Pinot Noir grape clusters
Saturday (9/20)
The day started at 7am with a long, winding, car ride up to the northern Sonoma Coast to check out the newest vineyard for A.P. Vin. Now, I have NEVER suffered from motion sickness but this drive got me. (Three of the 4 of us actually suffered so at least I wasn't alone!) The fog was still hanging low in the sky when we reached the coast and Hwy 1 which is beautiful but zig-zagging for about 2 hours was just too much. Needless to say we were all glad to reach the vineyard. The most exciting part though was walking through the rows of Pinot grapes and checking on their growth. It really is amazing to pick and eat grapes right off the vine to check their sweetness and acidity.
Checking out the grapes
We went through the vineyard and took random samples of each grape clone. Each cluster was placed in baggies to be brought back to the winery for analysis.
Andrew taking random sampling
Once the samples were picked it was time to get back in the car (reluctantly) for the long, winding, ride back. Fortunately we got to stop in Healdsburg for lunch along the way which is one of my favorite towns in California's wine country.
Sunday (9/21)
My day started at 5am as I had to take David back to the airport (despite my pleading to have him stay with me!) I didn't have to be at the winery until 10am so I went back to my temporary home-away-from-home and went back to bed. The weather was amazing with a slight breeze and temperature around 65 so I decided to ride my bike to work. Yes, I rode my bike to work! Never heard of for me in Houston!
At the winery we did analysis on the "must" (the juice, skins, and seeds) in the bins from our work on Thursday as well as the new grapes we picked up for sample from the Sonoma Coast vineyard. The grapes from the sample were crushed in the bag to extract the juice then poured into a cup. The pH and Brix levels (sugars) were tested on each one and recorded to assist in making the decision of when to pick the Sonoma Coast fruit and to check the progress of the others.
I'm taking a hiatus from the pinot world on Tuesday to head up to the valley to assist another winemaker as she brings in a load of Chardonnay. It will be interesting to see the differences in the process. So, more to come after that.
3 comments:
Looks like fun. We will miss you in wine class tomorrow night.
Hi Kim, ah livin the dream! I'm sure the month will go by so fast and you'll feel like you just got started. So much to learn, so much to do. Can't wait to hear more. Love the blog.
Howdy, it's Wed 24th, almost quittin time in Houston. So did you ride your bike to work again? You'll get hooked on that green living! Class last night was funny. There were more pourers than class attendees. Not really but it's a small class and ALL the pourers came so there were like 10 of us! We talked about you, were your ears burning? We said we missed you and that it was awesome that you were in CA. 3 wineries have already entered wines for the competition. Wahoo! I have to remember this is public so no secrets here. Have fun and keep in touch. We miss ya
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