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Here's a few pics from the vineyard picking:

Update: Pinot Noir is crushed and in the fermentors. 25 gallons of Saignèe Rosè is separated. I had one of my employees with me who is interested in learning how to make wine. We had a great time getting to know each other away from the office and delving more into the personal side of our...

Update: Left at 5am and got to the vineyard at 7:50am. I dropped my bins and found some breakfast… A few pics:

Update: I just finished bottling 29 cases of 2023 Mourvèdre. I started bottling at 6:30pm and finished at 8:30pm. I'll label and cap tomorrow. This wine is really good. I'm drinking a glass as I type this post. I'll be driving south at 5am tomorrow and headed to White Salmon Vineyard...

Update: It's a HOT MESS... My revised plan was to crush the Syrah this morning at 6am. Ultimately, this was a problem because I didn't remember that it's still dark at that time of the morning. First morning light is closer to 7:20am... I had a 8am meeting that I had to reschedule and a...

Yesterday was Syrah. I'll grab the Pinot Noir on Tuesday (October 8). I'm confident my trip to White Salmon will be uneventful and spectacular at the same time. The Columbia River gorge is stunning and stretches for at least 80 miles. Checking my notes, I picked up the 2023 Pinot Noir on...

Update on the Syrah: Flew into Seattle on time. But, immediately got 90 minutes off schedule upon exiting the terminal. I parked my truck in a friend's driveway with the promise of him picking me up as he only lives 15 minutes from the airport and right off State Highway 18, the highway I...

Update of grape schedule for this weekend and early next week: Just received notice that the Pinot won't be picked until Tuesday next week. They don't have a picking crew on Sunday, as projected. Looks like October 8 is the day for the Pinot. A few hours later I received an email from the...

Next up, Pinot Noir from White Salmon Vineyard near Hood River, Oregon - estimated October 6th. Next weekend will be a bit of a rodeo. On Friday, October 4th I'll be dropping my pickup, loaded with a macro bin, at the airport in Seattle and driving my wife to Missoula, MT. We are going to a...

@buzi I did this last year and the M/R blend has some Viognier in it this year too... Here's last year's label 3.5 x 4. Glad you like the stories...

Update: Mourvèdre Left a little earlier than I was expecting and arrived at the vineyard at 8:15am. I was back on the road at 8:30am and returned home at noon. It takes longer to set up and clean up than the actual crushing of the grapes, which only took about 20 minutes. I'd say the...

Update: Just listened to a call from another vineyard. They called this morning but I was bottling three whites (60 cases) from last year and just listened to the message. Started this morning at 8am and finished tonight at 5pm, just in time for the football game. Mourvèdre is ready for...

Interesting question. I think so - definitely a strong smell like that. It actually freaked me out and I thought this batch was headed in the wrong direction. If so, it's no big deal as this is an experiment...

Update: I noticed fermentation in the Native today. Good news...

Update on my ferment - all is going well except the 10 gallons of native ferment - no activity at all…

Who has any experience and success pressing white juice? I have a 80 liter bladder press. It look me about 3 hours to press 1T of grapes. I feel like I'm not getting all the juice and I'm fearful of crushing the sees and releasing seed tannins. There's several whole berries when I empty the...

I hadn't considered sur lie and battonage. I might change my mind and follow your path. I still have lots of grapes coming this year and I'll be running low on time and energy. This hobby has become a run away train!

I’m not making any adjustments, especially on the Viognier. It’s a little low on acid and I’ve made the decision to not do MLF as that would be like taking 80 grit to a pine cabinet. I’ll age in oak and roll the dice. BTW, juice tasted amazing!

Update: Pressed the white juice off the skins this morning. Here are the stats for all wines: 1. Tempranillo: pH 3.56, 24.2 Brix 2. Chardonnay: pH 3.35, 21 Brix 3. Viognier: pH 3.55, 24 Brix 4. Marssanne, Rosanne blend: pH 3.42, 23 Brix I was planning on inoculating Beta in the Viognier...

Update: Yesterday might be considered the longest day of my life... I left Missoula at 5:30am, as planned. I arrived in the Tri Cities on time, as planned at 10:00 am local time. We crossed from Mountain to Pacific time at the Idaho/Montana border on Lookout Pass so total drive time was 5.5...