Pause now serving Wait Cellars

We're pleased to report that our 2009 Green Valley Pinot Noir is now being offered by the glass at Pause! Why not drop in for a glass?

Wine Club shipment going out 12/5

Wine club members, your shipments will go out early next week: two bottles of our 2009 Russian River Pinot Noir, a satisfying Pinot with a classic Russian River profile. We hope you enjoy them!

Not a wine club member? Join now to receive this shipment for only $50 plus tax and shipping (or, if you're local to San Francisco, leverage our no-cost pickup option).

Happy Holidays!

Welcome Ame; and thank you Soiree attendees!

First, a thanks to Ame who has picked up our 2009 Green Valley Pinot Noir -- very talented folks making stunningly beautiful meals. And I dare say their simplicity and restraint make a very nice complement to our Green Valley Pinot.

Second, a big thanks to all with whom I met at the Soiree Des Arts et Des Vins at the Ferry Building. This event remains one of the most enjoyable of the year for me, both for the great people and their great thirst. We were once again one of the biggest sellers among the 25 wineries present.



Finally, a nod to my co-pilot on deliveries this month, Mr. Reed Wait, shown here inspecting cases on a pick-up at Vintner's Express in South San Francisco where we currently store our case goods.

11/14 ferment update

Just a quick note to say that both the 2011 Green Valley and Russian River (Flanagan) Pinot Noirs are resting in barrel, with the secondary (malolactic) fermentation just beginning to start naturally in the Flanagan. Both tasting auspicious; the Green Valley in particular showing more layers of minerality and dark cherry; sitting currently at %13.37 alcohol.

The Chardonnay is still in its primary ferment, and will be through mid December I'm guessing. Creeping along at 10-15 degrees C, still sweet w/some effervescence, lots of tropical fruit right now, bananas and pineapple, mostly transient notes which will diminish significantly toward January. A nice mouth-feel and earthiness is growing underneath the tropics. I'll also be taking this tank fermented Chard through malo.

The pommace dance!

Dean focusing on chocolate croissant as we get ready to press the Devoto.





Dialing in the press program; flavors right on the money; got just under 7 barrels of Devoto this year from 2.6 tons, almost 5 of them free run. Much different than 2010 (where we battled significant September heat); and we pulled this before the rains so there was no rain-aided plumping.




Dean (Chris in background) dancing on pommace. Who doesn't end their day this way?









Am trying a Hungarian Francois Frere barrel this year (one of 9); same species as their French barrel, tighter grain, smells amazing, all the quality is there. Will be monitoring closely in the new year however; while respected for those tight grains, Hungarian is sometimes thought to "give it up" all at once, in which case I'll rack off early.

Devoto sort

Here's a shot of three of the Devoto bins we picked on October 3rd. It really started pouring right about 9am (Stan and his crew got started picking at 3am; I hustled to get there by 8; Penske doesn't open until 7!) Doesn't this stuff look delicious?




Here's a shot of Bill (who has helped me on every Devoto harvest -- thanks Bill!) and Amy, Adam, and Maureen down at the winery helping me sort. Yours truly was "picking jacks". Very little, percentage wise, wound up on the floor this year; very little rot, fruit was in great shape. Still a little light -- six bins came out to 2.6 tons, not quite the 3 tons I was gunning for.

Chardonnay update

Very, very excited about making a Chardonnay this year! We decided on a 10/4 (pre-rain!) pick date this year and the numbers look very auspicious for the Chablis style I'm gunning for: 22.6 brix, 8 TA, 3.4 pH. I de-stemmed and mashed the fruit up pretty good, then let it sit on the skins for almost 12 hours before pressing, primarily in the hopes of creating a rounder mouth-feel.


This contact will be all the tanins this wine sees. I pressed into a cold settling tank, then racked it into stainless where I'm doing a slow cool (10-15 degrees) ferment. Last week things were still very sweet, green apples (high malic acids) shifting into bananas (terpenes); maybe about a tenth into the ferment, I didn't do a brix.

FallFest - thank you!

The weather for Fall Fest this year was gorgeous, nice and sunny down by the waterfront. Thanks to all who stopped by to taste -- now don't forget to sign up for our Wine Club!

And many thanks to Kelly who helped me pour and deal with the masses, as I was at the winery most of that Sunday pressing the Flanagan fruit and inoculating the Devoto and Inspiration!

Soirée des Arts et des Vins

Howdy all, this is fantastic event in a beautiful setting, and Wait Cellars will be proudly serving its 09 Pinots!

Soirée des Arts et des Vins – TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!

You don’t want to miss this spectacular wine tasting event at our new venue,

the Grand Hall of the San Francisco Ferry Building!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

4-8pm

Tickets are $85 and include a commemorative glass and tastings from 25 amazing vintners and importers. The event will also feature gourmet food and live entertainment in both the main hall and the ‘back room bistro’!

Visit www.internationalsf.org/soiree for more information and to buy your tickets today. All proceeds benefit the school and this is an event with broad appeal – we encourage you to invite your friends, family, and co-workers to join us for this community-wide celebration. A good time for a great cause!

Mark your calendar for Fall Fest 2011 on Oct 9th!

We are pleased to be pouring our 2009s at Fall Fest next Sunday the 9th in beautiful Justin Herman plaza in SF. This is a great event celebrating local food and wine put on by SF Magazine, and proceeds will benefit Meals on Wheels of San Francisco. Wait Cellars will be donating two rare magnums of its Pinot Noir for the benefit auction. Get tickets early. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Devoto field report: pick date Monday 10/3

Have been up at Devoto four times in the last week or so, watching the 828 block come along. The weather's been holding, the canopy and vines look to be in great shape. On 9/15 the block was between 20 and 21 brix, maybe a point higher the following week, and just today I put it at 23.2. Was tempted to pick this Friday with particularly warm temps coming tomorrow and Thursday. As one passes grape trucks coming and going throughout Sonoma, one gets anxious!

But the acids in the lab came out a little high (9.6 TA, 2.9 pH), and though I couldn't taste or smell any green notes, I've decided to let it go through the weekend and pick on Monday. The weekend should cool down which should hopefully concentrate flavors, and then I'll get it off the vine and safely crushed before the rains come mid next week!

Devoto Gardens, by the way, is looking particularly gorgeous these days. Here are some shots of Stan's bachelor buttons and sunflowers, almost ready for market

Flanagan Pick 9/26

The Pinot at Flanagan Vineyards touched 23 brix last week and my ton from the Pommard block was picked this last Monday morning (I have less influence over this pick date as I'm only taking a ton). Morning was cool and foggy almost to Santa Rosa; here's a shot going over the bridge in the morning.







Here's Jeff loading one of my half-ton picking bins into the back of my Penske rental






Fruit was certainly ripe; super small berries, too small for our crusher. Very little rot or MOG. Really liked the flavors and seeds; stems not so much this year. Did 100% de-stemmed and then attempted to effect a light crush with a large 'potato masher' in the T-bin. Sorted through this in about an hour or so.



Here's the t-bin, I netted out only 558kg of must from the two bins, which were on the light side at .774 tons as it turned out.

I put a small amount of SO2 (200ml) in this bin and tucked it away into cold storage to sit on the skins through the week. Will pull this out Friday to warm up and likely inoculate Saturday or Sunday.

Field Report 9/8

Yesterday I visited all three vineyards from which I'm taking fruit this year: Devoto Gardens (Pinot Noir; Green Valley), Flanagan Vineyards (Pinot Noir; Starr Road, Russian River), and Inspiration Vineyards (Chardonnay; Olivet Road, Russian River).

This is a pic of Flanagan, looking south-east over the rows of Pommard clones of which I'll be taking a ton.

This is our first harvest with Flanagan Vineyards, which is only a rifle shot down Starr Road from Amber Ridge. We're looking forward to building a long-term relationship. The fruit is coming along nice and even (no easy trick given the wet spring) and has that delicious black-fruit traction that I associate with Starr Road. I measured the Pinot there at about 20.7 brix; our pick may be as early as late next week. Eric Flanagan will make the call on the exact pick date.


This will be our third harvest with Devoto Gardens, and Stan's grapes look and taste fantastic, as we'd expect from such a fastidious farmer. I measured his fruit at about 19 brix, and I'm thinking I'll pick anywhere between September 20 and 27th.

Here's a shot showing where Stan's organic apple trees end and his block of 828 Pinot Nor begins.


This is also our first harvest with Inspiration Vineyards, where we're getting a ton of clone #4 Chardonnay from Jon Phillips, the owner/farmer of 2+ carefully tended acres along Olivet Lane in Russian River. Very excited about making our first Chardonnay this year!

I put this fruit at about 19 brix with flavors and ripening coming along; Jon is estimating the end of September, possibly the first week in October for this fruit.

Picking bin magic

How to get a 4'x4'x4' half-ton (when full of grapes!) picking bin onto the roof of your van? Very carefully!





Had to move these two bins from a vineyard near Occidental to Flanagan vineyards on Starr Road. Yes, I did arrive safely! Though it turns out that not every driver was pleased to be behind an old Vanagon going the speed limit...

2010 Devoto Garden Bottled

I was the glass dumper on the bottling line on Monday. We bottled 115 cases of our Devoto Garden Pinot Noir, plus 10 cases of magnums. These guys are now off sleeping over at Vintner's Express in South San Francisco until the new year (at least!)




Here's a shot of yours truly mixing it up at SF Chefs earlier this month. Thanks to all of those who stopped by. The 09s, which I decanted for 20 minutes or so, were showing very nicely and got a lot of heartfelt compliments for which I'm grateful!

Don't forget to join the wine club! :)

PS Look for us at FallFest next month over at Justin Herman Plaza -- good times for a good cause!

Veraison notes

Ripening was in full force earlier in the month when I visited several vineyards, this shot is of the 828 block at Devoto Garden.




Likewise at Inspiration Vineyards on Olivet Lane (Russian River AVA), where I met with owner/winemaker Jon Phillips to talk Chardonnay. (The rumors are true! We are making our first Chardonnay this year, gunning for a Chablis style, un-oaked but with mouth-feel, body. Finding the right small grower is only part of the challenge...).



Here's a shot of Jon's 12 year old Clone 4 Chardonnay (a ubiquitous clone in Sonoma that traces its heritage (via UC Davis) to the Wente clone brought over in the early 20th century).

Come see us SF Chefs 2011

Wait Cellars will be pouring the first tastes of its limited 2009 Pinot Noir at this year's SF Chefs event in San Francisco's Union Square. SF Chefs is a huge, multi-day food and wine extravaganza featuring chefs and restaurants from across San Francisco's legendary food scene, producing some of the most interesting things you may put in your mouth all year!

We'll be pouring on Saturday August 6th from noon to 4pm in the Grand Tasting Tent, where Sonoma County vintners and classic San Francisco dishes will be highlighted.

Hope to see you there!

2009 Wait Cellars Pinot Noirs released!

After a brief blackout on sales due to our transitioning our licensing to San Francisco's SOMA, we are proud to announce the release and limited availability of our 2009 Pinot Noirs. We are in love with these Pinots, each with a distinct personality: our Russian River flagship, rich and nuanced; and our new Devoto Garden Pinot, a lean cool-climate expression from Russian River's Green Valley AVA.

Our website shopping cart is in transition and will be available soon, and our wine club shipments will resume in September, when we'll also be announcing a tasting schedule at the winery. Of course, don't hesitate to contact me directly (bob @ waitcellars.com) to arrange a tasting or to join the wine club before our online registration is back in business.

Beautiful day in the vineyard!

I was up at Devoto Garden on Thursday, a fine day in the low 70's, bright and clear. These pictures are from the 828 block (2.75 acres).

With the crazy wet spring (including hail a few weeks back!), fungal pressure is very high. Stan, like most conscientious growers, is maintaining a focused spray regimen (mostly sulfur, with smaller amounts of zinc, boron, copper, and some Pristine).

Organic compounds are best used proactively, before mildew sets in. Some are ideally used before rains (which propagate spores), some after to avoid being washed away. One really has to be paying attention to the vineyard, and the weather, right now.


Not only was mildew in check, I saw nice even growth, dry speckled canopies -- and bloom, fortunately not early, just around the corner.

Some growers with early-ripening varieties had their blooms hammered by rains a week or so back, leading to spotty pollination and lowered yields.

This year we're leaving more canopy lower. Last year was instructive: We were aggressive with shoot thinning last year (also a wet cool spring, though not like this year), exposing the fruit to air and sun. Which was great until the heat waves in late August and September, where the fruit got a bit dehydrated. This year he's leaving more leaves, and compensating by spraying more often -- but with more dilution, such that the overall amount of sulfur and copper remains the same.

These vines have weathered the wet spring beautifully. Here is to warm days and cool nights through bloom and on to veraison!

2008 Sold Out - thank you!

It has been a quiet winter on the sales side of things, mainly because after the holidays we were sold out of just about everything we have in bottle, thank you!

On the operations side, things have been busy -- we're happy to announce that we are formally moving our winemaking and wine storage operations back to San Francisco after a one-year hiatus in the Napa Valley. Like all big moves it has taken longer than anticipated, but we plan to enjoy the summer back in the city! We are leasing facility and cellaring space from a new winery that is set to open sometime in 2011 -- Bluxome Street Winery, in SOMA.

On the winemaking side, nothing will change as part of this move. I will continue producing very limited amounts of select Pinot Noir from California's North Coast, including Stan's beautiful fruit at Devoto Gardens.

The 2009 flagship, a dark, brooding mustang in barrel, reminiscent of our 07, tastes very promising. The Devoto is sinewy and lean and likewise enticing. For both we bottled a few cases of magnums (1.5L); here's a shot of Austin, esteemed nephew of a friend of the family, helping out by hand-filling magnums with a heavy gas on top (leveling and corking were done by machine).



Another shot of Austin, with Alissa helping, running the rest of the 750s through the bottler.