“You might say it is highly unlikely that we would make the same mistake twice.” ~ Robert Lutz
After last year's harvest, we actually sat down and had an organized meeting and devised an organized, printed winemaker's protocol, so we could improve our technique, streamline the process, eliminate unnecessary steps, and ultimately, our wine.
Now in our winemaker's "post-game" review, despite all of our careful planning, in the end, what we were most unhappy with last year turns out to be the precise thing we are most unhappy with this year. Last year, we learned that while many winemakers aim for a brix of approximately 25, the model of wine to which we aspired would demand a brix of 26 to 26.5.
Last year's mistake was that we picked at the numbers many winemakers prefer. This year, we waited two months longer for the numbers we wanted, but what we did not factor in was the lack of cooperation from Mother Nature. We waited two months longer than last year and our post-press numbers are not what we had hoped, so we're left with a new wine we're not even pleased with -- but admittedly, it has not been oaked or undergone malolactic fermentation or any other adjustments.
So was this really a mistake or did we just do the best we could do with the factors with which we were presented. To be a farmer demands eternal optimism -- that next year will be a better year, that your crops will be not only good, but the best, and that another spring is just around the corner. Consequently, we've decided that we will be optimistic and say that we did the best we could with the factors presented and hope that the wine will improve. However, if it does not, we have a secret up our sleeve to deal with two problems at once, thereby creating one solution.
Here's our resolutions for next year: 1.) No Round-up anywhere near the vineyard; 2.) Be diligent about whitefly management and inspect constantly; 3.) Be more selective in what clusters to thin and do a better job on creating a canopy on the south side; 4.) Do not pick until 26.5 brix. We'll look back at this and see how we did. Cheers!
Now in our winemaker's "post-game" review, despite all of our careful planning, in the end, what we were most unhappy with last year turns out to be the precise thing we are most unhappy with this year. Last year, we learned that while many winemakers aim for a brix of approximately 25, the model of wine to which we aspired would demand a brix of 26 to 26.5.
Last year's mistake was that we picked at the numbers many winemakers prefer. This year, we waited two months longer for the numbers we wanted, but what we did not factor in was the lack of cooperation from Mother Nature. We waited two months longer than last year and our post-press numbers are not what we had hoped, so we're left with a new wine we're not even pleased with -- but admittedly, it has not been oaked or undergone malolactic fermentation or any other adjustments.
So was this really a mistake or did we just do the best we could do with the factors with which we were presented. To be a farmer demands eternal optimism -- that next year will be a better year, that your crops will be not only good, but the best, and that another spring is just around the corner. Consequently, we've decided that we will be optimistic and say that we did the best we could with the factors presented and hope that the wine will improve. However, if it does not, we have a secret up our sleeve to deal with two problems at once, thereby creating one solution.
Here's our resolutions for next year: 1.) No Round-up anywhere near the vineyard; 2.) Be diligent about whitefly management and inspect constantly; 3.) Be more selective in what clusters to thin and do a better job on creating a canopy on the south side; 4.) Do not pick until 26.5 brix. We'll look back at this and see how we did. Cheers!
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