One of the big questions in growing grapes is time. We have now reached the time for the grapevines to bloom, when each berry becomes a flower. When that drops off, the berry emerges and when you have plenty of those, you have a bunch! The most important thing is that it gives us an indication of bunch, bunch size, and effective berry set. With this information, we can begin to formulate what kind of a crop we think we will have and, as each day goes by, we are closer to determining when harvest will take place. We never did get that rain I talked about last time. We only got a little bit at the end of the season so we are having to do some early irrigation. All of our vineyards have drip irrigation, an emitter that drips water at each vine. Harvest timing should be about normal, late August instead of September. And from the size and amount of the bunches we see, it looks like we will have a slightly smaller than normal crop in terms of size, with some variations by variety.

2022 Ramato: This variety reminds me of Jim Palmer. He is the one who told me several years ago after returning from one of his trips to Italy that I was making Ramato! What? The Pinot Grigio grape, even though it’s a white wine, has pink to light red skins, and when the grapes are put in the press, as you get closer to the finish, you start to get some color in the juice. We used to put that wine aside and use it occasionally in blends. In Italy, it’s called Ramato. I would call it Pinot Grigio Rosé. Because of Jim, we began making a Ramato. This one is exceptional.

2021 Nebbiolo Barbera: One of the best wines we ever made by mistake. Many years ago, in an attempt to make a rosé from these two varieties, the juice was left too long on the skins so we ended up with red wine. My goodness, it was really good! Today they are even doing it in Piemonte where these two classic varieties are grown. Nebbiolo usually lacks in color, even though it is a very tannic wine. Barbera has great color and must be picked ripe or it is too high in acid. Anyway, the match works. Made for Italian cuisine.

2020 Riserva: Always the highest-scoring wine at Toccata, consistently scoring in the 90s. Los Alamos is an exceptional place to grow Sangiovese, where it is not too hot and not too cold. The Cabernet comes from our Valley View Vineyard, a little bit of old vine and some Clone 6. This one is good enough to put away and age, but definitely can be enjoyed now. A classic. Last year on our trip to Tuscany, we drank some exceptional wines and this one is just as good, maybe better.

Summer is here and Solvang still has no parking meters - a place where it’s impossible to stay on your diet! Come visit us and we will try to make your day.