Update– From Vineyards to Cellar

I realize that between the many posts on Bordeaux, the tasting of Kick Ranch, and everything else that I have not updated the loyal readers on what is going on in the winery, the vineyard, and what future plans are starting to look like.

First, the wines in barrel are all tasting really good. There are a few puncheons that are still ticking, oh so slowly, through the last stages of ML, but on the whole most things are clean, finished with ML, have been sulfured, and are getting topped every two weeks.

From the forward nature of the Bedrock Heirloom Wine and the Rebecca’s Pinot Noir it looks like the first wines will be getting bottled in August! It seems so soon, but it is really exciting that I will have wine available for folks to taste and buy pretty soon. The Syrah’s, particularly the Old Lakeville and Kick Ranch are still quite backward and unintegrated, so I do not foresee them being bottled before 2009. My guess is that they will be available for Spring Release of that year.

In the vineyards things are starting to awaken from winter slumbers. Early breaking varieties such as Chardonnay and Petite Sirah are starting to push buds. Up at Wildcat Mountain Vineyard the Chardonnay already has 3-4 inch long shoots. Syrah, Cabernet, and Zinfandel are all still clinging onto the pillow, trying to eek out a little more sleep, prior the commencement of the growing season. Warm and temperate weather in the last couple weeks has certainly sped things up a bit.

Tas standing in recently pruned Old Lakeville Vineyard.

In almost all vineyards pruning is done. At Bedrock we just finished the final bit of Cabernet, typically the last to be pruned in order to prevent fungal diseases such as eutypa and bot canker from spreading in the cool, wet, weather of early to mid-winter. Soon we will start taking out vines from old Block 7 and putting in St. George, 101-14, and 3309 rootstock for the new Zinfandel and test block.

The real activity this time of year goes towards planning the events of next harvest. Decisions have to be made regarding what fruit is going to be purchased and crushed, where the wine is going to be made, what oak is to be used, whether new equipment needs to be bought, all that type of good stuff.

There are certainly some exciting things going on on the fruit front. I have essentially committed to being around for a while by signing a three-year evergreen contract for Syrah from Wildcat Mountain Vineyard out on the coast and a three year contract for multiple clones of Kick Ranch Syrah and some Viognier. Additionally, I have decided to continue taking fruit from the excellent Old Lakeville Vineyard and from Josh’s Pinot vineyard as well (of course, since the wine is frickin delicious). In addition, a few new things are being added to the list for vintage 2008 besides the coup d’etat acquisition of Wildcat Mountain Syrah grapes. They are, in no particular order:

Kick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc. Yes, Bedrock Wine Co. is delving into the world of white wine production by buying some clone 317 and musque clone Sauv. Blanc from this excellent vineyard on the backside of Spring Mountain. Crops are so low, typically around 2.5-3 tons per acre, that Dick Keenan has actually ripped some of the Sauvignon Blanc out– bad news for the grower but excellent for the winemaker seeking wines of personality and concentration. The plan here is to barrel ferment Sauvignon Blanc, using a small percentage of new oak, a la Pessac-Leognan. As much as I love the clean, bright, Sauvignon Blanc’s out on the market, my raison d’etre when it comes to the varietal are the wines of Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Carbonnieux, and Chevalier (not to mention Peter Michael’s L’Apres Midi, Mondavi’s Tokalon Fume’ Blanc, and Craggy Range’s lovely barrel-fermented example from New Zealand). Might as well give it a try myself. My father is reading this right now and is dying a little inside…”my son! Sauvignon Blanc? NOOOOOOOOO!” Clutching his breast like Sophia Loren in Two Women.

Bald Mountain Vineyard Syrah. After begging for over a year, mountain vineyard farming guru Joe Votek has relented to my whining and is willing to sell me a small amount (like 1 ton) of Syrah fruit from this stellar, dry-farmed, mountain vineyard. Located on the edges of the Mt. Veeder appellation up near Kistler Vineyard in Sonoma Valley, this vineyard has made some excellent Syrah’s under the tutelage of Will Bucklin at Bucklin and Ben Davis at Talullah. It is a thrill to be able to work with excellent Syrah from a mountain site since Old Lakeville Vineyard and Wildcat are both quite coastal in nature.

Bedrock Vineyard Barbera. After being thrilled with the quality of the Barbera that went into the 2007 Bedrock Heirloom Blend I am looking forward to play around with a little more of the fruit. I am planning on controlling the crop pretty heavily and aging the wine completely in neutral puncheon or demi-muid in order to retain the brightness of the fruit. Sebastiani’s Barbera comes completely from our vineyard, but in contrast to their wine, which seems to occlude varietal as much as possible via high ripeness and heavy oak-use, I am hoping to make an example which demonstrates the lip-smacking, food-friendly, deliciousness of a wine that this varietal can make.

And since production is clearly increasing, from 21 tons in 2007 to 25 tons this year, I am also looking for another location to make my wines in. Most of the production will still take place at Tantalus, where I made the 2007 vintage. However, I am ill-equipped to tackle white wines there, and frankly do not have the barrel capacity or permit to increase production any more. It is likely that I will find myself sharing custom crush space with Will Bucklin, Ceja, and a few others at Phil Staehle’s excellent Enkidu Winery on the other side of Sonoma. Since I really do not have enough things to juggle already!

So that is the update. If readers happen to be passing through town please be in touch! I would love to show folks around and do some barrel tasting.

Caritas would love to see you too.