Weather  
Today

We've seen three-quarters of an inch of rain over the last 7 days at the Stoller weather station, with cool temperatures in the low to high sixties. That amount of rain has actually helped to correct overripe, desiccating conditions due to dryness, returning pHs and sugars to normal levels.

Forecasts say clear and dry, with highs up to mid-to-upper 70s, at least until next Saturday, with a small chance of something Thursday.

From next Saturday on, the forecast looks nasty, however, with a half-inch rainfall daily. So, we'd better run.

Harvest to-date:
Total: 70 tons
(28% of forecast)

Pinot noir: 35 tons
(25% of forecast)
Pinot gris: 16.5 tons
(34% of forecast)
Chardonnay: 18 tons
(36% of forecast)

Dijon Pinot noir Ready to Pick at Stoller Vineyards

Run, Don't Walk

	Crew relaxing after a day (note the beer)

We've been doing some sitting over the last couple days, at least as far as harvesting is concerned. Although in relatively light amounts, rain from a disturbance over the last two days has caused delays. And we were just getting into the rhythm. However, now the green light is on, fruit in all three vineyards are amazingly close to maturity and we're having to go from zero to sixty in a heartbeat.

Grain Mill Elevators Downhill in the Fog at Stoller

We've added an extra person to our harvest crew as a hedge against a premature birth for Cheryl, so having to find work during delays is painful. Now it will pay off. With Saturday, October 12th's heavy storm as a finish line, we expect to bring-in 161 tons over the next week, from a total of 207 remaining to pick going into today. Of the 46 tons to harvest from the 12th on, most are normally late harvested and can take a little rain.

Fruit quality is excellent, ripeness of the three sites is as compact as I've seen, and tank makers will benefit in the future, to keep us from enduring this again. We will be able to "turn" only one of our six big fermentors, using five only once this year, whereas we normally can get early ferments pressed out before new fruit arrives to use 4 to 6 of them a second time. An average to long bloom at Stoller and Corral Creek (our early vineyards) and an exceptionally condensed, warm bloom at Ridgecrest set this up, with above average heat during summer pushing them along together.

	Shane and Luis w ith Chardonnay on the pad

Helping us this year from "down under" are three Kiwis (New Zealanders) Nikki, Shane and Greg, via Australia, and an Argentinean, Luis. I'll introduce them more formally later. Mike Eyres, from last year's crew, returned earlier this year to work full-time with us. And, of course, Michael, Cheryl and the vineyard crew stabilize the permanent side of things.

We have white presses and red destemming humming in unison, trucks and forklifts diving in an out of the fray, as we bring in fruit from both Stoller and Corral Creek in the same day today. It will be interesting to see if we can get all three vineyards in in one day.

Picking up the pace to a gallop.
Regards,

Harry