Season Harvest Report
Overall, it was a great season, despite its challenges. The pandemic, hail storms, and more than 300 millimeters of rain (that’s nearly 12 inches!) in January and February made this year a little more difficult than most. Fortunately, March and the beginning of April were dryer than usual, helping to end the harvest season on a high note.
Harvest began at the end of February and was completed in April. This year's varietals include Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot, Grenache, Mourvedre, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Sauvignon Blanc. White varietals took longer to ripen, leading to an overlap between the harvests of white and red grapes.
Due to inclement weather at the beginning of the season, short cycle varietals, like Cabernet Franc, did not have full polyphenolic ripeness. To overcome this, we did heavier extraction in the beginning of fermentation. However, longer cycle varietals, like Malbec, fared much better. With excellent polyphenolic ripeness, we did more extraction towards the end of fermentation.