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Vineyard

A collection of 402 posts

Sustainable vineyard? Check the dirt.

The Tablas Creek organic vineyard At this time of year, when it comes to organic and sustainable vineyards, it is clear who puts their money where their mouth is. With the winter rain that we get in the Central Coast, organically farmed vineyards turn a vibrant green, whether through a

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

The significance of "Estate Bottled"

My dad recently met with a marketing guru and spent some time talking about what makes Tablas Creek special. We sat down after his conversation, and went through the usual suspects: Rhone specialist, organic vineyard, grapevines from Beaucastel, etc. One thing that we both agreed was of great importance, but

Autumn at Tablas Creek

Well, fall is here. We're into a cycle of weather where we come near a frost at night (we've actually dropped below freezing a couple of times) and then rise up into the 70s and 80s during the day. It's Paso Robles at its

October 20th: Picking Away!

This week has been as productive as we had hoped, and we have brought in over 100 tons of grapes. The weather has been perfect, with days in the upper 80s, clear skies, and a good breeze. We've brought in the Grenache and Grenache Blanc, and most of

Harvest, Week of October 16th

We took a break from harvesting late last week to let an early band of cool, wet weather pass. Parts of the Central Coast received significant amounts of rain (even some big thunderstorms) but at Paso Robles we received a more moderate 0.2" over Thursday night and Friday

Harvest, Week of October 9

The cool and wet weather at the end of last week and the beginning of this week has temporarily halted picking. The light rain has washed some of the dirt off the grapes, and we’ll be ready to bring in more grapes as the weather remains dry. At this

Harvest, Week of October 2

This week we began bringing in more of the red varietals, including almost 20 tons of Syrah and a small amount of Grenache. The Syrah is put into open-top tanks to ferment, and as the grape skins float to the top of the tank, we pump the juice over the

Roussanne "Bergeron"

We're enjoying probably the last relatively mellow day before harvest starts in earnest. From sampling we have done, it looks like we're going to see significant amounts of Syrah, Viognier, and Grenache Blanc this week. Ripening is proceding under ideal conditions: low-90s daytime temperatures, upper-40s nighttime