Harvest 2011

For all those that think we can relax now that AVV's harvest is complete, think again.  Kevin Hall writes:

" Currently at the winery we are just as busy as before.  The first thing that I did after the last grapes arrived was to move the employees working the Night shift (midnight to 8:30 am) to the Day shift.  Last Saturday was also the last Saturday that we will all have to work.  We have plenty of work to do to keep the 2 remaining shifts busy.  We finished the harvest with 18 fermentations going and those tanks will need to be drained and pressed.  Currently, there are 6 that are ready to go. 

Irma and a few other employees are working on a labeling project of Sin Zin magnums and everything else that gets pressed will need to be racked to barrel. "

Harvest 2011 is officially complete at Alexander Valley Vineyards! 

Winemaker Kevin Hall writes: 

 "I think I see the light... the light at the end of the tunnel.

  

We  are almost done.  As of today we are at 94% completion and hopefully,  hopefully we will finish tomorrow. 

Mother Nature is definitely sending signals that harvest should be over.  The Cabernet Sauvignon that we received today had a temperature in the low 30's."

So exactly what does Assistant Winemaker Harry Wetzel look like at the end of the swing shift during harvest?

 

No need to write anything, the picture says it all.

 

Why the big smile?  Harvest is now 68% completed.

Winemaker Kevin Hall writes:

"When we pump over the tanks I will either have them do it non-aerative or aerative.

Non-aerative is when the pump is hooked to the racking valve and the wine is pumped over the top of the cap and through a sprinkler.

Aerative is when the wine is drained into a sump first and then pumped over the top and through a sprinkler.

Here is an aerative pumpover in progress with Irma Silva, she's working with our Cabernet Sauvigon harvested from Turkey Hill. 

So why do an aerative pumpover?At certain  stages of the fermentation it is beneficial to add more oxygen to the fermentation and that is why we use the technique."

Another truckload of barrels arrived at AVV today. 

239 barrels to be exact.  The load was a mix of American Oak and French Oak.  Soon each will be filled with our Cabernet and Zinfandel. 

 

 

 

We harvested our first Cabernet today from Turkey Hill.

The fruit looks great. At the end of today we wil be 58% complete. All of the Zin is in now.

All we have left is a small block of Petit Verdot, half of the Merlot and most of the Cabernet. The weather has improved so I hope it holds.  (Kevin Hall)

 

AVV like most wineries always has a few interns during harvest.  This year we have 3, including Luiz Gustavo Lovato from Brazil.  Each day AVV interns perform a variety of tasks under winemaker Kevin Hall's guidance and learn about AVV's winemaking from the bottom up. 

If you've ever watched Dirty Jobs on TV, then you probably have an idea about their day...... 

 

 

Today, Luiz is punching down the Syrah that we harvested from the vineyard by the Schoolhouse. 

When we ferment in Macrobins we punch down the cap twice a day to keep it moist and to extract color and flavor.
 

 

Harvest has come to a screeching halt.  We picked the vulnerable vineyards over the weekend before the rain started on Monday. Thin skinned grapes such as Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Zinfandel are susceptible to the rain. Monday's light rain was not light and we had a bit of a clearing after early morning drizzle, but more rain is forecast for today.  The rain is giving us a chance in the cellar to catch up.  Zinfandel fermentation are finishing and we are digging out and pressing tanks daily.  The wine is allowed to settle for 1-2 days after it is drained and then we will inoculate with malolactic bacteria and barrel down the wine.  Some of the Chardonnay barrel ferments are finished and those barrels are also being inoculated for malolactic fermentation.  All in all we are trying to make as much tank space as possible for when the rain is finished.

Assistant AVV Winemaker Harry Wetzel grew up on the property, so has seen his fair share of harvests over the years, as well as AVV's 24/7 activity that surrounds each crush.  He now leads the second of our three shifts during harvest. 

Harry writes:  "Yields are down, particularly for Zin, which is not necessarily a bad thing...better quality.  We managed to get all of our most vulnerable fruit in before the rains came today.  Finished with Pinot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Chard and nearly done with Zin.  Got some of the Gewurz in last week.  Made for a very long night as the first load arrived around 1:30 am, and the second at 5:15 am. 

With the current rain we have nothing scheduled to pick this week (so far).  This allows us to play some catch-up and create more room so we can do a big push once things dry out.  My shift is busy starting the fermentations and filling barrels (and emptying tanks), as well as inoculating wine lots with ML bacteria to get the malolactic fermentations going.  Chard barrel ferments are moving along, and we are having to keep the cellar open 24 hours with fans running to push all of the CO2 out of the building. 

If the cellar is closed, even for a few hours, the CO2 levels from the fermentations rise to dangerous levels.  We run into this issue every year, but this year is seems especially bad...we just have a lot of stuff fermenting at the same time.  The dangerous side of winemaking...."

So  what does the staff at AVV do on their day off during harvest? 

If you're Western Regional Sales Manager, Stewart Vandenberg, you're probably out in the family vineyard. 

Stewart and Wendy Whipp own and farm a small Zinfandel vineyard on Lytton Station Road outside of Geyserville.  While most wine drinkers have a romantic vision of owning a vineyard, Stewart and Wendy can tell you the real story - it takes alot of time and hard work to harvest great fruit.

 

 

 

 

Today, he happily reported that they started picking.   Stewart made this observation about his volunteer crew:    " Average age 55 - talk about late harvest! "  We had to chuckle...

Picking is slow and methodical, but they're still smiling.  So are we, when this crew finishes, the grapes will head over to AVV.