2018 vintage - the tradition continues

Bud break visited the vineyard on April 21 this year, kicking off the vintage. On May 7-8 we pruned to keep 16 clusters per vine and one cluster per fruiting cane for the Pinot Noir, while leaving two clusters per cane on the Pinot Gris. Flowering commenced on June 4 with the first fruit set noticed on June 20. The first hedging happened on August 6 as the crew swung into action with machetes in hand. Veraison descended onto the Pinot Noir blocks August 14 and the countdown to harvest began. Watching the grapes ripen is the most anticipatory time of the vintage, as the race to harvest before the rains begin to fall instills a sense of excitement and anxiety in the hearts and minds of all Willamette Valley vignerons. The harvest occurred on September 30 with pickers arriving at 6:30 am, before the sun was even up. A total of 1.1 tons of Pinot Gris (1.2 tons per acre) were picked, while 3.1 tons of Pinot Noir (1.7 toms per acre) were harvested. The Pinot Noir tested at 23.7 Brix and a pH of 3.21. Any farming endeavor is not without its challenges. This year we sustained crop damage from herbicide drift with about 20% loss of fruit along the outer rows. That being said, the quality of the fruit that remained was again outstanding. The 2018 Pinot Gris was sold to a different winemaker, Chris Barnes of Chris James cellars, who produced a unique "orange" Pinot Gris, which is akin to a Rose' from a red grape, where the Pinot Gris is processed with some "skin time" to produce a Pinot Gris with a beautiful orange color and a slightly tannic "orange" wine that we expect to soften with some extra time in the bottle. The 2018 Pinot Noir was again sold to winemaker Ryan Huett, who has produced one of his favorite Pinot Noir wines ever. This Single Vineyard Series Pinot Noir is 50% Pommard and 50% 777 clones and was bottled in January 2019. Once again, the vintage received high honors with a second straight year of 92 points from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.