May 1
May is an exciting month in the vineyard. Everything looks fresh and vibrant and the possibilities are limitless. This year is tracking about a week early, so with the four varieties that we farm for Twomey Cellars, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, growth is about a foot long at the beginning of the month and the clusters are just starting to elongate. By the end of the month the vineyards will be filled with the delicate bouquet of grape flowers. Did you know that each variety has its own scent? I particularly like that of Cabernet Franc.
In the cellar in Calistoga we will begin our first soutirage of the 2008 vintage. This is the process where we rack barrel to barrel through the heads of the barrels. In Healdsburg, we will be topping the Pinot Noir barrels and assessing the performance of the twelve coopers that we buy barrels from to fine tune our barrel orders for 2009.
May is a month of great promise and anticipation.
~Daniel Baron