August 30, 2024 – Blessed in 2024 with the abundant heat we did not have last year, harvest is well underway. Steve McIntyre tells us that he kicked off with a night picking of Gewürztraminer from Rick Vineyard in Monterey County last week, as well as Sauvignon Blanc from Shandon Hills Vineyard last Wednesday night.
He expects to begin picking in the Santa Lucia Highlands in a couple of weeks. “Probably McIntyre first, but it might be Boekenoogen,” he says. “They’re both tracking about the same brix level.”
Winemaker Greg Freeman at Chalone, who recently returned from three weeks in Europe on a winery cruise, tells us the first Pinot Noir came in early Monday morning. So far, he’s brought in 30 tons already, including earlier this week. He says the yields are right on the estimate given by the vineyard manager, Richard Boehr. So far, he likes the color and flavor development he’s seen in the vineyard.
Bill Brosseau should be bringing in Chardonnay from the Brosseau Vineyard in Chalone as we speak, and Bradley Brown at Big Basin Vineyards expects to bring in Ascona Pinot Noir early today. His next pick should be Pinot Noir and Grenache for rosé from Rodnick.farm next week.
Longtime Byington winemaker, Andrew Brenkwitz, who departed there in 2021 to help out Loma Prieta Winery, is back consulting at Byington and plans to pick Pinot Noir there about mid-September.
Rhys on Skyline has already brought in grapes for sparkling from the Pajaro Vineyard in Watsonville, which are vinified at the Skyline Boulevard location, after which the juice is then sent to Ukiah, to their processing facility, where the sparkling wines are cared for and riddled and racked.
Recha and Rob Bergstrom of Sandar & Hem will be kicking off harvest tomorrow with the Triolo Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc for 2025 release. They will be picking old Wente clone Chardonnay from the Mountain Winery in Saratoga early next week. The legendary Old Wente clone delivers intense and complex aromatics and flavor, and there is something really cool about harvesting grapes with such a storied history from the grounds of 100+ year old winery with the panoramic backdrop of Silicon Valley. The Bergstrom’s license plate happens to be OLWENTE.
At Sante Arcangeli, John Benedetti says that as of right now, he plans to pick Split Rail Pinot and Chardonnay in late September. He will also get Pinot Noir from Hand in Hand Vineyard, and of course Lester and Saveria. New on the docket this year is Chardonnay from the Sangiacomo Roberts Road Vineyard in Sonoma, near the Petaluma Gap. He plans to ferment that in a new concrete egg he’s been posting about on Facebook. He admits adding new vineyards is bucking the industry trend. Scaling up is definitely a contrarian stance. “Everyone else is scaling back,” says Benedetti. “But you can’t just abandon your growers in the lean times… it’s a long-term partnership.” Amen.
Much more harvest news next week, as we are about to get into the thick of it.
Chesebro Wines is making room for the new releases upcoming in October, and they’re offering a closeout deal on these three wines:
2015 ‘La Montagne Sauvage’ (Estate Rhone Blend) CM Ranch, Carmel Valley
ON SALE @ $23 (22 bottles left)
2016 ‘La Mariposa’ (Syrah), Cedar Lane Vineyard
ON SALE @ $20 (24 bottles let)
2016 Single Vineyard Grenache, Cedar Lane Vineyard
ON SALE @ $22 (36 bottles left)
Mark your calendars for Gourmet Grazing on the Green on Saturday, October 5 from noon to 4pm.Tickets are $99 through October and $120 at the door. More than 60 local wineries, restaurants and breweries be sampling, and many will be using locally grown produce and products donated by sponsors Coke Farms and Watsonville Coast Produce. Live music on the main stage throughout the day by Cooper Street.
This year’s generous sponsors are Devcon Construction, Santa Cruz County Bank, Santa Cruz Seaside Company, Dignity Health Medical Foundation, The Wedeen Hammer Locatelli Group at Morgan Stanley, Joseph J Albanese, California Giant Berry, Surgical Associates of Monterey Bay, Michael Alexander, Tom Evenson, GreenWaste, Coke Farms and Watsonville Coast Produce.
Media Sponsors include: Edible Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz Sentinel, The Good Times and Lookout Santa Cruz.
Gourmet Grazing on the Green is a charitable fundraising event of Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group (SCCBG), a non-profit dedicated to improving the quality of life for people living with cancer in the Santa Cruz community. Over the last two decades, SCCBG has distributed more than $2.5 million to directly support the Santa Cruz community.
Get tickets here: https://www.sccbg.org/gourmetgrazingonthegreen
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
