Pierre Dumond on Wait Cellars

Here's a nice mention from Pierre Dumond, wine critic for the Piedmont Press, in his Wine Corner column.  We met at the Family Winemakers tasting this fall.  (To our mother's amusement, he has mistakenly credited my brother Dave for the winemaking -- Dave actually did the woodcut on the label :).

Happy Holidays

Thank you all for coming to our holiday party!  We had a lovely time -- hope you did too!

Come to our Holiday Party December 4th!

Join us for an evening of wine tasting, music, delicious bites, and shopping local in San Francisco's SOMA! 

 

  

Please click here for more details!

SF Vintner's Market this weekend!

 Holiday shopping? Try it, then buy it!  Hope to see you there!

Soiree Des Arts Et Des Vins - Join us this Sunday

Pinot harvest

I picked 4.6 tons of the 828 Pinot block last Monday night at Devoto Garden, which I put at 23.5 brix after the warm weekend; perhaps a half degree higher than where I'd wanted to be, but just couldn't get a weekend pick to happen.  I love the flavors though, and the fruit was beautiful.

Here are four of the nine bins I stacked in the 24' Penske.  For the record, I did not hit this pole when leaving the gas station.  Gas approaching $5/gal!

More shots through a grape-juice laden phone:

This year am going with 20% stems/whole clusters, passing through with the de-stemmer up.  There's Bill and Damon, per usual, with Nick from Bluxome lending a hand on the sort.  Fruit was so clean this year we pulled out no more than three-quarters of a tall boy from 4.6 tons.  These babies went right into the cold room (50F) to soak through the weekend, a long day indeed

Chardonnay harvest

Harvest got underway a few weeks back with my Chardonnay, which I'm resolved to pick early in an attempt to capture a crisp, restrained style -- not the typical very ripe style coming out of Russian River.  After dropping Dean off at school I drove this Penske up on Tuesday 9/10 to pick up just 2 1/2 bins from the "Jack Pierce" block off Olivet Road, between Piner and Guerneville, and farmed by Randy of Harvest Moon.  And, as luck would have it (for me), my sister was in town with partner Jim, and they were volunteered to help sort the fruit!

One of the goals of the sort, in addition to removing MOG, was to pull out clusters with mildew like the above.  There was a minimalistic approach to farming the Jack Pierce block -- no hedging, no pesticides, and fungicidal copper/sulfur were last sprayed months ago.  Some mildew was present in one portion of the block, and while most didn't get into the bin, one still had to be vigilant.  That's our new friend Sherri also helping.  Besides the potential for off-characters (taste/aromas), molds and rots can also produce enzymes that can result in the browning of a white wine.

We de-stemmed and sorted away about 20% of the mass; we then pressed into a settling tank to await the late arrival of the coveted used white barrels that I'm using for fermentation this year.  Last year I fermented and conditioned in stainless; while I liked the flavors and aromas of the resulting wine, I thought the clarity could be improved (without filtering that is, which I want to avoid lest I strip out some of those flavors), as particulates tend to not stay suspended in wood as they do in steel.  I'm also curious to compare the smaller vessel's impact on the resulting wine.  So while my 2012 Chardonnay will continue to be "un-oaked" by virtue of the fact that these barrels are not new (far from it, they are from 2005) and are considered "neutral", it will indeed be a barrel-fermented Chardonnay.

Above is my yeast suspension before slowly adding in cool juice for the inoculation of the cool ferment.  The juice was at about 50F, much cooler than the 100F re-hydration temp of the yeast.  The suspension temperature had to be slowly stepped down at the rate of about a degree F a minute lest the yeast be shocked by the quick cooling.  I added about 4L each to the three fermentation barrels, then about 45-50 gallons of juice to each barrel, leaving each barrel about 80% full -- room for the large amounts of CO2 given off by the ferment.  There is also a special "fermentation bung" used to allow CO2 to escape the barrel.  Above is the stick used to determine the fill level of the barrel, a technology that has not changed much over the centuries.

As of this writing (9/24), the ferment has kicked in and a big part of the fermentation slope knocked off; though at these cool temps it will be another couple weeks or more to get to dryness.  Onto the Pinot!

Richard Jennings on Wait Cellars at Family Winemakers

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table at September's Family Winemaker's tasting!  The wines, while still young, were showing nicely I thought, and I was particularly gratified to hear compliments and excitement about our new Chardonnay.

Wine critic Richard Jennings (Huffington Post, Snooth), whom I'm afraid I did not recognize, had nice things to say about the wines, scoring them all above 90.  You can read his impressions of the tasting in general here; and you may search for "wait" in this article to see his descriptions of our current wines and see a photo of yours truly at the end of a busy day :-)

Family Winemakers 2012 Tasting this Sunday 9/9

Use our discount ticket code FRIENDOFWC and get 20% off tickets for the Family Winemakers of California Tasting 2012 at Fort Mason, from 3pm-6pm on Sunday September 9th!  This is the most comprehensive tasting of California wines in the world, showcasing our state's small, family-owned wineries.  Take-away wine sales will also be available from many wineries; is there a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?

We'll be pouring our 2010s and our 2011 Chardonnay, hope to see you there!

Release Party Pics -- thank you all

2011s in bottle!

Our 2011 Pinots (225 cases) are in bottle and resting up in Napa at Anu Wine Storage.  Big thanks to the over-worked, under-appreciated, and often bullied Wait Cellars' bottling team. 

While our mantra this year was "no crying!", there was a fair amount of sobbing ("Gravity, NO!!!") after I managed to drop this case from a significant height.

Wineluv at Blu Restaurant Weds 8/29

Hello All, we're pleased to be pouring our 2010 Pinots and our 2011 Chardonnay at Blu Restaurant in SF as part of a tasting sponsored by our friends at Wineluv, an organization dedicated to sourcing some of the best wine deals out there and then giving back to charity.  Bottles will also be available for sale.  Come by for a taste!

"Jack Pierce" block

A quick shot of the "Jack Pierce" Chardonnay block just off Olivet Road, about a mile south of Inspiration Vineyard and Harvest Moon, and farmed by Randy at Harvest Moon.

There is a rustic quality here that speaks to a nice natural balance -- no hedging, no weeding, and look at the great cluster spacing and even ripening here.  Am estimating about 6lbs a vine (3+ tons/acre) in this vineyard planted about 10-15 years ago, about my ideal. 

Veraison was perhaps 70-80% done when I visited two weeks back.  Flavors were wild, intriguing, some spice not there in last year's fruit.  In keeping with the restrained "school night" style of my 2011, I'll be picking this fruit early, perhaps the week after Labor Day.

Auspicious vintage taking shape

Have been remiss in not posting more updates on the vineyards this summer -- by most metrics and accounts everything looks very very good.  May-June were relatively mild, and the fruit set we got is the best I've seen.  Unlike others in the RRV, Devoto Gardens was not hit with a high amount of shatter due to spring rain in 2011, and this year looks even better: nice vertical growth (well trained by Stan; also a characteristic of the 828 clone), maybe 7-8lbs per vine with maybe 10% due to be dropped as veraison finishes up.

Here's the exposed side of the 828 block.  Stan has been less aggressive with leaf pulling at Devoto Garden this year, which I like.  Mildew pressure hasn't been crazy (Stan has been on an 18-21 day spray regimen) and I live in fear of the dehydrating 100 degree heat we got in September 2010.  So far the fruit seems to be on a beautiful slow ripening trajectory.

Note exposed vs unexposed sides; and the limited hedging, a nice sign of naturally controlled vigor.




This year I'll be sourcing an additional ton from Devoto's block of Dijon 667, planted in 2008 and first harvested last year.  I have also found some very interesting Chardonnay down the road from Inspiration Vineyards, the so-called Jack Pierce block farmed by Harvest Moon, and I'll be sourcing that for my Chardonnay in 2012 in lieu of Inspiration.

The Pommard clone I sourced last year at Flanagan Vineyard won't be available this year (Kosta Browne beat me to it), but I've decided to retire the Russian River blend I've traditionally made from fruit near Windsor, like Flanagan, anyway.  (The 2011 will be the last vintage of that profile -- rich, opulent, thoroughly Russian River Pinot Noir to enjoy while it lasts!)  I have been moving stylistically toward leaner, cooler climate Pinot, away from the RR valley floor, south and west toward the Sonoma Coast and the Petaluma Gap....stay tuned!

Summer Release Party Weds July 18 - Come on down!

Be sure to RSVP for our summer release party:  Julie Gordon of Wooden Spoons will be crafting sublime salmon and pork rillette crostinis, and Paul Chaffee (fiddle) and Kyle Thayer (guitar) will be playing traditional Irish music.  Oh, and we'll have some delicious wines for you!  Hope to see you there.

2009 Green Valley Pinot Noir wins GOLD at SF Intl Wine Competition

We are pleased to announce that our 2009 Green Valley Pinot Noir, Devoto Garden Vineyard, was awarded a gold medal in the 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition.  On June 15, 16, and 17, a total of 4556 wines participated, submitted by 1300 wineries from 29 countries and 26 states.  The results have been posted here.  Our 2009 Russian River Pinot also received a bronze.  We of course have always known our Pinots are special; but it is always gratifying when others agree :)

Pouring at CUESA's Summer Celebration 7/15

We're very pleased to be pouring at CUESA's Summer Celebration at San Francisco's iconic Ferry Building on July 15th.  For those interested in local, seasonal cuisine produced by the city's finest chefs, this is a can't miss event.  We'll be pouring, pre-release, our 2010 Green Valley Pinot Noir and our 2011 Russian River Chardonnay.  Hope to see you there!

Summer Release Party July 18th!

Come on down July 18, 6pm-8pm, to our summer release party and be among the first to taste our delicious new small-lot releases:

- Our 2010 Russian River Pinot Noir

- Our 2010 Green Valley Pinot Noir, Devoto Garden Vineyard

- Our 2011 Russian River Chardonnay

Plus much more!  Check out our release party event page for details, and we'll hope to see you there!

Pinot days are here!

Pinot Days is a fantastic week-long festival in San Francisco celebrating all things Pinot Noir, culminating in a Grand Festival at Fort Mason on Saturday, June 16th.  We'll be pouring our 2010s at the Grand Festival and will hope to see you! 

Use our discount code and receive 10% off tickets: WACSF12 !  Tickets are available for purchase online here.

Farewell to Foie Gras!

 

Please join us on Sunday June 10th at Venticello's Farewell to Foie Gras dinner,  a loving tribute to foie gras at this venerable, intimate restaurant on San Francisco's Nob Hill. 

We are honored to be pairing our 2009 Green Valley Pinot Noir (Devoto Garden Vineyard) with their glorious foie gras ravioli! 

2011's shaping up

Was in winery last week to pull samples and taste through all the 2011 pinot barrels, the goals roughly being:

- Assess quality
- Assess 2011 barrel decisions
- Consider Russian River blend
- Keep wine off shirt

Each barrel was resting nicely, no off characters; at this stage these 11's are reminiscent of the 09's with slightly more mid-palate weight, likely due to the maturing vines at Devoto Gardens.








The new oak (2/9, or 22%; one French, one Hungarian -- both used as press barrels, with free run in neutral) was there, but mostly hiding, which is fine; still evaluating the Hungarian.  My once-filled Taransaud barrel also lent some tannic presence.









 
The Pommard fruit from Flanagan Vineyards along Starr Road has particularly come around and will be the backbone to the Russian River blend. An austere Devoto barrel sitting at 12.7% alcohol in a neutral Radoux barrel is my leading candidate to blend with the Flanagan fruit; the two together were very satisfying, comfortable.

Nice review of the 2009s in iSante

  

Our 2009 Green Valley Pinot Noir got very nice placement here as a top spring wine recommendation:  http://isantemagazine.com/reviews.

Nice to see you at the Vintner's Market!

It was a gorgeous weekend to pour at the Fort Mason Vintner's Market, and it was great meeting everyone who stopped by the table! Our 09 Russian River Pinot was a crowd pleaser; and the pre-release 2010 Green Valley Pinot also won new fans.






The prestigious Wait Cellars delivery vehicle unloading out front.






The Wait Cellars table, pre-crowds. The "Corning-ware" decanters certainly attracted a lot of attention!

Discount tickets to the Vintner's Market!

We are very pleased to offer 50% off tickets to the up and coming San Francisco Vintner's Market, April 14th and 15th at Fort Mason! Just use the promotional code "FIFTY" when buying tickets on Vintner's Market website.

Why not spend an afternoon tasting wine on the bay -- there will be a ton of local wineries, and if you find something you like, you may buy it on the spot and take it home for dinner!

Winery Sanitation at UC Davis

Attended an all-day winery sanitation seminar at UC Davis last week. While the latest thinking in cleaners and sanitizers does not make for the most exciting posts (though, don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer that 80% of wine-making is keeping things clean!), thought I'd share some pictures of the sparkling new Robert Mondavi research winery up at Davis. Pretty spectacular; the winery was just off the classroom and we had some time in the afternoon to kick the tires, talk about design (mostly from a sanitation point of view) and get a demo of the latest bio-luminescence swabbing techniques for validating cleanliness protocols. Awesome!