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.