Vineyards -- Calm in the Midst of Chaos

We’re thinking about our huge, extended wine family – our customers, the folks who tend the vineyards, the staff at the winery and our office and the bottle aging warehouse and our fulfillment shipper, the front and back people at the restaurants and shops where our wines are sold, the staff of our domestic marketing company and our distributors in each state, everybody working for our importers in Japan, Québec, Ontario, England, and Scandinavia, the wine writers and event planners – and then, looking further, everybody has their own families and friends and colleagues to think about.

The vineyards are a reminder that this will pass.  The vines woke up about a month ago and look flat-out terrific.  The shoots in our two acre “Lost Vineyard” Merlot block are among the most advanced on the ranch.  Last fall we spread organic compost and planted a nitrogen-rich cover crop.  A couple of weeks ago it was time to mow and lightly till to capture the natural nutrients for the vines.

From all the Snowdens -- hang in there, everybody.

Apr 18, 2020 at 5:08 PM Permalink

Winter 2020 Update

Ranch manager Severiano DeLoera and his small team started pruning on Monday, January 13.  Seve has found that a smaller group takes longer but can hit remarkable levels as far as quality and consistency are concerned.  They began with the simpler blocks – the older cordon trained vines.  It took them a week to make their way to the Brothers Vineyard, where the young, cane-trained vines require very precise work.  They are now finishing up in Brothers.  That will leave just the single acre of Sauvignon Blanc, which Seve always leaves until the last possible moment – it’s the only spot on the ranch where there’s a frost risk and late pruning will delay budbreak, protecting the vines for an additional couple of weeks.

Feb 12, 2020 at 2:08 PM Permalink

The Fruit is In -- All Looks Good -- Whew

We are delighted -- and relieved -- to report our harvest is complete. We make our wines in a neo-traditional, terroir-driven style, which means we pick on the early side for the Napa Valley.  This happens to keep us out of the line of fire for a lot of late fall risks like frost, rain, and smoke, but our real goal is to make wines at lower alcohols, with tannins and acid structure – wines which let the character of our different fields and the unique idiosyncrasies of the vintage show through to the glass. The Valley came through the '19 vintage without devastating heatwaves or fires, for which we are deeply grateful.  It was a long and moderate year which appears to be giving us unusually approachable wines.  The photo shows – left to right – CFO Carey Snowden Harrington (duties as assigned), winemaker Diana Snowden Seysses, and wine colleague Maggie Purdue, sorting the 2019 Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon, which came in on Saturday the 5th.

Oct 17, 2019 at 6:08 PM Permalink

Yipeee! Harvest is Underway!

The photo is just after dawn as the sun breaks over the Brothers Vineyard and the crew is just finishing our first pick for 2019 -- the single acre of Sauvignon Blanc.  This continues to be another interesting growing season -- fewer heat spikes than most years, cooler nights, and everything taking a just a touch more time.  We're going to bring in some Merlot on Wednesday for a dry rosé, and then it will be time to hurry up and wait for the reds to finish ripening.

Sep 9, 2019 at 12:51 PM Permalink

Veraison! Party!

We moved our "harvest" party up to late July to make sure our vineyard staff would be able to come -- once harvest actually starts, they're busy almost every day.  We were excited to see our vineyardists, wine club members, friends, family, and other Napa Valley wine people partying together under the oaks by our remote "Lost Orchard" vineyard at the east end of the property.  This is winemaker Diana Snowden Seysses, in from France, pouring magnums of two wines from the '90s and the rest from the '00s.  The food came from both sides of the boarder, the music was Norteño, and the weather was perfect -- which pretty much describes the growing season so far: slow, steady, and comfortable.  Here's a shot of Cabernet Sauvignon in our Brothers' Vineyard on August 8.  The chances of several curve balls coming up before harvest are near certain, but fingers are crossed.

Aug 11, 2019 at 2:24 PM Permalink

Take Your Mark, Get Set

Ranch manager Severiano Deloera and his team finished pruning our final block last week.  We always hold the single acre of Sauvignon Blanc until the end of pruning to delay budbreak in the only spot on the ranch where we've ever experienced a frost issue.  Seve keeps his group small so they can stay in close touch while they work.  Pruning is one of the most sensitive steps in the annual cycle.  Not only are they shaping the vine for this vintage -- they're also defining the universe of possibilities for next year.  Budbreak is about a week away -- two weeks later than last year.  We like that.  The longer the winter dormancy, the more rest for the vines.  We've had plenty of rain, which will make it easier to support the vines through the warm summer.  I always love the dawn of the the growing season.  Everything is still perfect.

Mar 26, 2019 at 8:35 PM Permalink

Harvest 2018 -- Here We Go

Vintages are unique -- and 2018 is no exception.  So far, the weather has been temperate and kind resulting in a more gradual final maturation than the past couple of years.  Our harvest got underway on September 7 with a little over two and a half tons of Sauvignon Blanc from the "Sunninghill" block -- here's Scott setting an example in a suit and tie. Yesterday, we picked two tons of Merlot for rosé -- the photo shows the juice draining into the press pan.  It looks like it will be another week or ten days before the serious reds start coming in.

Sep 15, 2018 at 4:58 PM Permalink

Pruning Photo Finish

Yesterday was a big day at the ranch – ranch manager Severiano Deloera and his team of master  vineyardists finished pruning the Brothers’ vineyard.  The Brothers is our largest and most challenging block because it’s closely spaced and “cane pruned” – a more sophisticated and difficult pruning method. One silver lining of this dry winter has been fewer rain days – Seve’s small team is on track to finish the pruning without needing to call in reinforcements, ensuring a high level of accuracy and uniformity in the work.  They’ve only got two single-acre blocks to go: the Cabernet Franc and the Sauvignon Blanc.  Seve always leaves the Sauvignon Blanc for last – it’s planted in the only spot on the ranch susceptible to frost and late pruning will delay budbreak, protecting the vines farther into the frost season.  It looks like we'll finish pruning without a day to spare -- the first buds are just starting to crack in the earliest blocks.  More good news – it’s just started raining!

Mar 13, 2018 at 8:09 PM Permalink

Pruning Means It's a New Growing Year

We wish it were raining here in the Napa Valley, but one positive of the delightful, balmy weather -- every  day is a pruning day.  Our tiny crew -- ranch manager Severiano Deloera and three trusted colleagues -- are already over half way along.  There are almost 44,000 vines to be pruned and it's not good for the pruners or the vines to work in bad weather.  But this year it looks like they'll be able to finish without having to call in reinforcements.  There's a big upside when this happens: the small team works closely together and stops whenever someone encounters a vine raising new questions -- which happens regularly, especially when they are starting a new block.  The result is an unusually high level of both quality and uniformity.  These are essential to producing the highest quality grapes, particularly in the cane-pruned blocks, such as the Brothers Vineyard.  In other news, many of you have heard us mention that the ranch lies about a mile north of the Pritchard Hill appellation?  Here's an aerial photo showing the Lost Orchard Vineyard at the east end of the property.  From there it drops steeply down to Lake Hennessey and that's Pritchard Hill on the far side at the right.

Feb 8, 2018 at 3:36 PM Permalink