It’s raining, it’s pouring….
…but nobody here is snoring! We are back at the ranch and back to work! 2017 has us enjoying our favorite colors outside for this time of year: GRAY – as in rain and GREEN – from the rain! Since mid-October we have been blessed with good amounts of rain every week or two – PERFECT for the vines! Last evening it started again and thus far we have received almost one and a half inches. We just rounded 10 inches for the year (rain year starts on July 1st). Compared to the seven inches we got last year and the five inches each of the two years prior, we are thrilled. The soil and plants love it and the cover crop (fava beans, sweet peas, vetch, rye and barley) is exploding.
This morning Rebecca and I met with our trusted farming advisors for almost 15 years, Jeff and Ruben, to talk about how 2016 went and create a strategy for this year. How should each block be pruned and trained? How did the variations in farming “experiments” we made last year work out? How are the barrels tasting? We have seen so many improvements in the vineyard over the years as we continue to improve our farming skills and applications. We are always amazed at how much there is still to learn as we strive to “one up” ourselves and increase our sustainability in practice (SIP), organic and biodynamic farming practices. As usual we are already getting excited about starting the new year. Pruning will begin Monday morning in the vineyard… hot coffee in hand and hopefully heavy rain gear to work in!
In the winery…
Jesse and I are getting new wines ready for bottling. We are working on the final blends of 2016 Viognier and Rose’ of Syrah, Kurt Russell’s 2015 GoGi Chardonnay, as well as, a few smaller projects. We can’t wait to get the new Viognier and Rose’ on the street again – we are out 2015. You have something exciting to look forward to – we are very pleased with the wines! Hot off the bottling line this winter will be Jesse’s first wine: 2016 Albarino.
Stay tuned – it has been our “go-to lunch-wine” during harvest!
Have a great weekend!
Peter and Rebecca
ampelos blog 