“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.” Author Unknown

The end is in sight. The last olive has been picked. We remind ourselves, however, that it is now February of the next year. When one is hauling one's self in late at night after mat-layering or schlepping over to the barn in pajamas to crank the press down early in the wee hours of the morning, a negative attitude could creep in or thoughts along the lines that it seemed one was doing this months ago and is still engaging in the same task. It's been decided to opt for the positive spin, in order to retain sanity, the Italians don't pick their olives until January or February -- so we've got that going for us.

The Arbequina paste and oil look distinctly different from the other three. The Mission and Frantoio paste were thicker to spread and the Mission oil is a gold, with hints of green; the Frantoio oil is an emerald green. We don't exactly know what to make of the Arbequina yet. The paste is extremely oily, so oily that the layers of mats were nearly slipping off the stack after being layered. My guess is that it will be a gold oil and fairly mild.

The 2010 Zinfandel was racked today, and this aspiring winemaker and her partner were very pleased with it. It has a good nose, peppery, with hints of vanilla -- no doubt from the oak. Considering its alcohol content, one might expect a fruit bomb or alcohol bomb, but there is neither. It is well balanced. The judges would like to see a bit more flavor linger after tasting, but that could come from the fact that it is a young wine. All in all, we are pleased with it, especially after such a difficult growing year.

The 2010 Cab was tasted to determine if there has been any malolactic fermentation. While it has progressed, it is difficult to determine. Probably only a lab test will determine this. The tasting panel understood that under any circumstance (MLF or not), this wine requires a balancing correction, and this will be done as soon as the lab results are in and prior to being laid to rest in the barrels. It should improve dramatically hence forth.

Tomorrow, will be spent prepping the barrels and pressing the olive paste, as yet another storm will be moving through. However, for the first time since September, this storm will not bring anxiety that the grapes or olives are not picked. The entire 2010 crop is in, finally, and for that, we are grateful. Last night, it was an indescribable feeling to prepare a dinner using olive oil from our own trees -- a mixture between a sense of accomplishment and triumphing over challenge after challenge. Care is always taken, however, in limiting triumph, as fate will usually intercede and send a plague or natural disaster to tone down the celebratory spirit.

2010 brought the most difficult growing conditions since the 1987 harvest, and for the inexperienced, it proved very challenging to manage.  A great deal was learned in 2010, despite the challenges, such as how to assess the Zin growth and position our Zin for the season; never spray Round-Up, even going up the driveway; how to correctly tie and bundle our lavender and how to remove the buds; how to make real soap using lye; how to make grape jelly; how to make Anaheim pepper jelly; how to make and preserve tomato sauce; how to do a better job making the wine; at what numbers we would really like to harvest; how to use our olive press and what the over all process entails. 2010 also brought some real progress on the rancho logo and labels.

In 2011, it is the goal of this rancho to improve upon all of the above, continue to rack the wine and olive oil and to grow incredible wine grapes, eating grapes, olives, lavender, tomatoes, and herbs. The motto in 2011 will be "Do It Better" The best is yet to be.

Slainte!

The Ranch Manager