A years past

Here I am again, “a day late and a dollar short”, as my Dad always says.  This last year was yet another amazing adventure that ended with an exhilarating harvest.  For the last three harvests we’ve seen the gambit of challenges; 30 year frosts, early rains-late rains, fires-smoke taint, and mild summers which prolonged ripening. They always say “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”; I now know what that means in more ways than one.  I’m going to see if I can do a quick run-down on the events of this past year, bear with me.

This year started out with an early bottling of our Lake County Sauvignon Blanc. If you haven’t tried it, you should, it’s wonderful.  It’s always an exciting time getting everything ready to bottle. Dealing with all the suppliers, corks, foils, screen printers, glass companies, mobile cross-flow filtration, and a mobile bottling line. It’s almost like a little performance that you have to arrange in a poetic dance.  At the end of which you don’t get to reap the benefits for a while to come as the wine needs to rest and recover from bottle-shock. It’d be nice to get that instant gratification of a standing ovation and the roar of the crowd. Oh the joys of patience, not one of my virtues.

We had rain here in the valley for long into the spring and then again in the fall. Bud break ran late, which caused a short ripening season.  The problem with late rain is you run into issues with mold and mildew. To prevent these complications a lot of vineyards pull leaves to open up the canopy so that the clusters can dry out.  Some spray sulphur.  The problem with this year was right after the rain came, a heat spike. These open clusters now became vulnerable to sun burn and the 100 plus weather. As the season ran on we found out we were going to lose three crops to the elements. A sad day for the growers, my father, and I. Though we are very fortunate to have good relationships with growers and look forward to our ongoing endeavors together.  We were lucky this year with what fruit made it to the winery. Everything looks beautiful, and I’m excited to start the dance once again.

Shannon and Matt, my cousins, came out to Napa again this year. Thank you again for your tasting expertise during our blending trials. Going the other way, I finally made it to Wisconsin to see all of them, Judy, Mike, Scott, Danny, Eli, Shannon and Matt. We made our way to Green Bay to see the 49ers take on the Packers. Didn’t go so well for us, but the stadium and history was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. If you ever make your way to Hudson, WI, go to the quaint wine bar called Nova. Again, thank you for your hospitality, and go Niners. Also, I made my way out to Maui to see my dear friends Martin and Jennifer get married at the Ritz. It’s always nice to play a little golf at the Plantation course, and have a Mai Tai at the pool while looking at the ocean.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year! Carpe Diem.

Brian Harlan