They didn’t tell me that the road to recovery sometimes has bumps and chuck holes but I am getting better every day and that’s good news because harvest is just around the corner. The grape crop is behind in our area and all over the state, around 15-25 days behind schedule. A very cool spring can be blamed. Our recent weather has been on the warmer side but not enough to catch up. Our Italian grapes are progressing well. Unfortunately, we lost some of the Nebbiolo on our Ron’s lot due to frost. We also grafted out some of the Barbera where old vines needed new tops and in the younger vines where I did not like the clone and the way it produced. 

 

We just released our second 2016 Sparkling Rosato of the same vintage but in tirage for an additional year. It proves that Pinot Grigio is a very good grape for sparkling. Pinot Grigio is one of the first varieties that we pick, right around the first of September. Our 2017 vintage from our 2-3 acres at the Goodchild Ranch scored 87 points in Wine Enthusiast. This is a good score because Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc rarely reach a score of 90 points.

 

Sole Bianco: Some wines are made to taste good. The goal here was to make a great tasting white wine at a moderate price. This one is a blend of five different varieties that came from our cooler climate Los Alamos Vineyard. Sole Bianco makes a good cocktail wine and will go with light summer fare.

 

2015 Sangiovese: This vintage was aged in neutral oak for over a year and half and made from 100% Sangiovese with 2/3 from our special older Brunello clone on the west side of Highway 101 and 1/3 from our young Sangiovese on the east side. We have continued to make our Sangiovese at 100% because you really get the true experience of this easy to drink variety with its red brick color and lush mouthfeel. The temptation is to blend it with other varieties and we will get into that with our next wine featured this month. 

 

2014 Toccata Riserva: We just received a silver medal at the Central Coast Wine Competition in Paso Robles. Our previous vintage scored 92 pts in Wine Enthusiast and this is the icon wine of Toccata. Most people would call this a Super Tuscan blend, which was  a concept developed by the Antinori family in Italy 15-20 years ago, showing the greatness of Sangiovese as a blender with Bordeaux varieties. This wine is 20% Sangiovese, 65% Cabernet (53% “Clone 6”), 5% Freisa, 5% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. This particular wine could be aged a few more years but because of the Sangiovese component, it is definitely ready to drink now. This great wine needs to be consumed with a great meal.

 

I hope a few of you showed up on our Vineyard Tour! Your next wine club release will be in the thick of the harvest season when we will be getting ready for the November Harvest Party. But for now, it’s still summer - take that needed break.