February13
No excuses (from me)
I apologize for not writing these last three weeks, I think my writing mojo wasn't flowing. I have been busy, both in the winery and at home and maybe that is part of the reason I haven't wanted to sit down and write. So here it is Saturday morning and Mary, Karri and I are on I-5 on our way to Portland to meet with Cindy our label designer to talk labels, pick colors and hopefully get closer to the finish line. We have both the rosé and the sparkling to release and I think Mary is holding out for the new labels in order to force us into getting these labels done. You might even get to have the 2008 Vintner's Blend if we get the new labels and imagine, the 2008 Dunn Forest also waiting in the wings.
For the rest of my chatter click here.
January20
All the rain we didn't get in December appears to be coming down in a rush.
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January 6
Look what I got today! My first new pump!
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December30
I hope everyone had a a great Christmas or Hanukka or Winter Solstice or whatever it is you celebrate to liven the darkest days of the year.
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December22
Yes folks, it's that time of year again. I've started tracking MLs on the Pinot noir using paper chromotography.
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December15
Here are the promised cluster pictures showing the lifecycle of two grape clusters this year.
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December 9
It is really cold. I just want to get that off my chest. This morning it was 23F as I was driving in to work. I did talk to a friend today who said it was 16F in Montana but that's Montana.
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November28
Hello All, Sorry it has been so long but the last four five weeks have been busy. (I actually started this post 10 days ago!)
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November 1
Elizabeth admitted she was too busy to post so instead of missing two weeks she volunteered me, her mother, to write and give you my perspective of what goes on in a normal day during harvest.
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October14
As I sit here watching the setting sun duck under the clouds and set our elm tree alight and contemplating what to write this week . . .
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September29
I was out walking in the vineyard this morning to get our pictures and was testing the grapes just to get a feel . . .
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September23
The grapes are starting to turn color in earnest now and the good weather will help hurry them along I hope.
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September 2
There is a little color in the Foch block, though none on our cluster yet.
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August26
I tasted through the treated pinots last week and was really interested to see what effect the various compounds had.
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August19
In the winery I set up the fining trials but at the writing of this I haven't tasted through them.
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August12
Our clusters are continuing to grow and I am curious to see when they will enter lag phase.
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August 5
Being away for a week certainly allowed me to see the change in the vineyard and the vines are coming along nicely.
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July22
We finally got the sparkling wine bottled this week.
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July15
I feel like the summer is racing by and it just got here!
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July 7
Bloom has just started in the Foch and hopefully the rest of the vineyard isn't far behind.
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June29
In the vineyard the crew is cleaning the heads of the vines.
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June21
I have marked two grape clusters, one Marechal Foch and one Chardonnay and I will try to take a picture every week until harvest.
Tags: bmw,
cluster pics,
glacier,
vineyard
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May 5
There was a fiery yellow ball in the sky that hurt my eyes! Did you see it too?
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April29
. . . The beads are made up of an alginate skin that traps the yeast cells inside while still allowing the wine/juice to flow through.
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April21
Our trusty Chard vine is ready to go and you can see the buds swelling . . .
Tags: facebook,
japan,
live,
sparkling,
vineyard,
website,
whites
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April 6
Our new website is about to go live and to be honest I am having a difficult time with the new editor. It is not really designed for what I am trying to do here but I am going to work with it for a while.
Tags: japan,
labwork,
vineyard,
website
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March 3
I think I spent most of the week hunched over my computer trying to . . .
Tags: labwork,
ml,
vineyard,
whites
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February25
I just finished cleaning up from filtering the Riesling! Let me clarify, finished cleaning up the equipment, not myself. I’m feeling a little gritty and damp but otherwise happy to have the cold stabilizing done.
Tags: filtering,
riesling,
snow
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February18
I was able to filter the Pinot gris this week and it worked out very well.
Tags: asperations,
filtering,
rippers,
roth's
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February11
I must admit that while I didn’t have a hard and fast schedule for January and February, okay try almost no schedule at all, I was planning on having the 3 whites filtered and ready to bottle before I leave in March but after yet another week of failed tests I think I am going to have to face the facts
Tags: cold stability,
crooked house bistro,
tanks,
wandering aengus
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February 4
While I must admit that this week didn’t go quite as planned I am very happy that I at least filtered the Gewürztraminer.
Tags: cold stability,
filtering,
tartrate,
tasting
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January29
The winery is still quiet. Monday I added cream of tartar to the whites to help finish cold stabilizing them this week.
Tags: cold stability
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January20
I’m not sure what to write about this week. I must admit that this is not my favorite time of year.
Tags: cooking,
malo-lactic,
vineyard,
whites
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January 3
A bright and shiny new year for us all. I already have my fingers crossed for a better vintage but I have 9 or 10 months until I know what this year is bringing.
Tags: bentonite,
new year,
pinot gris,
pinot noir
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December21
. . . and all through the winery not a creature was stirring because we all went out to lunch.
Tags: bentonite,
phineas
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December17
So as the title suggested I learned about soil nutrition and the use of fertilizer at a workshop on Wednesday I attended with Mary. It was very interesting and I certainly learned a lot though I was distinctly reminded of sitting in High School Chemistry a few times.
Tags: bentonite,
gewurztraminer,
pinot gris,
riesling,
soil nutrition
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December 8
I don’t have much to write about this week. The winery is pretty quiet and it would appear that the gray days are here to stay for a while which always lowers my motivation.
Tags: clini-test,
tasting room,
vineyard
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November30
I just thought I would let you know that the ML sheets are looking good.
Tags: malo-lactic
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November29
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I meant to let you know that I worked in the tasting room on Friday after Thanksgiving, which I don’t normally do but as I didn’t you’ll have to come in during the week sometime to ask me your really gritty questions.
Tags: dogs,
thanksgiving,
whites
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November18
Ahh, who knew that winemakers would get to quote Shakespeare while going about their work.
Tags: inoculation,
riesling
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November16
I have no idea what happened to last week, somehow it just slipped away from me. It was a good week and the white ferments are going well, the ML is bubbling away in the barrels, I did build them a fort to help them stay a little warmer and I got in a little cooking; French Pork Stew courtesy of Cooks Illustrated.
Tags: amity,
riesling,
website
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November 2
As I think I mentioned in my last post with less fruit coming in I should have more time to experiment and try out some new processes and this weekend I got to do the first of those.
Tags: barrels,
pinot noir,
whites
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October27
I’ve been thinking a lot about what to write about this year’s harvest. It has been difficult on a very personal level because this is my job.
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October14
So the grapes have been sampled and need at least another week or more, the harvest crew has arrived and the sun is shinning so what are a winery owner and her winemaker to do?
Tags: golf,
harvest,
harvest crew,
sampling
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October 7
Chances are you aren’t unless you are a winemaker on the west coast this fall and more specifically one in the Willamette Valley at which point I am almost 100% sure you are among the suffering.
Tags: bottling,
phineas,
sampling,
van duzer
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September24
According to the weather report we might be due for some sun, that would be excellent and the longer it lasts the better.
Tags: bottling,
fall festival,
vineyard
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September17
When I started thinking about what I would write about this week there were visions of purple grapes and sun filled skies dancing in my head. Watching the rain drizzle down I’m not feeling quite to joyful. But first things first.
Tags: fining,
veraison,
victoria
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September 7
Drink it is the obvious answer but there really is more to do. Most states we sell in ( 12 ) have monthly reports. The feds have bimonthly reports! Bills always take up twice the amount of time as do deposits.
Tags: mary,
vineyard
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September 3
Let me be slightly more accurate: the 2009 Willamette Valley is blended and in tank and the 2009 reserve pinot noir has been racked into neutral oak barrels to age another year and be bottled in September 2011.
Tags: barrels,
fining,
pinot noir,
veraison,
victoria
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August28
I know it has been a while since I updated you on my life as a winemaker and I have no excuse but I hope you will forgive me.
Tags: filtering,
stability,
state fair,
vineyard
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August16
Well, Ohio in August was about what I was expecting. Hot, 90+F, humid, 90%, and one thunderstorm, one of the few weather trends I miss out here in Oregon.
Tags: ohio,
tramonte and sons
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August 6
Another week gone and in a flash it seems. I spent the week moving the Chardonnay and Marechal Foch from barrel to tank as well as all the work that goes along with moving wine.
Tags: chardonnay,
marechal foch,
selling wine,
tramonte and sons
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July30
I can’t believe it is Friday and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write. To be honest I can believe that I haven’t had time to sit down and write but it is still hard to believe it is Friday.
Tags: biolees,
pinot noir,
vineyard,
watering
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July21
Finally it feels as though summer has arrived. Everywhere that is except the winery where I sit, though no longer wearing flannel lined jeans, bundled up in a 2 shirts and a fleece and still needing to go outside periodically to warm up my hands.
Tags: blending,
vineyard
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July13
Last night was our second group tasting and as expected it was quite interesting and educational if maybe a slight let down.
Tags: champagne,
group tasting
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July 9
The big news of the week was our little heat wave. And I have to say that for Oregonians, there was remarkably little complaining heard.
Tags: barrel tasting,
bloom,
heat wave
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June30
Tags: asev,
bloom,
frost,
iccs,
riley
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June17
Barrel tasting week has come around again and I have worked through all the barrels in the barrel room. The Chardonnay is shaping up nicely and true to form the BeckenRidge pinot is coming around first.
Tags: barrel tasting,
bloom,
group tasting
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June10
This week has seemed to be less about making wine and more about taking care of other things. I designed a new sign for the tasting room, see if you spot it next time you are in, and we are finally getting a new web site. While this is quite exciting it has taken the viewing of many other sites, deciding what we like or dislike, some writing and lots of discussing.
Tags: bloom,
chardonnay,
so2,
vineyard,
website
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June 3
Memorial Weekend is over and the winery has been restored to its normal clean and calm state.
Tags: the vine,
winemaker's dinner
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May26
Sorry I didn’t get you that promised update last week on the dinner. It went very well.
Tags: marechal foch,
recipes,
winemaker's dinner
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May14
As I am writing this I am driving south down I-5, well to be more accurate my husband is driving, in the heart of the Willamette Valley and am reminded again of the beauty to be found in the state of Oregon.
Tags: winemaker's dinner
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May 5
This is my week for tasting through all the barrels and I have to say that they are starting to come around. The chardonnay in particular is showing improvement this week.
Tags: barrel tasting,
frost,
winemaking
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April28
I think I have a case of spring fever. I have not been at all motivated to sit in front of my computer and type or for that matter even read.
Tags: frost,
live,
pinot gris
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April13
. . . for not posting last week but somehow I just couldn’t get inspired. I didn’t have any nice stories and my husband is gone right now on a 10 day trip and somehow I get more lethargic when he is away.
Tags: barrels,
bottling,
cats,
chardonnay,
pinot noir
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April 4
This week was spent racking barrels. I must be getting more comfortable doing it and I had a very good helper so it all went much smoother than I had feared.
Tags: barrels,
pinot noir,
racking
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March25
This week feels a little quieter for which I am appreciative. Mary is back east in New Hampshire selling our wine and having fun visiting her brother.
Tags: dinner,
tasting
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March19
Bottles, cases, pallets everywhere! And the noise! Okay I dramatize but I was feeling that way.
Tags: bottling,
elk,
planting
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March13
Okay my excuse this time for not getting this posted during the week is that I didn’t drive to Seattle until early Thursday morning and came back yesterday evening and just wanted to sit and relax with my husband last night. And, of course, watch the kittens enjoy the fire.
Tags: seattle,
wine tasting
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March 8
I am so sorry. I wrote this last week, needed a picture from home and then didn’t get it posted. I am filtering Muller as I type and fingers crossed it is going well. I really hope to be done today.
Tags: filtering,
whites
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February18
I didn’t write about it last week but I did attend a Riesling tasting for winemakers in the midst of moving wine, it was a welcome break.
Tags: pinot noir,
riesling,
tasting
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February13
At last blends have been decided and I am in the midst of moving wine. I have to admit that now I have something interesting to write about and not much energy to write.
Tags: cleaning,
pumping,
whites
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February 4
Sorry I didn’t write last week, I think I was just being lazy and didn’t have a lot to share. We have been tasting white blends, trying to decide on what the 7 will be made up of this year. It’s fun but definitely still work, especially when I don’t get it right on the first few tries.
Tags: blending,
crush wine bar,
vineyard
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January21
Well I finished the bench trials last week for Bentonite additions in order to make the wines that failed earlier protein stable. So no slimy clouds in my wine or rather your wine from me!
Tags: bentonite,
pruning,
whites
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January14
I also check if the wines are protein or heat stable and if they are cold stable. If the wine is not protein stable there is a chance that if the wine got warm during shipping or storage for instance that it would throw a protein based sediment.
Tags: cold stability,
heat/protein stability
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January 7
Yesterday I started the lab work to see if the whites are ready to filter in preparation for bottling. The easy tests are for pH and titratable acidity.
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January 5
I hope you had a great one. I went up to Seattle with my husband and drank at least 5 types of Champagne/Sparkling wine with my brother, his wife and their friends and I think Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut out of California is still one of my favorites.
Tags: marechal foch,
pinot noir
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December30
The results from the ML’s on Monday that I mentioned were that the Dunn Forest came back complete except a few barrels and so I ran the rest of the barrels yesterday and I have about 7 barrels out of 53 that aren’t quite done.
Tags: new year
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December28
Sorry I didn’t write last week, I did work but then decided to enjoy a few days off with my husband which did not involve updating my blog.
Tags: asperations,
chardonnay,
ice,
malo-lactic
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December18
I had a very difficult time writing this week after all the excitement of last week. I kept waiting and waiting, hoping something might come along that was fun to talk about.
Tags: chardonnay,
malo-lactic
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December11
. . . according to Mary and who are we to dissuade her. It did stay cold enough to ice skate and we had a great time. Barry, sadly, couldn’t find his skates so we had to switch back and forth.
Tags: ice skating
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December10
I wasn’t sure what to share with you this week. It was quite varied. I started with stopping the last tank of Pinot gris fermentation by adding SO2 (sulfites) and turning the tank with argon gas to mix the solution in, otherwise it tends to stratify in the tank which leads to other problems.
Tags: ice skating,
la rambla,
pinot gris,
so2,
whites
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December 2
This week I am checking ML’s for the first time.
Tags: malo-lactic
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November28
Well I had the best of intentions to post before Thanksgiving when we had a beautiful fall day and the neighbor dogs came for a romp. Yes, that would be 7 dogs; three Irish Setters, two Australian Shepherds, one Golden Retriever and one long haired Dachshund.
Tags: chardonnay,
dogs,
thanksgiving
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November17
Yesterday I was busy topping all day. The first time after barreling everything down is very slow. This year I have about 90 barrels of pinot, 40 barrels of marechal foch and 18 barrels of chardonnay.
Tags: barrels,
riesling,
topping
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November15
Harvest in the Willamette Valley is finally winding down and I thought that this year I would start a blog. I certainly enjoy reading others and hope that you might have fun reading about what I do during the course of the year. Please feel free to contact me with questions and comments. I am always glad to share my knowledge and love talking about wine.
Tags: first blog,
harvest
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