I have such fond memories of my first harvest from 2008. If you know me (and if you are reading this then I am sure you do) then you know how much I enjoyed my month in California in 2008. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to wine production than what I received with Andrew at A.P. Vin. He is such a great person, very knowledgeable, extremely kind and I couldn't have asked for a better mentor my first time out. I also benefited from working with a handful of other very talented winemakers that were willing to share their stories with me and allowed me to work with them for a day or two. Overall, harvest 2008 was an absolutely amazing!
We took a trip back to Northern California in June of this year with some friends for vacation and had a great time visiting wineries in Napa and Alexander Valleys and catching up with friends we met last year. But, I have to admit, my absolute favorite moment of the trip was heading to A.P. Vin and tasting the 2008s that I helped produce last year.
We planned to arrive at A.P. Vin around 2pm the day we landed in California (because I couldn't wait to get there!) Andrew had pulled a few samples from barrel and had them waiting for us when we arrived. It was so great to be back...felt like coming home. Tim (my co-intern from '08) was there as well and we all tasted through the samples. From "my girl" Rosella's to the Keefer and Kanzler, all Pinots were tasting great. The wines spent another few months in barrel and were actually bottled earlier this month.
Andrew Vingiello and me at A.P. Vin
Andrew did some wonderful things with his 2007 vintage in case you haven't heard already. He scored 90+ on each wine! I was so happy to hear this and here's hoping for equally good scores on the 2008. (Let's home the Van-YO love pays off.)
Thanks again, Andrew, for making my first internship something I will never forget.
Now...on to 2009!
