Harvest is in full swing. So far, we have survived a major heat wave and a rainstorm. Difficulties can definitely arise from something that you have no control of, a constant issue with my life in farming. Predicting the unpredictable doesn’t work and you must figure out a way to work around the challenges. This year’s crop is on the light side in production due to cool weather during the flowering period in the spring. It was very cool for several weeks and to get the bloom or flowering complete, you need some warm weather. In this case, it came a little bit late. So far, in the Italian varieties, we have finished picking Pinot Grigio and will finish Muscat today.

2020 Malvasia Bianca “Secco”: A surprise wine from a surprise grape. Forty years ago, I was approached by a winery to grow this variety. It was a surprise even then! When we acquired the ranch next door with the Italian varietals about twenty years ago, I planted a few acres. It reminded me much of Muscat but with special tastes and aromatics of its own. It is full of floral flavors. We used some for blending and then started making it on its own, but more to the sweet side. It today’s world, we decided to try the “secco” approach, with “secco” meaning “dry”, and it is now becoming very attractive to wine consumers. If you are looking for flavor and complexity, its got it. This wine will complement that Thanksgiving turkey.

2018 Nebbiolo: One of the most difficult grapes to grow and difficult to find a location to grow it. It is temperamental, buds early, and picks late. At 100°F, it raisins. After that, it’s simple! Nebbiolo needs special trellising to cope with weather. It is a wine with huge tannins and yet almost light in color, one that needs time to mature. It has taken me twenty years to figure out this variety. When right, it is one of the great wine experiences.

2020 Pinot Noir: For our Italian-styled Pinot Noir, we tried to make the wine a little more bold with a little more color, yet a true Pinot. Most Italian Pinots are grown in northern Italy where it is cooler as this variety demands being grown in a cool region. The grapes for this wine were grown in our coolest vineyard in Santa Maria.

Don’t forget our wines for the holidays. Pay attention to some of the wine trips we have coming up with a getaway to Wickenburg, Arizona at a historic dude ranch and a private yacht sailing with me through Croatia where we will visit the islands of my family heritage.