Note: We are following the 2011 grape harvest through the writings of several Niagara insiders. This is the third post from William Roman at Rosewood Estate, and Part X in our series.
Semillon, Chardonnay and Riesling Oh My!
By William Roman, Operations Manager, Rosewood Estate Winery and Meadery
Since the last post it has been a hectic and interesting harvest ride at Rosewood Estates, and talking to other local wineries, it has been the same for most of Niagara.
Between September 28 and October 4 in Beamsville we received nearly 70 mm of rain – almost the same amount that parts of B.C.’s wine region get throughout the entire growing season!
This rain had a very detrimental affect on the grapes, causing a lot of issues for many of the thin-skinned grape varieties (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay). Followed by the intense sun and heat of the past week (Oct. 5 – Oct. 9) helped create the perfect breeding ground for damaging rot out in the vineyards.
This is why the past week has been very chaotic for many producers who have eagerly and swiftly been harvesting any grapes that have started to “breakdown” or “rot.”
At Rosewood we had a busy week bringing in the estate Semillon, Chardonnay and Riesling. The days were long, and the picking crews were required to spend extra time sorting and discarding damaged clusters out in the vineyard.
This made for long nights of processing the grapes, early into the morning, as we were not able to get all the grapes off the vineyard in quick time.
Thankfully, with a lot of help by the Vietnamese picking crews, we were able to successfully harvest and process the estate Semillon and Long Rows Vineyard — Mima’s Block Riesling in one very long day.
This fruit unfortunately was breaking down at the time of picking and again required a lot of sort and discarding in the vineyard. The clusters that eventually made its way to the winery came in clean and looking great – creating some very interesting juice flavors.
The Estate Semillon for example, is bursting with intense flavors of white pepper and fresh pears – something we have not yet experienced before.
Later in the week we had to rush to pick the estate Chardonnay as it too was beginning to breakdown – much like the Semillon pick, it required some vineyard sorting.
Following the Chardonnay we picked the last of the white grapes, the estate Riesling. The Riesling held up very well and picking crews were able to fly through the blocks as it required minimal sorting.
The juice is now all sitting in tanks chilling, being kept cold to prevent any premature, wild fermentations. We are very happy with both the volume and flavours of the juice that has come in and we look forward to beginning the fermentations. The juice should make for some very interesting wines.
Up Next?
• we will now be racking off the juice from the sediment, creating “clean juice” for fermentation in the next few days – then inoculating said “clean juice”
• continue to monitor and manage (punchdowns) our pinot noir fermentations that were started last week.
• continue to watch the weather forecasts and measure the sugar (brix) of the grapes that still hang on our vineyards (Cabernet Franc and Merlot – they are looking very good!)
• process pinot noir on Thanksgiving Monday (today) from Wismer Vineyards in Jordan, Ontario. (if you are in the area please stop by to take a look!)
• Continue to have fun (and drink beer) & pray that October stays drier then September.
Keep calm and carry on – this popular statement couldn’t be more true for what appears to be one of the more challenging vintages Niagara has seen.
Cheers for now,
Will
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