Grape Gossip: Juicy News for the First Week of July

July 5, 2023 – Let’s start with the good news: the Aptos Wine Wander was a big hit, pulling in visitors from out of town as well as loyal local wine lovers who turn out to support all these SCMWA events and buy wine at the bottle booth. There were at least 300 people in attendance, many of whom got a sneak peek at the new Aptos Vineyard tasting room, which replaced Armitage as of July 1. 

Wineries pouring were Aptos Vineyard, Bargetto Winery, Big Basin Vineyards, Doon to Earth, El Vaquero Winery, Integrity Wines, Kings Mountain Vineyard, La Vida Bella Vineyard, Lester Estate Wines, Sante Arcangeli Family Wines, Silver Mountain Vineyards, Villa del Monte and Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards & Winery. 

Aptos Vineyard, the passion project of the Baker family, will have a soft opening on Saturday, July 15, between 3pm and 6pm, and on Sunday, July 16, from noon to 6pm. They’ll offer flights and by-the-glass and bottles sales. The new 2022 “All Rise” Rosé of Syrah from Lester Family Vineyard (made by John Benedetti), will be released on July 15, just in time for summer, which actually seems to finally be here. 

This is a perfect reminder that it’s not too late to sign up for the “Midsummer Night’s” Terroir series dinner on Friday, July 14, at Silver Mountain Vineyards. Enjoy wines from Silver Mountain Vineyards, Aptos Vineyard, Cooper-Garrod Vineyards at Garrod Farms, House Family Vineyards, Left Bend Winery, Muns Vineyard, Villa del Monte Winery and Wrights Station Vineyard & Winery, along with a seated dinner prepared by Chef Ross Hanson of Oak & Rye. Menu here. Dinner Tickets are $175 plus tax. Use code 23TOTWC at checkout to get 15% off. Tickets TerroirJuly14

In more good news, Neely Wine is finally officially open in Portola Valley, so make plans to visit soon, before they have to shut down temporarily for a seismic retrofit. These folks have become very familiar with patience and meditation as they navigate the byzantine pretzel logic of the town planning commission. The 2019 Picnic Block Pinot Noir is tasting quite good right now. Winemaker Shalini Sekhar is one to follow. reservations@neelywine.com

After a similar diet of pretzel logic and NIMBY backlash, House Family Winery has finally reopened in Saratoga, to the delight of club members, who revel in the spectacular location in the sunny hills above Silicon Valley. Let’s face it: there’s a certain amount of satisfaction to be had looking down on the companies whose apps give you a headache all day long. Tastings are by reservation at Izumi Point, Th – Su, 12-5 PM, in 90-minute timeslots. 

Fogarty invites you to “Summer in the Vineyard,” on July 15, noon-3 pm, featuring the Thomas Fogarty and Lexington brands. Reservations include a choice of sliders and sides, along with five interactive wine stations offering educational side-by-side tastings. Tickets are $95 for winery members and $135 for non-members at FogartySummer

The State of Grapes: Gloom and Bloom Do Not Mix Well

The mists of May and cool gloom of June were not just hell on tomato plants: they caused grapevines, especially coastal ones, to hit Pause. Many vineyards on the Summit and near the coast did not even get into bloom until the latter part of June. When I was at Burrell School on June 24, the Merlot was just beginning to flower and there was evidence of shatter. Usually, flowering is complete by this time and the berries are looking like baby grapes. 

Similarly, up at Ascona Vineyard when walking through the vines with Ken Swegles last Monday, there was definitely evidence of late bloom, shatter and some necrosis. This is not atypical for coastal vineyards, but he’s had to spray a lot more frequently and with more biologics than usual. That said, some varieties and clones seemed to be faring better than others, which is precisely why most of the old vineyards in California were planted to field blends. The old Italian and Portuguese farmers knew planting multiple varieties would guarantee some return on investment, regardless of the weather.

Nowhere can the influence of the moody Pacific be felt more intensely than Fogarty Winery. Its ridgetop perch is always windy and subject to imminent fogging over. Last Monday began with the typical coastal blanket cap of 2k feet, but driving over Skyline, the skies had turned sunny just past Rhys and it was clear all the way past Page Mill Road. But, as I descended that last hill before the Fogarty driveway, a huge wall of fog swept over the ridge like a rogue wave, keeping us wrapped in grey wooly winteriness until 2pm, when it finally receded. The new Chardonnay vines at the top of the Windy Hill Vineyard were barely in flower, shivering in the incessant wind, while bright gold poppies waved like little cheerleaders to urge them on. They’re going to need all the cheerleading they can get.  

Not all growers are unhappy or worried, though. Marty Mathis says of his vineyard in Saratoga, “This season is very late, but my locations are always weeks ahead of the higher sites you mentioned. We are well thru pollination and even to green pea size in our Albariño at Saratoga.” 

Jim Cargill at House Family in Saratoga has a blessed spot with vines facing east as well as south west. He was glowingly optimistic. “The vineyards are looking wonderful. It’s amazing what a little water will do: actually, a LOT of water. We are most of the way through set, and the fruit looks wonderful. If everything comes in, this will be a bumper crop for sure.” He says they also did some work fertilizing the vineyard last year and that, on top of the rain, has really paid off.  

At the most spoiled vineyard in the AVA, Kings Mountain Vineyard in Woodside, the set looks really good and the Pinot Noir berries, quite perky. Being on a rather quaint quad setup really works in favor of these three decades old vines. That trellising method is actually gaining traction again in coastal vineyards, for its enhanced sunlight and airflow. What’s old is always new again. 

Perrucci Family vineyard on Kennedy Road in Los Gatos, is at about 800 ft elevation. They had quite a bit of water damage this winter in the vineyard, and the Cab vines were still in standing water as of the end of May. Despite this, grower Greg Perrucci told us, “I’d say we are at or very close to 100% full set now. A month late for sure. Normally, we would be in veraison in 3-4 weeks. Not a snowball’s chance of that happening so soon. Reminds me of 2010 and more so 2011. Thanksgiving harvests, anyone?”

He added that there was lots of shatter, but that the clusters were elongated, which may self-correct for balance. “Concern here is the dreaded Bunch Stem Necrosis which can result from the growing conditions that create the large clusters. Only time will tell if nature lets us keep all the fruit on the stems or if part of it will shrivel and die.

Out in Bonny Doon, it was a nail biter while waiting for the gloom to part so that bloom could begin. At Beauregard, tasting room manager Michael Phillips was happy to see the sun out on July 4^th, despite the end of the high pressure system that finally brought us triple digits inland. Yep: it hit 106 at my location on Sunday, about a mile from David Bruce winery. Phillips seems confident that the sunny pattern will stick. “We are behind 2-3 weeks, as far as vineyard development, but everything is dialed in, and the weather is finally back to normal: foggy on the coast and sunny in Bonny Doon :)!” 

SLH winegrower Mark Pisoni is signaling caution. “We are tracking quite a few weeks behind a normal schedule, and it will be challenging to ripen certain varietals in various parts of the state this year for growers that hang too big of a crop. I expect growers to try and hang bigger crops this year as well as there will be the canopy to do so because of all the rain, and last year yields were light, so growers may be trying to catch up. Of course, this all depends on set.” For his part, he’ll employ more canopy thinning and fruit dropping to pursue phenolic ripeness. 

The canopies are insane this year, for those who have not been in a vineyard yet. Up in Napa and Sonoma, where I visited in the middle of June, the sets were huge and the foliage was going gangbusters. These were vineyards pretty far from the coast, including Sangiacomo, just merrily partying like there’s no tomorrow, basking in all that winter rain. Time will tell how it all shakes out.

Winemaker Damian Grindley of Brecon Estate in Paso Robles, whose Albariño once again won Best of Show White and this year also took Best of Show at the 2023 Sunset Wine Competition, told me that his Albariño vineyards are all looking good, despite being 2 to 3 weeks late. “However,” he told us, “Our home ranch Cab and Cab Franc, which we typically harvest in the last week of October or first week of November, is making us all a little nervous. Of course, nature always seems to know when it should be ripening and with a stronger canopy this year, may well push the sugars quicker, so it may be a non-issue. Here’s hoping.”

Hope: the four-letter word that drives us on.