After a grueling 12 weeks (well really 8 weeks if you really get down to brass tacks) we are finished. A week ago we received our last fruit. It was fast, hurried and at some times very scary as we just barely squeezed all the fruit in the door. Tank space was at a premium and there were days when we didn’t see space for the fruit two days ahead of us but it always managed to work out. Now we’re just going through the remaining fermentations and macerations and deciding when to press.

In the winery, everyday there are baskets of spent skins waiting to be pressed. The basket presses themselves are working hard, a reflection, of the fast intake of fruit 25-35 days ago.

It will probably be mid-November before all the tanks are pressed and all the wines are put to rest in barrels for the next few months while we turn our attention to blending the 2012 Cabernets and beginning the blending of the 2013 Pinot Noir. A calm has settled over the winery now. One which I hope will continue for the next few months until bottling season comes next spring.