Weather  
Today

We've averaged 77 degree highs for the last 5 days, with no rain, not even clouds and cobalt blue skies.

This has been leaf-crunching, crisp football weather, with a yellow sun and a taste of short winter days in the air.

But, we're still watering yard plants and are pretty cocky about it--at least until the end of next week.

Harvest to-date:
Total: 200 tons
(86% of forecast)

Pinot noir: 123 tons
(98% of forecast)
Pinot gris: 28 tons
(58% of forecast)
Chardonnay: 46 tons
(102% of forecast)
Riesling: 2.4 tons
(35% of forecast)

Mike and Luis checking tank status.

Racing Home

	Miti racing pinot noir to the winery
	Paul off loading pinot noir

The Home Stretch and we've got a great lead, could even coast and still win. Of course, why be satisfied with excellent wine from a great vintage? After a couple day hiatus, we're continuing to pick Ridgecrest, having brought in 50 tons from Babies Block and preparing to take all whites off in the next couple days, plus both of our oldest Pinot noir blocks, 7 Acre and 5 Acre Blocks.

So far, we've harvested 200 tons even. Approximately 30 tons of Pinot and 25 tons of white will come in under cloudy days today and tomorrow. The race strategy is important now, as we drop finished ferments to tank in time to receive the last loads of fruit, but having to take-up space settling wines before barreling down that white wines want badly. Tank space constrained, we have the next 5 days as finely choreographed as a Martha Graham or Merce Cunningham dance routine, with clipboards of boxes and circles and movements under our arms.

	Mike monitoring dry ice treatment on a pinot noir fermentor

Tanks are also doubling as freezers this year. This week saw a set of trials run to followup 2001's first use of cryogenic maceration of Pinot noir in our cellar. Prior to allowing fermentation to proceed, we prefer a long cool maceration where with a minor amount of enzymes the grapes naturally breakdown and release color and flavors. Going a step further from cool to cold, in a process propounded by a Greek consultant to the French wine industry (how improbable that the French should listen to anyone, much less a Greek!) we distribute 800 pounds of dry ice in a fermentor of wine, the temperature shattering the skin of the berries through expansion at freezing. We have adapted the process to our own uses and to avoid problems encountered during last year's experiment. It looks like a smoking gun, but it's not. Maybe it's the starting gun!

Regards,

Harry