August 18
As August arrives the grapes are maturing and crush will be here before we know it. As I write this entry most of the Soda Canyon Merlot is past 50% color which marks the point when we are roughly 45 days from harvesting. This phase of berry development is called veraison. Veraison represents the end of the berry growth phase and the beginning of the berry ripening phase: berries change to their respective color, acidity drops, sugar accumulates, and the seeds change from green and astringent to brown, crunchy and nutty. Actually, seed maturity is one of the key factors we use to determine the optimal time to harvest.
We will soon finish the second soutirage of the 2008 Merlot. During each soutirage I sniff wine from every barrel to make sure it is aging well. It is amazing how each cooperage contributes such different elements and each barrel of wine is slightly different even within the same cooperage. Soutirage is a long process and we will be finished just in time to begin preparations for harvest. We are taking our crush equipment out of storage for cleaning and testing. The level of excitement and anticipation is beginning to rise.
~Rob Schwartz, Assistant Winemaker