for happy grapevines. There seems to be an average to slightly above average crop and I am thrilled to see what the rest of the season brings. We’re hoping to get through the rest of the heat wave with no sunburn to the fruit.
In the winery we completed an amazing tasting today of every Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from 2000 through the new 2011 vintage that we just finished blending.
It was a delicious walk through the last 13 years at the winery complete with vintage reminiscing by Genevieve, Rich, and the rest of our team. It was super educational to me and one of those moments in life that I won’t forget anytime soon.
