This time of year is fun because we get visits from our winery friends that we sell grapes to such as Dave Reilly, winemaker at Duchman Family Winery. Great guy and great winemaker. He does a wonderful job with the white grapes and the Dolcetto that we send to them. The added bonus was that he brought his lovely wife, Linda.
Another wonderful aspect of these visits is that these wineries often bring us some fruit of their labors (made with the fruit of our labor). Dave brought us bottles of 2019 Duchman Family Winery Viognier that we shared with the crew here.
Working Together to Create Great Wine
When the Becker crew came by for a visit they brought a bottle of a very small lot production wine. They usually use our Semillon grapes for blending with other wines, but this varietal wine was aged for over 40 months in oak. Jon Leahy, their winemaker, is a hoot, but more importantly he makes great wines. This Semillon wine was complex and delightful.
But the main purpose for the wineries coming to visit is to get a look at the vineyards to inspect the crop of grapes that are coming their way. And yes, all seem to be looking forward to this year’s harvest which may start this week for us.
Red Wine Grapes that are Close, But Not Ready for Harvest
The question is, “When is the optimal time to harvest a particular grape in a particular block?” The white grapes are usually ready first. But this year the red grapes are coming along. As you can see they are not ready yet, but we are testing their juice for brix and pH as well as tasting them. Tasting them and looking at their seeds is important as well.
Soon, I’ll be showing you photos of ripe red wine grapes.
A Blast from the Past – 2012
I was just about to post this when Facebook showed me a photo from 2012 that Dave Reilly took at Duchman Family Winery back in 2012. Yes, we have been friends for a long time. He put the comment with it of, “20 tons of Bingham Family Vineyard Dolcetto hit the loading dock today. We are crushing away… Dave Reilly, Duchman Family Winery.”
Lovely having friends in the business.
Blessings,
Betty
