Rain Today, Wine Tomorrow!
By John Yanes
The first storm, January 2023
2023 is off to a wet start but the work continues in the cellar and the vineyards. While the weather has been unforgiving, vineyard crews continue to plan for pruning and soil preparation. Terry and Anthony have been busy working on creating this year’s blends and bottling of our white wines and early maturing red wines has begun. Selecting barrels for the 2022 vintage has been decided and we’ve added some interesting new cooperage suppliers to our arsenal. While California needs this much needed rain, so far, we’ve been able to weather the storms and continue with the work at hand.
The Arbor, January 2023
California and the entire West coast has seen some of the biggest storms in a long time and while this may delay some work in the vineyard we’re grateful for the amount of water this area has received. At the time of writing, we’re seeing a brief respite. This on-again off-again rain pattern with small breaks between the storms allows the soil to absorb or “bank” the water until it is needed later in the season. Good amounts of rain also help clean and revitalize the topsoil and root zone, increasing the vineyards’ chances of a productive year. The recent storms may delay some work in the vineyard, for now, but the vineyard crew is still busy planning and preparing for pruning and cover crops.
Winemaker Terry Culton working on the final percentages for our flagship Nikiara Bordeaux style red wine blend.
Despite the recent deluge, our work continues in the cellar and bottling line. Terry and Anthony are busy designing blends and bottling the 2022 white wines and early maturing red wines. We’ve changed the blend for the Ame de la Vigne to utilize our Grenache in lieu of Mourvèdre. Usually a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Mourvèdre, an unexpected lower yield of Mourvèdre motivated us towards a Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache blend. While the Grenache contributed fruit in previous blends, the young Petite Sirah from Block 4 showcased more structure making the 2022 vintage a more robust blend. We’re excited about the entire 2022 vintage and while it was an uncharacteristically lower yield than previous years, the quality continues to impress.
The Barrel Room at Le Vigne Winery, December 2022.
During December and January, we spend a lot of time selecting barrels for aging and we’ve added new Cooperage Companies to our collection including: Toneleria Nacional, Tonellaire O and Tonnellerie Orion. We've never produced overly oaked wines and our approach to the barreling process has remained the same for the last 10 to 15 years: Let the varietal characteristics dominate the tasting experience. Every year brings opportunities to experiment! Whether it be different barrels from all over the world, from South America to Eastern Europe, from Italy to the Americas or traditional toasting methods versus more modern techniques. We also have the options of single forest and blended forests or hybrid barrels, and we continue to play with the percentages of new versus neutral oak barrels always striving for that perfect balance between fruit and earth characteristics.