Harvest Update:

2004 Harvest has begun, and it’s our earliest on record.   Some factors contributing to the early harvest are; this year’s crop is very light, it was a warm, dry winter and an equally warm spring.   Additionally, the summer has been cooler than usual, allowing for perfect ripening conditions.   Even though we are harvesting early, the grapes still had a lot of hang time as they budded out almost five weeks earlier than normal (in early February), and were through bloom by May.

The first block harvested was our Estate Pinot Noir, Chalkrock block, which is planted on an extreme hillside slope with very light crop and exceptional limestone shale soil.   The numbers were perfect with the sugar at 24.8 brix, Titratable Acidity .735 g/100ml and PH at 3.45.   Since the grape clusters were so small, the wine is already extremely dark and full bodied even though it is still fermenting.   This Pinot Noir is entirely from new Dijon Clones and we feel it is the beginning of making the west side of Paso Robles, with its rocky, limestone soil and cool temperatures, known for great Pinot Noir.

Vineyard and Olive Update:

Planting of our 155 acre Texas Road Vineyard was just completed, bringing total vineyards on the west side of Paso Robles to 516 acres.   The Texas Road Vineyard includes four different clones of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Petite Verdot.   Additionally, we planted another 10 acres of Tuscan varietal olive trees for our future Rabbit Ridge olive oil.