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Lieb Behind The Scenes – October 2016: 2016 Harvest Report

October 20, 2016

ami-harvest

 

Lieb Behind The Scenes – October 2016: 2016 Harvest Report

As of this week, we’re 85% of the way through harvest.  We’ve picked all fruit needed for our Lieb Cellars and Bridge Lane white wine and rosé programs, and for the reds, only Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot are still left on the vine.  Harvest will be complete in 2-3 weeks.  With the end of the season looming, I sat down with our winemaker, Russell, yesterday to reflect on this year’s growing conditions, to review what we’ve harvested and to taste and make some early observations about the quality of the wines.  The following report summarizes this year’s harvest and serves to document the “story” behind our 2016 vintage.  It will stand as a reminder of all of the factors that contributed to the vintage’s unique personality.  Each October or November moving forward, I’ll publish our official Harvest Report on this blog.

The Growing Season

A cool, dry winter gave way to a rainy early spring, which kept soil temperatures down due to some water retention and delayed bud break by a few days.  Flowering and fruit set also occurred slightly later than normal, as May was cooler than average.  We experienced a warm, dry phase from June through the first half of August, however, and essentially caught back up.  Warm temperatures continued through late August and the first half of September, but this period also saw on and off (heavy) rainfall, day and nighttime humidity and some mild fungal pressure – the “enemies” of harvest.  September and early October presented challenging weather patterns, but we avoided fungal issues and ripened clean fruit by being proactive with spraying and harvesting for long days during narrow windows of dry, sunny weather.

The Harvest

We harvested the majority of our fruit by hand.  For some lots which were to be sold to neighboring producers, we employed a machine harvester to speed up the picking process.  (We carried out a “negative harvest” by hand prior to machine picking, to remove any blemished fruit before the machine went through.)

Harvest began on September 8th and is projected to conclude on schedule the first week of November.  Tons per acre (or yield) were at or above normal across the board and ranged from 1 ½ to 4, depending on the varietal and its intended use.  Higher than average yields were a result of 2 factors: 1) No rainfall during the bloom period in June which resulted in 100% fruit set (no shatter) and 2) a sunny year in 2015 which increases the number of clusters on the vine the following year.

Our grapes for sparkling wines were picked on schedule.  Our white grapes were picked later than normal in most cases because the September rain delayed ripening and limited our picking days.  An early October warm spell sped up our reds and they, too, are now on schedule.

Brix (sugar content) measurements at time of harvest have been lower than normal with acidities being moderate.  This is a result of the spikes of heat in August driving down acidity and the rain in September stalling sugar development.  Neither of these factors present an issue for our whites and rosés, as we strive for lower alcohol in these wines.  Reds for this vintage are likely to be more restrained.  For Lieb, we see this as a positive as well since we strive for finesse and nuance in our reds vs power.  This will be a true “wine geek” year.

Early Observations

We like what we’re tasting.  Despite moderate alcohol levels, tank and barrel samples are showing early signs of a high-quality vintage with good color and complex flavors.  Blending will be important this year in order to achieve balance in the whites.  Higher acid lots will be blended into lower acid lots to ensure brightness and freshness across the board.  Reds are harder to access at this stage since they just started coming into the winery, but juice and primary fermentation samples are showing well-developed fruit flavors and tannin structure.  They’re very promising.

Overall 2016 Harvest Grade (if we HAVE to assign one)*

B+

Mostly because of the dang rain in Sept.

*Harvest grade does not imply a good or bad vintage, just simply rates the growing conditions and quality of the fruit.  Great wines (and often the most interesting wines) can and are made from difficult harvests.  And THAT’S when you know you have a great winemaker.

Fun Facts

To conclude these reports each year on a non-technical note, I’ll aim to identify one or two events that occurred during the season that were particularly memorable, fun or special. Two immediately come to mind for this year:

1) My daughter, Renny, came out to the vineyard and helped harvest for the first time this year.  She’s two so was too young last year to do much besides fumble around in the grass.  This year, she spent a sunny, fun-filled September afternoon playing with our vineyard foreman’s daughter, Nilda, and helping me pick Pinot Blanc.  It was a proud mama moment for me.

2) Russell found more Sauvignon Blanc!  Since rebranding our Bridge Lane series in 2014, we’ve hoped to make a Bridge Lane Sauvignon Blanc.  The problem was, we only have a few acres planted.  Russell had been scouting vineyards and finally found one this year that met our criteria in terms of quality and fruit availability.  So, we brought in an additional 20 tons of Sauvignon Blanc fruit last month and our Bridge Lane Sauvignon Blanc dreams are about to come true!!  Now the only issue for me will be deciding which box wine to keep stocked in my fridge all summer … Rosé or Sauv Blanc.  MAYBE I’LL JUST DO BOTH.

Ami Opisso
General Manager & Certified Sommelier

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