Sign in Subscribe

Topic

Pretty Pictures

A collection of 346 posts

A Few November Vineyard Photos

We had a nice foggy morning earlier this week, and I made it out to take some photos. This is one of the only times of year where it's occasionally foggy here; usually the fog is kept back by the Santa Lucia Mountains. With the grapes off the

October 2007 Vineyard Photo Album

I had a little free time yesterday, and spent an hour or so wandering around the property and taking some photos. I've organized them into my first attempt at a Typepad Photo Album, available at the left and as "Vineyard Photos - October 2007". A few

Grenache Harvest Photos

As we'd hoped, the rain from the end of last week was followed by cool, sunny and breezy weather, and the half-inch of rain that we got didn't have any negative impact on the hanging fruit. This week, we're bringing in the rest of

Syrah/Roussanne Harvest and Co-Fermentation

Each year, one of our favorite Syrah lots in the cellar is one that we co-ferment with Roussanne. We typically blend about 10% Roussanne into Syrah, de-stem the two grapes, and then ferment them together in an open-top tank. The lushness of the mid-palate of Roussanne helps round out the

Harvest 2007 Begins!

The 2007 harvest is underway. As I've written about this year, we've had a relatively unusual year for weather, with a very cold, dry winter delaying the beginning of budbreak and flowering, and then a remarkably moderate summer, with few days over 100 and no extended

Veraison!

This week, we're seeing the first signs of veraison in the vineyard. This means the clock is ticking... we figure on an average of about 45 days between the end of veraison and the beginning of harvest. (Veraison is the French term for the point at which berries

Old (1950s) Vineyard Photos

I had a treat in my email today: a nice note from Bob MacGillivray, who grew up in the ranch house across the street from Tablas Creek, and whose family owned the land that is now Tablas Creek from the early 1940s until 1989. He and his brother John recently

The Greening of the Vineyard

Our rain is coming, later than we'd expected it, but no less welcome. This past weekend's storm dumped about 2 inches on the vineyard, and although we're still behind our typical winter's pace, the cover crops are vibrantly green, the creeks are

Winter Rain in Paso Robles

This winter, so far, has been cold and dry. We've had three consecutive weeks (ending this weekend) where temperatures dropped into the mid-20s or colder, including several nights down around 10. This is no problem for the vineyard, which benefits from being forced into total dormancy. But, the

Paso Robles Weather Musings

Today, as I was driving in to work (I live in town) I started thinking about how poorly understood the Paso Robles climate (and the diversity within the climate) is. This lack of understanding, shared by writers, growers, and the general public alike, results in a generalization of Paso Robles