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Winery & Winemaking

A collection of 225 posts

The red wines from the 2013 vintage come into focus

Blending is always an exciting time for me. Up until that time, the different wine lots in the cellar have been potential, and we're looking at them principally in terms of the problems that they might present. One might not be through fermentation. Another might be a little

Malolactic, Misunderstood

There is a recurring item on the Wine Spectator Web site called "Ask Dr. Vinny". In it, the Spectator writers take on commonly asked questions about winemaking and wine consumption. Last month there was a question from a reader in the United Arab Emirates: "Is there any

Reining In Harvest 2013

By Chelsea Franchi I was standing in the entrance of the cellar on Monday with my hand wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee, watching as a storm rolled over the hills of Paso Robles and finally touch down on our vineyard. And I had a smile on my face.

A Tale of Two Rosés

For the last two years, we've been making two rosés. If that sounds nuts, it kind of is. But it's in keeping with using our wines to try to express something fundamental about the grapes that go into them. The first of our rosés, which we&

We cruise toward the end of the earliest Paso Robles harvest since 2001

It's getting hard to find a vineyard block with fruit still on it. As of the beginning of October, we'd harvested all of our non-Roussanne whites and our Syrah, and nearly all of our Mourvedre, Grenache and Roussanne. The only grape that's hanging a

Mid-September Harvest Report: Vibrant Whites and Dark, Electric Reds

What a difference two years makes. As of September 15th in 2011 (and 2010, for that matter) we were looking at each other and re-sampling the vineyard, trying to figure out what to do with ourselves as we waited for the delayed harvest to begin. Even last year, as of

Harvest 2013 begins, fast and slightly less furious than 2012

In my last pre-harvest assessment, written the first of August, I predicted that based on our veraison dates we'd start between August 25th and September 4th. And I was right, but only barely. It was August 26th when we brought in our first estate lots: two different Viognier

Congratulations to Neil Collins - 2013 San Luis Obispo County Winemaker of the Year

It was with great pleasure that we received the news that our winemaker Neil Collins was voted by his peers the 2013 Winemaker of the Year for San Luis Obispo County. You can read the full press release here. With one exception -- the 1997 vintage, for which Neil was

We check in on the vineyard's progress at the end of May

The end of May marks the end of our danger of frost and the end of any chance of spring rain. As such, it is a good time to assess where we are. Short version: things look good, and we're on track for a solid harvest at a

We conduct a vertical tasting of Syrah in honor of Paso Robles Syrah Month

It’s Syrah month here in Paso Robles. At the beginning of the year, the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance launched a “varietal of the month” program that cycles through the major grapes grown here, and are supporting it with a grower blog, a winemaker interview and a new installment