Oct 8, 2017 | Vineyard, Wine
The Sonoma grape harvest of 2017 is almost over.
Here is video and imagery from the field and at the winery…
First, the videos:
Video: Fruit being loaded into half ton bin
Video: Time lapse of removing stems on the sorting table
And the still images:
Syrah ready to be picked…
Harvest crew (yellow) works a line of Merlot while foreman (orange supervises) and the bobcat with a half ton bin follows:
Closeup view of a hillside block of Cabernet…
The last of the rows of this block almost picked…
The crew departs this hillside block with 3/4 ton picked…
The 40 pound picking lugs get cleaned…
The Mustang loads bins onto the pickup truck, bins go on the trailer next…
Closeup view of Hydeout fruit…
An example of a Cal State ‘Weighmaster Certificate’ issued to me when this small lot of Cabernet arrived at it’s destination, the custom crush winery, Deerfield Ranch…
Sep 24, 2017 | Wine
One year ago, Cynthia and I visited the French countryside of Marcillac in the department of Aveyron, six hours south of Paris and four hours north of Spain.
Attended by my father-in-law, Bruce Bogin, and his friend (and our translator), Georges Berte, we visited a local domaine, Philippe Croizat, during the 2016 harvest. Croizat makes a wonderful medium-bodied Mansois-based red wine very typical of the Marcillac region. (And I just received news that they are once again in the midst of the 2017 ‘vendage’ today)…
This view is of the immediate backyard behind the winery. Noting the green grass in between the rows, they clearly get a lot more moisture than we do; in California this time of year, everything is very dry and golden, especially in the vineyard.
Although the buildings seem wonderfully rustic to american eyes, the winemaking is 100% gravity flow, starting with the vineyard along steep mountain hillsides, and the Italian destemmer at the top floor of the barn…
A conveniently placed window is a good way to get the stems out of the building and into a green waste bin…
The fermentation then happens in the tanks in the basement cave. Daniel Portes, the brother-in-law of Philippe Croizat, offers me a glass from the tank…
Below, Georges (our local guide and translator), Philippe Croizat (the proprietor), Ken Wornick, and Bruce Bogin (my father-in-law). Note the yellowish wine tanks in the background with the wine level clearly visible. Most of the world now prefers stainless steel tanks, and occasional wood, but these tanks undeniably have a benefit by being inert yet clearly show the fill level precisely.
The wines of Aveyron were held in high esteem by the middle classes and by the clergy of Rodez, whose superiors sited their country residence in the wine-growing area. They were also consumed by miners and agricultural workers. However, a public health crisis at the end of the 19th century, the frosts of the early 20th century and the decline of the mines combined to bring down wine production, and it reached its lowest point ever in 1965. It was at this point that a handful of producers decided to take action in order to prevent the wine industry from becoming completely extinct. In 1965 they decided to apply for VDQS status (Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure), i.e. the classification immediately below AOC wine, which it was granted under the name Vin de Marcillac. The growers re-landscaped the vineyards, creating terraces in order to allow maximum mechanisation of their work. In 1990 the wine-growing area was granted AOC status under its present name, Marcillac. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcillac_AOC
Vines were introduced here by the monks of Conques between the 8th and 12th centuries. Today Marcillac wine enjoys its Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status. Marcillac is situated towards the north west of Aveyron is blessed with a micro-climate giving rise to its milder winters and hence the production of its Marcillac wine. Just over a century ago, these valley walls were lined with over 4,000 hectares of vines. If one looks closely along the crests of the hills, one can see overgrown terraces whose reproductive future was stymied by the phylloxéra, and whose impotent vine stumps now remain frozen in the ground like tombstones. Today a mere 150 hectares (370 acres) remain, dug into the hillsides along the causse, high enough up the hill to prevent damage from spring frosts and at a steep angle which allows maximum exposure to the sun. Marcillac achieved VDQS status in 1964. In 1965, the cave coopérative was formed and included nearly all of the region’s 70 producers, who property under vine averaged just over a hectare each. In 1990, thanks to the effort of the coopérative and several independent producers, Marcillac was granted AOC status. Red wine is predominant product of Marcillac, although rosé is also allowed within the AOC. The king of grapes is the Mansois, also known in other regions of the Southwest as Fer Servadou or Braucol. It must be used in at least 80% of all Marcillac wines. Other grapes allowed include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Merlot, Jurançon Noir, and the nearly extinct Mouyssaguès.
For more info…
Marcillac Wine
Here are a few random images from our 2017 harvest…
Sep 11, 2017 | Wine
The Sonoma Valley Ag Boosters, supporters of the Sonoma Valley High School “Future Farmers of America” and the “Sustainable Agriculture Academy”, held their annual fundraising gala last night at the Hydeout in Sonoma…
A huge crowd of students, teachers, staff, and adults joined in for a fun gala event supporting all things agriculture at the high school…
Above, the students quickly got out of their work clothes and changed into their dress clothes and FFA jackets. We were all so impressed with the kids – they did all the hard work and heavy lifting over two long days to set up and tear down the event. Students moved all the tables and chairs, hung string lights, stocked the bar, parked cars until the lot was full, greeted every guest individually at the gate with a firm handshake, served and cleaned up dinner, and were pillars of good behavior throughout. They showed interest, poise, and spunk throughout the event…
Above, the back of the “California Sonoma FFA” jacket…
Below, attendees dutifully studied their live auction items over dinner…
In a world seemingly gone a little bit mad, and where nearly everything seems polarized, the students and teachers ran a flawless event. In the audience was a wonderful mix of the great Sonoma demographic, people from all walks of life, and many industries including hospitality, wineries, growers, dairy, government, and education; and everyone was incredibly generous, proving there is still something good and wholesome about agriculture in America…
Early reports indicate nearly twice as much money was raised this year versus 2016. Paddles were raised high for many interesting auction lots, all of which involved the students offering all manner of services including gardening, flowering arranging, dinners, and customized plasma-cut logo signage…
As dinner wound down, the sun set and the night lights, heaters, and fire pits came to life. We awoke this morning to find the Hydeout in spotless mint condition, a further testament to the care and kindness of the students, faculty, staff, and parents involved in this worthwhile program.
Out thanks to all. Warmly. Ken and Cynthia Wornick, Hydeout Sonoma
http://sonomaagriculture.weebly.com
http://sonomavalleyhigh.org/agriculturedept.html
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4517510-181/new-high-school-agriculture-program?artslide=0
Sep 2, 2017 | Wine
A pictorial essay of Hydeout Consulting’s first nighttime harvest for 2017
Below is a pictorial essay following a nighttime harvest of Pinot Noir from our arrival on-site at the vineyard through to delivery at the winery. Hydeout Consulting directed the management of this vineyard throughout the season, and delivered the fruit per our client’s specs to the winery…
10:00pm – arriving on site, truck headlights shining on some Pinot Noir that will be picked tonight:
10:30pm – tailgate safety briefing with the foreman and picking crew, 6 men, 4 women; lots of dangerous heavy equipment, tractors, half-ton fruit bins, pruners, etc, thus safety is always first so no gets hurt, plus we discuss keeping all MOG (material other than grapes) out of the white half ton bins, imagine the damage just one rock would do the winery destemmer:
11:00pm – part of the crew begins removing bird nets, others begin picking into 40 pound lugs, while the tractor driver leads with the trailer and two empty half ton bins:
12:30pm – we loose track of time as the racket of the tractor engine and machinery drowns out the eerie and still night silence, and the harvest lights utterly block out the incredible starry sky; nighttime harvests are like being in a bubble or on a submarine, senses are dulled and focus is concentrated on the task at hand, temperatures start to drop rather quickly, from 93F that day, down to mid-60F’s just after midnight:
Night harvest – video
2:20am – full bins get one last careful look over to remove green leaves, then get trucked over to the loading pad, we want to deliver only pristine fruit to the winery:
3:00am – an image of Pinot Noir clusters about to be picked, and the temperature has now dropped to a cool 55F:
4:45am – as the sun barely starts to show it’s glow, and Venus hangs low in the east, the temperature drops rapidly to a very chilly 48F; everyone, but especially the pickers, are close to exhaustion, and maybe a little giddy too, hot cocoa and chocolate is passed around as we ready for the final push:
6:39am – sunrise, the darkness quickly recedes, the temperature begins to rise, and the tractor gets a rest too, 1/2 ton bins are almost done being loaded onto the flatbed truck:
7:15am – and the cool fog (in the background) begins to retreat west, the trucks are fully loaded, on this truck are 8 half-ton bins, or about 4 tons net weight of gorgeous Bennett Valley 2017 Pinot Noir, now headed to the winery:
8:10am – the fruit has been trucked to the winery, offloaded, officially weighed in, and is headed for the destemmer and then the fermentation tank, although about 20% of this fruit will be whole-cluster fermented directly into the tank:
9:20am – the winery tanks are prepped, cleaned, and ready; pumps are staged, and argon gas and frozen CO2 is at the ready:
9:35am – out on the loading dock, yours truly, Ken Wornick from Hydeout Consulting (in the black beanie), Jordan Kivelstadt (blue shirt and glasses), owner of the Kivelstadt wine brand, and Sam Baron (SF hat), Kivelstadt operations manager; as we all three celebrate the end of my long night, and the beginning of their long day; in the background are empty bins being loaded on the flat bed truck for the next night’s harvest:
Growing grapes and making wine really puts you in close contact with the seasons, the hot sun, and the cool night air, and each vintage leaves unique and lasting memories. Life is short and every moment is worth cherishing. Easier said than done. Farming forces you to do the work when the work must be done. In some respects, not having a choice is a pleasure in itself. And so it goes on the long road to the Thanksgiving holiday out there in late November…
Aug 27, 2017 | Vineyard, Wine
In Sonoma, the harvest is already well underway for sparkling wines and some Pinots. But for the deeper darker reds, we are just starting to do field sampling of berries. And beginning to forecast the harvest schedule. This is vital because every winery has a different style of wine and elects to harvest using different benchmarks. In addition, there is necessarily a lot of planning to assure that manpower is ready to go, tractors and picking bins are in place, and the winery is ready with open tanks for fruit delivery. Thus we start forecasting way in advance…
Below is a quick review of some fruit conditions around Kenwood and Bennett Valley as of Saturday am, August 26th, 2017:
Above is some nicely ripening Syrah, this one is the Bien Nacido clone (historically emanating from the Santa Maria Valley, and notably used by Qupe’ and Au Bon Climat).
This is a typical hand held field refractometer. With a few drops of raw grape juice on the window (the blue glass), the light is ‘refracted’ through the viewfinder indicating the percent dissolved solids, which is essentially a proxy for total sugar, i.e. ‘brix.’
This is a view through a hand held field refractometer.
And you can see this Syrah sample shows brix at about 21 (the intersection of blue and white), resulting in about 10.5% alcohol (if harvested today). Naturally, we are monitoring ripeness looking for closer to 24.7 brix and closer to 13% alcohol (although ultimately in very fine wines, such as ours, seed ripeness, tannins, pH, TA, and many other inputs will be considered before the harvest)
Here is some slightly less ripe Syrah, with equally sized berries but smaller clusters, this being the Durell clone (from the famous Durell Vineyard of the 1970’s in Sonoma).
And the brix are lower, hovering closer to 19.
With the Syrahs above, we simultaneously pick and co-ferment about four percent Viognier, seen here. Both Syrah and Viognier originate from the Rhone Valley in France.
On average, and very roughly depending on variety, clone, rootstock, day and night temps, wind, etc, clusters will gain about 1.5 brix per week. Thus a sample at 19 today, with a goal of 25 at harvest is about 4 weeks away…
Aug 23, 2017 | Wine
Normally we concern ourselves here with serious topics about growing grapes, making wine, building brands, and occasionally irreverent chatter about the mathematically proven variability of scores, points, and contests. And occasionally we make light-hearted fun of the egomaniacal nature of wine marketing – i.e. “here is the perfectly groomed smiling vintner with his trophy wife and ideal vineyard dog standing in their magical kingdom of smug happiness.”
So this will most certainly be the silliest post on the Hydeout blog for 2017, but right in line with our society’s current compulsion with all things social. And so I bring you news from the 1st annual Hydeout Wine and Music party…
In early August we launched the 1st annual Hydeout Sonoma wine and music party, a little private affair for friends and family to kick back on the lawn and enjoy a picnic and the summer evening.
When the evening first got started, everyone arrived in their Saturday best…
Picnics were organized with friends…
The pool was opened…
175 people enjoyed each other’s company…
And as the sun set and the music cranked up a notch…
And things remained under control until the young people kicked it into high gear later in the evening, but fun was certainly had by all…
And by Sunday, the hot tub had to be drained! Until 2018…
