Weather  
Today

Nice today through Monday, with lower 70s anticipated and no rain. However, that appears to be the end of nice weather, with a deluge of 3 inches of rain expected Tuesday through Sunday, and who knows when it ends.

We hope to have all fruit in and steaming cups of coffee in-hand when the rain comes noisy and aslant early next week.

0.39 inches rain thus far in October, no highs above 60s in a week.

Harvest to-date:
Total: 120 tons (54% of forecast)

Pinot noir: 84 tons (66% of forecast)
Pinot gris: 26 tons (46% of forecast)
Chardonnay: 10 tons (29% of forecast)

Ridgecrest "Babies Pommard" block Pinot Noir

Harvest  2001 October 13 , 2001

Racing Floodwaters

The next three days are the test. Logistics, split-second timing, winemaking tools of the trade, and luck will all prove themselves as we complete Harvest in a dash.

	John Wallace Pneumatically Punching down 8-ton Fermentors

Since the remaining fruit out there is very close to perfectly ripe and Noah is dusting off his Ark for the forseeable future after Tuesday, we are bringing in the remaining 100+ tons of fruit today, Sunday, and Monday. It is like the final leg in a relay where we're tightly pitted. Most of the fruit is from Ridgecrest, traditionally the Final Leg of this race, and therefore used to challenging the rain gods. However, there is a little Chardonnay at both Stoller and Corral Creek.

Michael Weighing Pinot noir
Victoria Watson Doing Analyses in the Lab

We have begun pressing off initial cuvees of Pinot noir harvested two weeks before, just in time for their fermentors to be used for today and tomorrow's fruit.

Cleaning tanks, pumps, and hoses ... barrel preparation and filling ... white wine pressing ... settling tank shuffling ... pinot noir destemming ... daily routine punchdowns, analyses, pumpovers, additions, and feedings ... all go on concurrently, as in an intricately choreographed dance.

Cheryl and, to a lesser degree, Michael are the choreographers, with me restlessly holding back in the wings looking at charts, assessing vineyards for harvest decisions, programming picking logistics, harumphing and strategizing in the lab, and watching pleased from the forklift seat as new heat exchangers, new helpers, and new approaches are finally put to work.

	Cheryl and Harry Examine Fruit at Conveyor

I rotate bins into the hopper, fruit rolls up the conveyor, sorted and ripe, everyone bustling around in jobs they gravitate towards or are asked to take, Cheryl and Michael discussing, pointing, scratching heads and changing CDs on the blasting speakers. Washing, caustic cleaning, sanitizing; running sugars, pHs, acid titrations; preparing yeast additions, SO2 for new fruit, instruction sheets for punchdowns, plans for lunch. A mixture of the photo ops, the mundane and, oh yes, cleaning.