I have now been away from Bob's for 6 weeks.
I am just finding my way around Ramey's white wine facility. Starting to feel somewhat comfortable. Can actually set up a tank for racking without asking too many questions.
Today we are getting Chardonnay from Martinelli's Charles Ranch. Two miles from the Pacific Ocean, the Charles family raised sheep here for 130 years. They switched to the Burgundian grapes - Chard and Pinot Noir - in the '70s.
Hello again from the Flying Goat Coffee shop! It is a chilly 45 degrees. I got up early and I am still excited about being here.
I know I said the Chardonnay harvest was coming to a close over a week ago, but then the weather turned just enough to slow down some of the ripening. So, we'll get the Charles Ranch Chard, process it and do some work on the barrels afterwards, but now most of our attention will turn to the reds.
When I was at Sbragia Family Vineyards yesterday, Ed Sbragia himself mentioned that they were in a similar situation (I love name dropping, as if we're old buddies). He says the sugars are right but the cab grapes are telling him to wait just a bit more. I think it was that heat spike a week or so back. Sbragia (think just 2 syllables - sbra.gia - per Kathy in tasting room, that's her with Ed in photo); they are farmers too. All the talk here in Sonoma is big crop and grapes going unsold. Ed mentioned that he waited to see where the market would go before selling his grapes and perhaps he waited too long. Sbragia should have plenty of 2009 wine available a few years from now. But that's okay. Have you ever tried his Gamble Ranch Chardonnay? Or the Monte Rosso Cab? Beautiful wines! He procures fruit from vineyards which he has built relationships with during his 30+ years at Beringer, where he is still the Winemaster. Similar to Ramey, Sbragia uses many Napa Valley Vineyards as well as staying true to his hometown roots in Dry Creek and Sonoma.
(Note to Bob's Girls: do you remember when Ed came to town last year? Party in dome room. He did a vertical tasting of Beringer Private Reserve Cabs dating back to 1982. Their is a magnum signed by him in the cellar window by table 402, check it out. He left us about 8-10 vintages to share that night).
Overheard around town: I finally got a haircut! Two months and I was looking like something out of a Groucho Marx film. While waiting for the clippers, the guy in the chair ahead of me mentioned that he had just sold his grapes to Jordan. Sold one day, picked the next. That's the way 2009 is going. He seemed happy and a bit relieved.
Many growers are "selling" to custom crush facilities on a 50-50 split basis. They crush the grapes and make the wine at their cost and keep half the wine. The grower keeps the other half, maybe selling it on the bulk market or bottling and selling it later. Just so they don't have to drop the fruit on the vineyard floor and get nothing at all for a year's work.
Merry Edwards finished a load of that fantastic Sauvignon Blanc Saturday and they are done with the 2009 Harvest. Likewise at Hirsch. They put the 2009 Crush to rest late last week and will start bottling other vintages this week. I do believe most, if not all, the Pinot producers have finished.
A little scary to think that those interns are done and heading home. I miss you guys back in Dallas but I'm not ready to leave this beautiful country just yet!
Finally, I will leave you with this silly photo. My version of Abbey Road:
