November 5, 1998
HARVEST NEWSHarvest for the 1998 vintage is still plodding along. And it's still hard to generalize on the quality. If anything, we might call this vintage, the "Year of the Impossible to Generalize"; it's very very sporadic.
Bruce McGuire, winemaker at Santa Barbara Winery, for example, told me their pinot noir from the Lafond Vineyard out on Santa Rosa Road was unusually early this vintage-a year that may take the record for the latest harvest in modern history. And he told me that the quality was very good and that yield were good as well.
Harvest for 1998 is running at least a month late. And that condition is what would make odds-makers jittery. The later the harvest, the greater the chance for rain-a condition, which at harvest, would spell disaster for the crop.
While winemakers like Bruce McGuire and Steve Rasmussen, winemaker at Talley Vineyards near Arroyo Grande, are getting pretty much normal yields from their pinot noir vineyards, other winemakers are being shorted drastically because crop levels are down.
Vintners who were expecting nine tons of pinot noir fruit out of Bien Nacido Vineyards east of Santa Maria, for example, were ending up with two and three tons!
Winemaker Lane Tanner told me she didn't get the tons she wanted this year, but the quality was definitely there. Lane specializes in pinot noir, and syrah since the last two vintages (1996 and 1997), and she told me she made up in tonnage on syrah for the shortfall in pinot noir.
She added the quality for this harvest is terrific-definitely better than 1997, and as good as 1996, which she considers a "stellar vintage."
Chris Whitcraft's appraisal of the vintage: "In quality, I'd give it an eight on a scale of ten; in quantity, I'd give it a two, with 1995 getting a one on a scale of ten."
But Edna Valley-based winemaker, Steve Dooley, who produces the Echelon brand for the Chalone Wine Group, and his own wine, Stephen Ross, using grapes from both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties takes a different position from either Chris or Lane. He told me he thinks the vintage this year is good, but not great, and he is basing this conclusion on lab analysis of the fruit and new wine.
He said, "With the difficult and challenging growing season we've had [because of El Nino], the winemaking--a continuation of the winegrowing process--is more critical this vintage." In other words, he believes the winemaking will be more of a challenge this vintage because in most cases the quality just isn't there. He told me that, for example, the reds will be somewhat lighter for the 1998 vintage, and he told me that he is drawing these conclusions based on lab tests, measuring the phenolics (those components which give the wine its texture, and bitter or astringent components, or lack thereof), the tannins and the anthrocyanins or colors.
OTHER NEWS
The Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association has finally produced a new map. This new publication also lists area restaurants as well as hotels, motels and inns. The maps are free and you can get them by calling the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association at 688-0881 or e-mailing them at info@sbcountywines.com.
EVENTS
Harvest Festival
Saturday, November 7, 1-4 p.m., the wineries of Edna Valley and the Arroyo Grande Valley hold their 8th annual Harvest Celebration. Scheduled events include wine tasting, barrel tasting, a selection of foods from local purveyors to compliment the wines and a silent auction. The event takes place at Talley Vineyards east of Arroyo Grande.
As always, member wineries will be hosting special events on Sunday, November 8. Tickets are $50 per person and include a Riedel Crystal logo glass. Must be 21 to attend. For more information or reservations call (805) 541-5868.
Santa Barbara Wine Auction Weekend
Thursday, November 12 through Sunday, November 15, this fall wine event takes place and it is sponsored by the Music Academy of the West.
For details, call (805) 969-9463.
- Thursday, 5-8 p.m., a downtown restaurant, wine and art gallery tour takes place.
- Friday, patron dinners will be held throughout Montecito and Santa Barbara.
- Saturday, a fundraiser auction of rare and unusual wines will be held at Chateau Miraflores, the main building at the Music Academy. There will be an auction preview at 1 p.m.; the auction starts at 2.
- Sunday, November 15, 11a.m. to 2 p.m., the grand wine and food tasting takes place at Miraflores.
Bon appetit!
Bob Senn writes The Independent's monthly wine column, "Grapevine," lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
