Harvest 2009 – Day 6
Friday - payday, laundry day and shopping day for the crew. The cellar crew played catch up and clean up and prepared for the next day’s pick.
Day 5 – picking chardonnay
For the unoaked estate bottled chardonay.
Monday, Monday
Monday was not nearly so pretty, cold and overcast, but the crew headed out and the bottling run was underway . Tasting room staff was pressed into duty… well, until a belt in the bottler gave way . Despite this, somehow, the first of the 2008 gamay noir made it into bottle. Tasting Room staff ran up to change into uniform and we began destemming and crushing the pinot gris grapes picked so far. They will be stored in the refrigerated transport for a 24 hour cold soak in hopes of capturing that elusive hint of pink we found for the first time last year in the 2008 Pinot Gris.
The yields are very good with the extra moisture in the grapes from the recent rains. Prince Edward County had been without rain for most of August and September, so a little rain was a welcome thing.
The pinot gris harvest
Photo credit - Theresa Durning
Last Sunday was a beautiful day; the type of fall Sunday that occurs so rarely, but when it does, it seems to lift everyone’s spirits. The morning was sunny and breezy as the 16-man picking crew headed out again to the Isabella block to pick pinot gris.
Adam Delorme, our cellar assistant when he isn’t helping Mike in the vineyard, offered me these tasting notes for the 2009 pinot gris grapes: “ There are flavours of spicy pear, ripe peach, mandarin orange and cantaloupe.” The interesting thing about pinot gris grapes is that they taste anything but grapey….. but I digress.
Back to harvest The day clouded over but it never really rained. Jeff Innes, our winemaker, arrived late in the afternoon and began preparations for the next day’s bottling and processing. As usual, I was feeling impatient, wishing to start right away. During harvest I always feel as if the wolf is at the door.
