So we finished harvesting our vineyard last week. Mother nature continued her fickle ways and hit us with a very early killing frost. October 11 we were hit with a major frost, and we had scheduled our first pick for October 12th, over a month later than usual. The early varieties were most susceptible, and as a result we had to pick them ASAP, and within 10 days we had all our grapes picked - a process that usually takes place over 4-6 weeks.

We have had to put our contingency plans to action…. As a result we will have some exciting new products to try next year. Look for a Rosé to be released in spring 2009, and I am even trying my hand at some sparkling wine. On the down side I’ve restricted my Pinot Noir to a very small batch, concentrating all of the flavour of the skins, with only a small portion of the juice (the remainder of the juice is in the Rosé). This should result in a super concentrated red, but in very small quantities. All in all it’s been a nail-biter. The quality of our fruit has been excellent, especially in our early varieties. Our later varieties were less ripe than I would have liked, but I put together a plan early in the year to deal with this if it occured, and I think our wines from 2008 will be spectacular. They say some of the best aging wines our of Burgundy are those from the less than stellar years, as a result of slightly higher acids, and longer hang times. I expect this year’s product to be some of my very best - they’ve taken much more work than normal, but I think the results will speak for themselves.

On a bright note, Tawny just turned 6 months old - and is looking cuter than ever.

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