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Fall/Winter 2003
General Winery News 2003 Harvest Report Uncorked! Awards and Reviews |
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| September 11, 2003, 8:45 a.m. With the sun backlighting the live oaks and redwoods on the southeast side of the winery, the first grapes arrive at Joseph Phelps Vineyards. This picture does not represent the entire staff as many are out in the vineyards. The moment is one of muted celebration amidst awareness of the terrible loss this anniversary date represents. |
Prognostications of "doom" unfounded for
By Craig Williams, Director of Winemaking
Reviewing stacks of climate and vineyard data collected during the past few months prior to the harvest, I rediscovered a bulletin issued from a prominent North Coast laboratory I had kept in the file. The thrust of their report was unnerving: the 2003 growing season began as a cool year; the high amount of rainfall in April meant excess vigor, large berry size and low quality, similar to the 1998 vintage. Further, the weather had been so cool through June it would be impossible for this vintage to make the ten-year-growing season "average" for heat accumulation. SEPTEMBER 27, 2003 Well, as of this writing the harvest is in full swing and I am reminded of Mark Twain’s statement, originally credited to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics." What a long way we’ve come since June! The weather in July was hot, sultry, and with atypical thunderstorms frequenting the evening sky. August, too, was without its usual fog-shrouded mornings. Clear skies provided a complete daily dose of solar radiation to the vines and fruit, allowing for good photosynthesis and fruit development. And although the September 11 start of harvest for Sauvignon Blanc was one of the latest in our 30-year history, extremely hot weather from September 11th through 22nd has been both helpful and stressful for this vintage — helpful in providing needed heat accumulation for the vineyards as noted above, but stressful by rapidly increasing sugar content beyond our ability to mitigate. Six out of those twelve days saw temperatures rise above 100 degrees with three days above 104! Vintners nervously watched sugar content increase at a rate of more than one degree Brix per day in some vineyards. Because of the slow start of the growing season, flavor development is also behind the "average" harvest date, but we expect most vineyards to fully develop good flavor maturity at the end of September. And while hot weather is much more welcome than rainy weather at this critical time, in this case the heat brought about high sugars without commensurate flavor development — the classic Napa Valley predicament. We are just now seeing full flavors develop in the red grapes. Fortunately, the heat spell broke on the 23rd. The weather has been delightful with the usual overcast morning sky yielding to warm, sunny afternoons. Temperatures have been in the low to mid eighties. More importantly, the grapes have actually seen a reversal in sugar content as the vines' water status returns to a less stressful balance. Actual crop harvested has been lower than estimates. Berry size is small with excellent acid balance for both red and white varieties. Flavor maturity in red grapes appears strong with especially good pigmentation this year. With tongue in cheek, I'd say the 2003 harvest appears "on average" to be a great year! Of course, as in each and every year, the proof will come later. And in thinking about the great vintages of the last 15 years or so, statistically no two vintages have been alike. OCTOBER 17, 2003  With approximately 300 tons remaining on the vine, we have vowed to accept the path of patience as it applies to harvesting the remaining fruit. The weather, although ideal in terms of sun and lack of rain, could be warmer. Sugar content has risen slowly over the last two weeks. Fragrance and flavor are good and the majority of the fermentations are proceeding without difficulty.Freestone is experiencing another cool growing season. A few tons of Pinot Noir harvested earlier this week have initiated some experiments involving wild yeasts and cold macerations both prior to and after fermentation. We expect to harvest the balance of the crop including Chardonnay by the end of next week. As the cellar begins its job of producing wine, the vineyard crew now turns its attention to stabilizing the vineyards for the winter and adding amendments to the soil. Erosion control methods involve digging diversion ditches, silting fences, applying straw to bare soil to mitigate runoff, and seeding of cover crops. Compost mixed with gypsum will be applied to most of our vineyards. This is an especially important post-harvest activity as the compost not only improves the health of the soil, it supplies important nutrients to the vine as winter rains transport essential elements such as nitrogen, calcium, phosphorous and potassium to the root zone. |
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