Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Days 9-11

Yeah. So I fell a little behind. It's been busy around the winery over the last couple of days. Lots of picking and picking decisions...More details later today.

Last walk through Shea Vineyard on 9/27. Finally decided to pick on Friday morning. Even with this little misting, the fruit is ripe, tannins are great, and it's ready to come in. I'm glad I pushed my original pick date so far out.

On the same day, I took a quick trip down to Holmes Gap Vineyard, too. The vineyard looks great, and we'll be pulling in all the Pinot Noir and the Pinot Gris by the end of this week.
On the winery side of the equation, I took some quick snaps of the sorting line crew while we were sorting fruit from Cherry Grove, Hirschy, and Shea vineyards. In both the Cherry Grove Pommard and the Shea 777, we decided to go with a 30% whole cluster ferment. We still sort the fruit, but you'll see how we pull the destemmer back to let the whole clusters fall straight into the fermenter.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Days 9-11

Yeah. So I fell a little behind. It's been busy around the winery over the last couple of days. Lots of picking and picking decisions...More details later today.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 8

Athena and I took a little break from the action last night and poured some fantastic Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris sangria cocktails at the Jupiter Hotel's Indulge fundraiser for the Ecotrust Farm to School program. Fantastic food and bevs from everyone there!

On the winery side, we brought in another block from Hirschy vineyard yesterday. Fruit is now quietly cold-soaking in the winery.

We'll be busy this afternoon with fruit from Shea, Cherry Grove, and Hirschy. Look for some new pix and videos tonight.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 7

OK, so change of plans. This is where I drive my ever-patient growers crazy, but it's where we make the difference between good Pinot Noir and great Pinot Noir.

After sampling through Cherry Grove Vineyard last night, I was somewhat sure we were going to pick Block 8 on Friday. After bringing the samples back, however, Athena and I both agreed that the flavors just weren't ready. Since this is such a fantastic block, and since Bob Van Steenberg has kept the vineyard looking very clean, we're going to leave Block 8 for another 5 days or so.

Here's a quick video of me talking smack about how it's ready to go....before I got back to the winery and changed my mind.

It looks like next week is going to get very busy. There is a small amount of Botrytis in most vineyards, and we now have some cold weather and rain/showers in the forecast for mid-week.

Here's my new picking forecast:

Today, Sep 24th
Hirschy Vineyard, Block D (667/777)
Friday, Sep 25th
Cherry Grove Vineyard, Block 3 (Pommard)
- Picking just every other row here
Shea Vineyard, Block 30 (777)
Monday, Sep 28th
Stoller Vineyard, Block 61.3 (115)
Wednesday, Sep 30th
Stoller Vineyard, Block 61.1 (667)

Up in the air (sometime Mon-Wed)
Shea Vineyard, Block 11
Carlton Hill Vineyard
Cherry Grove Vineyard, Blocks 3, 7, & 8

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 6

Abbreviated update again today, as I'm mobile more than not.

Great first day of Pinot processing yesterday with 1.65 tons of fruit from Hirschy Vineyard. Athena posted some good pix on the Boedecker Cellars Facebook page.

I headed up to Buttonfield vineyard late yesterday (great sunset) to check out our Old Vine Pinot Gris. The vineyard looks fantastic (I'd expect nothing less from a vineyard owned and managed by Stirling Fox). Sugars are at ~ 25 Brix, which would usually scream "Pick now", but the flavors are still pretty green. I think we'll try to put off that pick until early next week. I'll head up to resample on Sunday.

Today I'm headed to Stoller and Cherry Grove Vineyeards. More pix, vids, and numbers later today. Athena's in the winery all day with our first fermenter full of fruit!

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 5

Quick update this morning, as we have fruit on a truck right now!

Spent yesterday getting the winery ready to go and worked on a bit of sales. Athena in PDX, me in Seattle.

The fantastic weather continues today. It's nice that the projected heat has moderated a bit. This hot, dry weather will push ripeness along on the blocks that are lagging and won't stress out the vineyards that are close to ripe.

Picking schedule for this week:

Tues, Sep 22 - Block C (114) Hirschy Vineyard
Thurs, Sep 24 - Block D (667 & 777) Hirschy Vineyard
Fri, Sep 25 - Block 30 (777) Shea Vineyard
Block 8 (667 & 777) Cherry Grove Vineyard
1/2 Block 3 (every other row) Cherry Grove Vineyard

The rest is too far out right now. More sampling tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 4 (Cont)

I spent the morning and early afternoon out sampling a few more of our sites. Shea and Cherry Grove Vineyards are generally early sites, so I wanted to ensure that I stayed on top of ripening curves at both places.

Cherry Grove Vineyard:

Nice serenades from the bird screamers today as I walked through.

Block 3, Pommard Clone: dark-ish pink color. Very tart cherry flavors. 22.8 Brix
Block 8, 667 clone: Purple color. dilute purple cherries & tea notes. 23 Brix
Block 8, 777 clone: Dark pink/red. Straw notes mixed with cherries. 23.6 Brix
Block 6, 114 clone: Pink. Rich green strawberries/straw. 21.2 Brix
Block 7, Wadenswil: Pink. very tart. 20.4 Brix

Tentative Pick Dates:
Friday, Sep 25th: Pick Block 8W & 8E. Pick every other row of Block 3
I'll go to the vineyard on Wednesday, Sep 23rd to confirm
Tues, Sep 29th: Pick rest of Block 3

Block 6 -- Don't know yet. 10+ days
Block 7 -- Don't know yet. 14+ days

Shea Vineyard:

Block 30, West Hill, 777 clone: 24.0 Brix, Purple juice, brown stems and seeds, green tea notes on rich cherry fruit. Nice brightness in the acid structure still to lengthen flavors.
Tentative Pick: Wed or Friday
Block11, East Hill, 115 clone: 24.0 Brix, dark pink juice, rich cherry and tea flavors, bright acidity.
Tentative Pick: Sun/Mon

Anderson Family Vineyard:

Chardonnay: 21.6 Brix, dark green juice, honey-soaked hay flavors Probably 2 weeks from picking

South Block Pinot Noir: 19.8 Brix, very well-developed flavors for such low sugar levels. This should be spectacular once it ripens. Probably 2 weeks from picking.

First White Grapes?

On top of all this, I got a call from Stirling Fox, whose Buttonfield Vineyard Pinot Gris makes up our Old Vine PG. He's pretty sure his Pinot Gris will be ready to pick by mid-week. I need to get up there now to check it out. This is a bit earlier than I anticipated for white grapes, but it's all good. If the fruit's ready to go, it's time to fire up the press.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 4

Lots of new info on vineyard status. Charlie Stanton brought up samples from his Eugene vinyard yesterday, and, wow, it's much farther along than I thought it would be, especially the Pinot Blanc.

Stanton Vinyard, 9/19 samples
Pinot Blanc
Brix: 19.1
pH: 3.12
Juice color: dark green
Flavors: honeyed grape stems
The flavor development was much further along than either I or Charlie thought it would be. This is going to be some spectacular Pinot Blanc!

Pinot Noir (4th Leaf section)
Brix: 20.2
pH: 3.38
Juice color: dark pink
Flavors: dark strawberry/cherry

Pinot Noir (5th Leaf section)
Brix: 20.4
pH: 3.35
Juice color: pink
Flavors: strawberry, straw, green cherries

Both blocks of Pinot Noir are showing nice depth of flavor already. I'm really excited about this year in this vineyard.

In other news, we also launched our new wine club at the Open House yesterday. Feel like we're finally able to give back to our supporters. It was great to have a chance to talk to everyone, too.

More to come later today once I test the samples I collected this morning...

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 3

Don't forget to stop by our Open House Saturday, Sept 19th, 2pm-5pm It's the sneak preview of our 2007 Pinots and the last chance to see me and Athena before we disappear into the winery until November.

Quick updates today. Lots of sunshine pushing ripeness. Made a quick run out to the valley to pick up some last minute supplies (fermenters, barrel racks) and check out progress at Hirschy Vineyard.
Block C (Dijon 114): 26.5 Br, 3.59 pH, some raisining. Want to pick this first.
Block D (Dijon 777): 23.8 Br, 3.33 pH, still tart. Want some more sunshine
Block D (Dijon 667): 25.0 Br, 3.31 pH, ditto.


I'm calling the crew right now to set up a Tuesday pick for the Block C fruit and a Thursday pick for the Block D fruit. Hopefully, we can bring in Block 30 from Shea on Thursday, too.

Just of note, the first fruit of the year came into the facility last night. Not ours, but one of our clients, Anne, brought in some Syrah from Eastern Washington. This was a nice surpise, as it allowed us to get the equipment up and running.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 2

OK, I admit it, Yesterday's rain freaked me out a little. Not that it was too material, but just the fact that it was quite a bit more moisture than originally forecast reminds me that I'm in Oregon during September. The marginal weather makes it one of the top spots in the world for Pinot Noir, but it wreaks havoc on planning. We can go from "Sure, we'll pick that block in 10 days" to "Pick it tomorrow!" or "Well, now we need to wait 5-7 days for it to dry out". It's all part of the fun.

Fall Weather in Oregon

Here's a current satellite image from the NOAA web site: This image shows the water vapor in the atmosphere. Note the dry region South of the Northern Willamette . The swirling high pressure system off the OR/CA border is what keeps us dry (shunts the Jet Stream and most of the weather North to WA and B.C.). As soon as that high pressure system falls apart in late October, it's nothing but rain until April.

Prep work in the winery

While we wait for our first fruit to come in, there's plenty to do in the winery. Athena was working until midnight last night, cleaning, organizing, and getting everything ready to go. Her paranoia about schedule is what keeps us from having to scramble once Pinot starts to show up. The next few days are all about pressure washing, scrubbing, and test firing all the equipment.

Open House this Saturday, Sep 19

We're also hosting our Pre-release sneak preview of our 2007 Pinot Noirs this Saturday from 2-6 pm. Stop by to taste these absolutely stunning wines (we'll be pouring Stewart , Athena, and all 4 single vineyard bottlings). This will be everyone's last chance to taste them until we release them starting in January 2010.

Boedecker Cellars Harvest 09 Day 1

With our first fruit sampling officially done now, Boedecker Cellars Harvest '09 is "Officially" underway. Athena and I will be updating the blog, Facebook, and Twitter now until the last of the wine is in barrel sometime in November. I'm excited to get harvest going!

2009 is shaping up into a fantastic vintage. The cool nights are keeping acidity bright, and the warm days are pushing ripening along. The most exciting thing is the degree of phenolic ripeness in seeds, skins, and stems. This could be a very lush, round, velvety year for Oregon Pinot. I love this! Vintage variation is why I'm making wine in Oregon instead of someplace easier like CA.



OK, on to numbers and harvest date predictions

Hirschy Vinyard: Sampled Friday, 9/11
Vineyard looking very clean and beautiful
Block C (Dijon 114) 24.1 Brix
Ripe flavors, but a little diluted from the rains. Pretty back notes.
Block D (Dijon 667) 23.8 Brix
Black color! Dark blackberry, oolong tea, and notes. Almost there.
Block D (Dijon 777) 23.7 Brix
Pretty red-fruited notes, cherries, red currant, diluted from rains.
Stewart's Prediction: Picking all of it Tues 9/22 or Wed 9/23

Shea Vinyard: Sampled Tuesday, 9/16
A little bit of raisining due to splitting after the rains. We're picking ahead of next rains, but there's nothing to worry about.
Block 1 (Dijon 115) 23.2 Brix
Green notes on the nose, banana and strawberry in the mouth. Needs more time.
Block 30 (Dijon 777) 24.0, pH 3.24. I didn't sample this, but Drew (Shea's winemaker) was kind enough to share his numbers from the same block.
Stewart's Prediction: Picking Block 30 Wed 9/23 or Thurs 9/24, Block 11 Fri 9/25 or Sat 9/26

Here's a short clip from Shea yesterday:

Walk through Boedecker Cellars blocks at Hirschy Vineyard

Hirschy Vineyard on Sep 12th.

Athena and I went out for our first afternoon of cluster sampling. Unfortunately, I forgot to check battery level in the Flip before we left, so there's just a short bit of video of us walking through Block C (Dijon 114).

The sugars are definitely developing here, but the flavors are still a ways off. I'm glad for the cooler weather forecasted this week, as I'd like to slow down sugar accumulation and the slight raisining we're starting to see in some sections.

The torrential rains last week definitely plumped up berries and diluted the pulp, too. There are a few split berries where cluster swelling crushed a few grapes, but everything looks very clean. No worries of disease pressure here.

Harvest prediction -- Tuesday, Sep 22. First fruit into the winery!!

Punchdown Pal demo

Our good friend Charles Alexander has been working on developing a safe, light, and portable platform we can use when doing punchdowns in our small, 1.5 ton fermenters. Here's a quick look at the original prototype and the official Rev 1 Punchdown Pal.

Vineyards - Sep 4 '09

I made a quick run out to a couple of vineyards ahead of the Labor Day weekend rains.

Momtazi Vineyard - Things are looking good. Veraison seems very even, and the vineyard will definitely appreciate the quick soaking from the weekend. Estimated pick date = Oct 10.

Hirschy Vineyard - Certainly the furthest ahead of any of our sites. The canopy looks fantastic and there's sweetness in the fruit! I'm guessing we'll pick this by Sept 17th if we really get the forecasted warm weather over the next week.

Harvest 09-1 First post in the BC Harvest open book videos

OK, so I have to come up with a better title for this. Someone help me out here. The idea is that I'm going to post daily video updates (more, if I have time) of everything happening during harvest. No secrets, no hidden winemaker garbage. You'll see everything we do, and I'll try to make some intelligent comments about all of it. Great Pinot is not about secret bs ingredients. It's about great vineyards and not screwing it up in the cellar.


For the first post, since we're not picking for at least a couple of weeks, I have a short video of everyone working tonight in the winery. They're racking (moving) all the '08 Pinots from new barrels over to neutral oak. We like the extra maturity and complexity we get from 18-20 months in barrel, but we don't like oak tea. So we move the wine every summer over to seasoned (previously used 3-4 times) barrels for the last 6-9 months.

Check in at Cherry Grove Vineyard, Sep1 '09

A quick video of my visit today up to Cherry Grove Vineyard. The place looks fantastic! Bob Van Steenberg has done a great job this year. Every block looks very even, and the canopy is still pumping sugars into the grapes. As I say in the video, we're looking at the last week of September for picking...assuming the cold snap predicted for next week doesn't turn into something major.