Getting Ready to Pick Sauvignon Blanc - We are getting close

A Foggy Morning in Napa - September 6 - Temp 54 degrees

This is an amazing part of the world.  At 6AM as the sun started to rise, it was clear. Now, at 7:05AM it is foggy and will probably stay that way for a couple of hours. Yesterday it was 85 degrees at the end of the day but the sun did not get completely "out" until 11AM.  That is one of the reasons the Napa Valley is so great for grapes.  Warm sunny days and very cool evenings, nights and early mornings. Everyday about 3PM the breeze from San Francisco Bay starts to blow, gently at first and then a bit stronger as we move toward evening.  It is the diurnal temperature variation that lets the flavors and sugars settle in the grapes and that gives us the great wines that only the Napa Valley can produce.

Picking up Sauvignon Blanc (SB) barrels today and testing the glycol in the chiller and tanks.

We will pick up the French Oak barrels (from Demptos) for the SB today and get them ready for use.
We will ferment the SB at cool temperatures (about 55 degrees) in the french oak barrels and following fermentation we will rack off the wine, clean the barrels and age the wine in those barrels for about 6 to 9 months.  Yesterday was spent adjusting and testing all of the tanks to make sure that we had the correct fittings, that the seals and valves worked and that they were clean.  Spotless.  We are getting close.

Picking SB on September 9.

The Brix was 24 yesterday so we will wait out this week but probably pick on Friday.  Stay tuned. This is starting to get exciting as we move forward to harvest.