Furlong Estates Vineyard Visit

Last Saturday, I took a trip up to Furlong Estates Vineyard. It was a typical summer day for Sonoma County with a layer of marine fog hanging over the vineyard. However, by the time I finished walking the Syrah block, the fog had burned off and the sun was shining down on the grapes. Furlong Estates is a lovely hillside vineyard. The Syrah block, starts on the base of the hill and rapidly ascends up the side of the slope. When I am sampling grapes, I find it necessary to walk the block so that I can get a good sense of how the vineyard is progressing. What that means is that I was constantly walking up and down the side of the hill, which gave me a good morning’s work out. As for the grapes, they are looking great. They are still at least two weeks away from being harvested. With the long range forecast being for nice sunny days and cool nights the sugar levels will continue to rise and the flavor will continue to develop nicely.

Harvest 2008 Is Just Around The Corner

Well, after being away for six weeks, I am now just getting back up to speed on how my grapes are doing and am planning to do some vineyard visits over the next couple of weeks. Although there was a late frost in April and some showers and high winds during bloom (when the grape buds start to flower), the summer has been pretty perfect with temperatures in the 80’s helping the grapes to ripen evenly. The Napa Valley Grapegrowers held a press conference yesterday and they are predicting “an exceptional vintage of pristine grapes with lower than average yields in a year marked by extreme growing conditions.” (Click hear to read their full press release) Sounds pretty impressive! I’m sure some of it is marketing hype, but I’m not one to complain. Great grapes make great wine and from what I have already seen, I have to agree that 2008 has the potential to be an excellent vintage. You’ll just have to stay tuned to see how it evolves over the next few months.

I expect my grapes from Furlong Estates Vineyard in the Alexander Valley to be ready for harvest probably around the first week in September whereas the grapes from Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa and St. Mark’s Vineyard in the Russian River Valley probably wont ripen until sometime in mid to late October. I’ll post an update with pictures sometime in the next few weeks.

So, let’s all raise a glass to the start of Harvest 2008.

On another note, my sister Kylie has started blogging for SBS - a multicultural broadcasting service in Australia. If you want to read her post on BritDoc 2008 (a conference on documentary films) then follow this link.