Wow, its September 1 already. After a few drips and drabs of Sauvignon Blanc that came in last week, the heat this past weekend (106 in San Martin...yikes!) made everything jump about 2 degrees brix. Now all the Sauvignon Blanc is perfectly ripe at about 23.5 degrees Brix. We should have it all in the winery by Saturday.

We think there will be a bit of a lull until the end of next week. Then we should be picking the Viognier and Muscat Blanc. We think a few of the smaller Pinot Noir vineyards will be ready to come in as well. We will probably be crushing and pressing all at once! We expect the harvest crew will be going full force starting next week. Time for the office to bring you guys/gal lunch, no?

In terms of yield, the Sauvignon Blanc came in exactly on target at 5.5 tons per acre. And "on target" almost never happens. Go figure. Are we in for that "normal" vintage that we keep waiting for?

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet with a visiting wine writer and her photographer husband from the UK (remind me to come back in my next life as a wine writer. She has been all over the world...drinking wine. That is my kind of life). We tasted the fermenting (almost done) Sauvignon Blanc juice we brought in last week, straight from the tank. Really great flavors and incredible acidity. I asked Jason about it today and apparently that block is the "acidity" component of our Sauvignon Blanc. It came in around 20 brix. The grapes we are harvesting this week are the Musqué clone, which is even more aromatic and flavorful then the grapes we brought in last week. I can't wait to try it.