Today is a Malbec harvest day.We don't grow much of this, and it is a very distinctive variety; bigger berries, lots of color and very soft tannins,a nice blender and, as I have tasted from 80 year old vines while I was in Argentina, can make a very rich wine. Malbec is also juicy, and so it is the one variety that we do not berry sort - too much juice running everywhere. Instead, we will sort the clusters as they go into the destemmer.
Other news: Block AB, harvested last week, has, after several days of "coldsoak"; been yeasted and is starting fermentation. This will be our first fermentation; an exciting new stage in harvest. The cellar is starting to smell wonderful; of yeast and fermenting wine.
Weather: it was chilly last night; warm but not hot today. Perfect ripening weather. We had a very hot day last Saturday and Saturday night; Phil said the vines were "sighing" a bit about it, and he gave them all a drink. They have perked up with this cooler trend and are continuing to ripen the fruit nicely.
Zelma Long
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