Vineyard Update

It’s that time of year again when the fruit on the vines is ripe and ready for picking! It’s HARVEST SEASON!

In Clarksburg, California, our 2022 Pinot Gris and Tempranillo grapes are being harvested, de-stemmed and pressed for juice before our fermentation and aging processes begin. Due to a uniquely warm year, the brix and acid levels were ideal for harvest earlier this year so the decision was made to harvest these varietals earlier than we typically would.

Did you know?

Harvest times vary year to year and are generally determined by average temperature throughout the year? An uncharacteristically warmer year may result in an earlier harvest because warmer temperatures cause the fruit to ripen faster.

Also, an uncharacteristically wet or dry year will impact the fruit each harvest. If our vines experience a lot of rain, the fruit will be more plentiful. While we appreciate the nurturing of our soil, the vine doesn’t have to work as hard to produce it’s fruit. The result is generally more grapes containing more water in each cluster. In these instances and in an effort to have more concentrated and intense flavors, we will remove excess clusters from the vine we approach harvest season.

In contrast, if we have an uncharacteristically dry year with very little rain, the vine has to work harder to produce it’s fruit. This generally results in more intense/ concentrated flavors. Water is often supplemented and controlled through irrigation.

A winemaker has to consider many factors when deciding when exactly to harvest their grapes and it involves regular tasting and inspection of the fruit near harvest time. Grapes harvested later in the season are more ripened and tend to be sweeter than grapes harvested early in the season.

The terroir within our primary AVAs of Napa Valley, Calistoga, Lodi and Clarksburg are a major contributor to some of the signature characteristics of Pur Noire wines including our distinctively fruit forward notes. This along with our custom blending and signature aging processes (generally new French oak) allow us to arrive at the wines we present to you.

Thank you for allowing us to bring you passionately crafted wines and create memorable experiences for you in and around our tasting room! We just released our 10th varietal, Sunset Rouge. It’s a Pinot Noir dominant light red blend that we can’t wait for you to try!