“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ~ John Steinbeck

 

Apologize for the hiatus!  As with everyone, some time was taken to bask in the warmth of the summer sun, roast a few marshmallows, go to the fair, watch a few sunsets, and walk barefoot through the grass (only in our minds, otherwise, the rattlesnakes could end the summer quickly). 

 

What's been going on at the rancho, you might ask?  Lots, as always.  The table grapes ripened nicely and surprised us with much more bounty than expected!  The fig tree has produced a serious crop of figs this year.  We're currently producing fig jam, strawberry fig jam -- basically, anything one can think of utilizing figs, as well as our highly anticipated Tequila Jalepeno Grape Jelly and our Ruby Royale Grape Jelly.  Our current cocktail accompaniment is a olive/fig tampenade, with the ranch olive oil, naturally!

 

It was been a sizzling summer here on the Central Coast, with temperatures over 110 since mid-May through the end of July.  The heat broke about the end of July for approximately 10 days, but it's back again.  The better part of July was spent fighting with the nets, the most hated part of this vintner's year.  The wine grapes are looking very good.  The Zin looks as if it may be the first to be picked this year, as its numbers are getting very close.  If we were picking based upon pH alone, we would be picking.  However, the sugar has not yet caught up.  With the heat, though, it could happen within a week.  The Petite Sirah, as always, is the best behaved of our vines, and most loved (hear that, Zin???) but I'm gauging that harvest of that varietal could be about a month off.  The Cab works at its own pace and will probably wait until a storm is impending, then petulantly demand to be picked.  The olives aren't even thinking of ripening.  No color change, not even close.

 

In the meantime, we're testing, tasting, and beginning to think about blending our 2011 wines.  20 cases of wine bottles were picked up this morning.  The fruit was outstanding in 2011, and most importantly, we almost knew what we were doing!  Great strides had been made between 2010 and 2011 in SO2 management, as well as inert gas management. 

 

So, how will these ranchers/farmers/vintners/olive oil producers be spending the waning days of summer?  Jarring the 2012 olives, of course, and continuing to prepare for harvest -- although nothing really prepares one for it.  Watch for all of these latest products on our website, as we continually update it.  We hope you enjoy the last of the lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer!

 

Cheers!