LOV
Letter
It’s a Waiting Game
Last year’s September newsletter was
titled “Early to Harvest.” What a
difference a year makes. We are, on
average, a month behind last year in picking grapes. We had the most pleasant summer weather I can remember. Most days were in the seventies and some in
the eighties. For people it was
grand. For grapes it was not. We need at least some of those ninety degree
days to get those berries ripe. We got
all of our white grapes in within a couple weeks of normal, and the Pinot Noir
made it too, but then we waited, and waited.
By September 26th the winery was empty of fermenting juice,
the first time ever.. Finally, the last
three days of September exploded with heat, to the triple digit level. This was enough to get a lot of fruit up to
a reasonable picking level. We will
have a busy week with this new bounty.
That is the good news. The bad
news is that we have already started another cool period so it is likely we
will be waiting again for the next group of grapes to ripen. For consumers, however, this is not all
bad. The fruit we have received so far
is excellent and there is a lot of it.
Long slow ripening seasons (if the fruit does finally get ripe) usually
produce the best wine. Anyway, if you
are coming to the barbecue in the winery on October 7th you will see
it full of juice in the process of becoming wine. Hope to see you there.
Art White
This Month’s Wines
For
September we are again sending you two great wines native to France’s Bordeaux
region, This time it is Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Franc is from the Valley View vineyard east of
Solvang, which consistently produces grapes that makes wines popular with you. It is on a south facing hill above the Santa
Ynez River and gets lots of sun in the afternoon, which gets these grape
varieties ripe. The Merlot is from the
Westerly vineyard is has always been the more popular of our Merlots. Enjoy!
2001 ~ Valley View Vineyard ~ Santa Ynez Valley
~ Santa Barbara County
CABERNET FRANC
Cabernet Franc is one of the three most
prominent French Bordeaux varieties; Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the
others. Always blended in Bordeaux, it
is often bottled as a primary grape in California, especially in Santa Barbara
County, which produces many fine examples.
You are first struck by the beautiful, very dark color of this wine,
which would normally be associated with a wine such as zinfandel or syrah. On the palate there is lots of dark fruit
with just the right amount of tannins, yet the wine is smooth and soft. It has excellent body with a certain
richness, almost sweetness, that can be attributed to the glycerine and alcohol
in the wine. This is an interesting
wine to warm up in your mouth before swallowing. It will intensify most of the flavors that you might otherwise
miss, including the chocolate on the finish.
I suggest serving this wine warmer than cellar temperature or you may
miss most of the joy. 250 cases made.
2001 ~ Westerly Vineyard ~ Santa Ynez Valley ~
Santa Barbara County
MERLOT
Merlot
is one of the great red wine varieties native to the Bordeaux region of
France. In its native region it is
almost always blended, usually with Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon or
both. In California, it is more common
to find wines, such as this one, which are one hundred percent Merlot. It is our style to produce big, full-bodied
wines, and the deep ruby color of this Merlot is the first indication that we
were successful. The nose shows off
some jammy fruit characteristic of fine Merlot and invites you to taste the
wine. On the palate, the fruitiness is
complimented by nuances of chocolate that add to the wine’s complexity. 335 cases made.