October 24, 2003
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for our Riesling which is still hanging on the vine, harvest has come
to an end. After a week of rain and cool weather the East winds have picked
up again and dried things out. The forecast is for five days of sun and
relatively warm weather for late October. The leaves have all turned yellow
and orange so we will only get sugar development in the riesling through
dehydration or botrytis (noble rot.)
 Fermentations
have gone exceptionally well but have been curiously long. Most ferments
from destemming to de-vatting have taken 24 to 27 days which is exceptionally
long and quite exciting. The longer the fermentation the more complex
a wine tends to be with concentrated fruit-packed characters. Colors are
dark this year in the wines and most vineyard sources promise enticing
finished product but it is still too soon to tell.
Now 75% of the pinot
noirs are in barrel finishing off their fermentations and slowly integrating
with their new French Oak barrel where they will age for the next 12 to
14 months. The Wahle Chardonnay is finishing up its fermentation after
two weeks of tumultuous action while the Stoller fruit is only beginning
its alcoholic fermentation. The Pinot Gris have been rather quick to ferment,
while the Wahle and the Five Mountains wines are two weeks into their
fermentations, other new vineyard contracts are already finished and dry
after two short weeks in their barrels or tanks. We will have to monitor
the others closely to ensure a balanced wine.
Overall my impression
of the 2003 vintage so far is that it is a year of big fruit and soft
tannins with very showy textures and colors. It may not become the greatest
vintage of the decade but it will surely create wines to remember. The
fun lies ahead as we taste through the barrels for the next few months
to see what we have.
Now
only seven fermentors remain in the winery slowly bubbling away and daily
we are checking their progress, occasionally pressing one out and taking
the new wine to barrel. Perhaps only two weeks left of red wine fermentation
and then we can prepare for the bottling of the 2002 Cumberland Reserve,
Arcus, and Bergstrom Vineyard before our open house in November. In the
next harvest journal we will conclude this season with preliminary tasting
notes of our 2003's, hope you'll tune in.
 
-
Josh Bergström
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