It’s Art and Science
It’s an exciting, yet very challenging time of the year! I (along w Rebecca) need to make picking decisions, but using my senses is not what they taught me at engineering school – it was all about numbers. Deciding when to pick grapes challenges your senses to assess leaf colors, feel of the clusters, seed development, grape flavors, texture, tannins, acids etc. and at the same time we measure the sugar (=brix) and pH (related to acids)And based on that we make most critical decision of the year: When to pick! Thursday we recorded a video in the vineyard where Rebecca and I talked about this and it will be available on our website this week.This past Friday we kicked off our new series Wine School 101: “How To Be The Virtual Harvest Crew”. It was the first of 8 lessons in how to get those grapes to the glass. During this “semester” we will take you through Math, Chemistry, Science and more! We PROMISE it will be the most fun you have ever had in school! The school supply list is easy… WINE! Join us!
Each Friday at 4:30 PM PST Rebecca and I will host “class”. We will start with a harvest event and finish with tasting an Ampelos wine with you. Professors’ Work are excited to get our virtual shows going again!
Challenging Weather…
Yes, it has been an unusual weather…as we say every year. There is no usual year – they are all different. Spring and summer were nice and relatively mild, but then came August with 10 hot days. We know how to prepare for it by adding a little extra water so we are prepared. After the 10 days of heat it got nice and chilly and then, BOOM the heat kicked in again! Right now it is a sizzling 115F outside – may be the hottest we have ever recorded! Since the leaf canopy is still in good shape this will accelerate the maturing of the grapes and we are gearing up to harvest this coming week!
Umbrellas and Asphalt
The mandatory outdoor operations of restaurants and tasting rooms in California has gotten many of us into a creative mode! Cool fences, lots of wine barrels, cozy corners on raw asphalt, hay bales, colorful umbrellas and happy servers that are excited to be working again. It’s really a pleasure to go out these days – and we are getting used to the masks, hand sanitizers, etc. Restaurants and wine bars are getting curious about new releases and finding wine treasures in the valley. We have had a handful of wine buyers here the last couple of weeks and it is so exciting to share our wines with them looking over the Sta. Rita Hills valley and our Ampelos vineyard. This valley and our vineyard are so special and when they get to experience the terroir of where our wines are crafted it is something they never forget!
First Impressions
A week ago we brought in the first Pinot Noir (for red wine) and they are already towards the end of fermentation. This morning Rebecca and I handled the punch-dows, sugar checking and other winery work. We are pleased to share that our first impressions of the 2020 vintage are stellar! Lots of color, nice flavor concentration and already an amazing balance. We are getting really excited about this vintage!(The picture above shows the gorgeous purple “foam” that bubbles up when we “punch down” the fruit during fermentation.)
Stay safe out there, be real good to everyone around you…and enjoy a nice glass of Ampelos wine!
See you Friday…Cheers!Peter & Rebecca
ampelos blog 