Winemaking Update
The 2021 vintage feels special already and we’re happy to share a couple of great releases with you. First, the Arcus Pinot Noir, sourced from one of our most dramatic Dundee Hills sites. Bursting with berries, white pepper, and strawberry rhubarb, the wine shows pleasant hints of spice. The Archer’s Paradox Pinot Noir is made entirely of whole cluster fruit, showing generous amounts of earth and dark fruit. The structure is impressive and while we love it now, we can’t wait to see what it does over time.
As summer winds down, harvest planning takes center stage. In the cellar, we’re applying the finishing touches to some lovely 2022 Pinot Noirs. We’ve racked and returned most of the vintage and just officially bottled the Dundee Hills Pinot Noir and Vireton Pinot Noir. That clears room for incoming fruit and the beehive of activity associated with harvest. We’re readying equipment, cleaning, freeing up barrels, and cleaning again (and again) in prep for the first fruit delivery of 2023.
In the vineyard, crop loads look ideal. Cool nights and gentle breezes have kept the fruit healthy and we’re pushing nicely through veraison. This is the eye-catching stretch of color change in the individual clusters, when green goes to purple, often one grape at a time. Soon, our Pinot Noir clusters will be a deep midnight blue and the first pick will commence.
In the meantime, the tasting room project continues to click along and we can’t wait to share the dazzling end result with you this fall. Seeing it finally come into fruition is wildly exciting.
Here’s to harvest,
Ian
Ian Burch | Winemaker
