Post on this (exciting!) barrel tasting will go live Tuesday, May 1...or maybe Wednesday May 2...
An update on the latest artifact finds will appear later this week.
We bottle the last of our 2010 vintage along with another popular offering this week. A more detailed post is on the way!
Above is a photo of Block 5 Syrah taken this morning. As a result of the abundant new growth among the vines, activity in the vineyard has reached a new peak.
We are currently inoculating the vineyard against mildew, chiseling (turning up) soil between vine and olive rows to give roots access to oxygen, and a crew of 20 is in the process of planting our new blocks on the far east and west corners of the vineyard.
One of our favorite spots on the property is looking down the Las Tablas Creekbed from the covered bridge. Normally the creek would be flowing at this time of year but limited rainfall has led to a noticably dry, but still quite lush visual for 2012.
Winemaker Kevin Sass and General Manager Skylar Stuck are representing HalterRanch at Hospice du Rhone 2012 in Paso Robles. Three days of all things Rhone and we can say candidly that the event promises (as always) to be amazing. Selections from our current offering that will be making appearances are: 2009 Syrah, 2009 Cotes de Paso, 2011 Rose, and 2011 Cotes de Paso Blanc. In honor of HdR 2012 our tasting line up onsite will be more Rhone leaning as well. It will include the four wines listed above along with something special from the HRV cellar (fret not Cab and Zinfandel fans, both wines will still be available by the glass and on request for your tasting pleasure).
On May 9 Halter Ranch will be the featured producer at the Thomas Hill Organics Winemakers dinner. If you have not yet visited Thomas Hill, we cannot recommend it highly enough as a locally sourced farm to table experience with a great wine list and a beautiful atmosphere!
Sunday May 6 we will be offering a free walking tour of the vineyard and pond guided by our own Lindsey Burrell. Round trip this will be approximately a two mile walk through our beautiful vineyard ending back at the tasting room for H2O and vino.
Phew! The season is beginning to pick up speed…
We are in the process of retrofitting the Silo Barn in order to preserve it as a landmark of the HRV property and the history of the ranch. As a result of this process we have made an assortment of semi-archaeological, and legitimately archaeological discoveries. A highlight from the ‘semi’ category is pictured below.
As always thank you for reading and keep an eye here between now and Monday for notes from a recent comparative barrel tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Toward racking up a few points in the continuing education category our staff got to take a tour of the Rhone valley this morning. In the photo below is the line-up of what we tasted (and enjoyed!).
During our current heat spell (97 degrees F yesterday and mid-90′s today) we have had multiple customers ask about the effect on the vines given that budbreak is underway throughout the vineyard. To attempt a coherent answer in regard to this question we will refer to the wise words contained in our trusty Oxford Companion to Wine:
weather, probably the single most exasperatingly unpredictable variable in the viticultural equation, as in most other farming activities.
The precise effect of the hot weather on our budbreaking vines is an acceleration of the growing process due to a combination of the amount of water in the soil given last week’s storm, the fact that we are in the process of turning under cover crops to give the vines a burst of nutrients, and the amount of unobstructed, enriching sunshine the fresh leaves are receiving. If the heat were more extreme (say in the 105-110 degree range) we would be very carefully monitoring water in the vines and soil in order to intervene if they began to cook. The next delicate phase will be as the vines begin to flower. If a heat spell were to hit us hard during the flowering process we would be at risk of reduced yield due to the delicate nature of the flowers and the increased potential for wilting.
The pleasantly heavy rains last week and the Spring warmth over the past two days have invigorated our awakening vineyard. Inspired by last year’s frosty April we held off fully pruning a few of our colder blocks to insure barely breaking buds wouldn’t all get bitten in the event of a freeze. Today we took a walk through the vineyard to visually compare two different Grenache blocks. Up first is Block 29, right near Las Tablas Creek toward the northeastern end of the vineyard.
In the photo it is possible to see how far along the buds are in this block. Each bud will continue extending outward to form a shoot. Within the next few weeks we will be pruning down to the main cordon. The idea behind leaving the shoots intact was to offer some frost protection to the buds we want to keep (those in spur positions along the main vine/cordon). Below is a close up of a developing bud in Block 29.
Next we backtracked up the airstrip toward the new winery to check out Block 2 dry farmed Grenache. This block is pruned differently (head trained style as opposed to vertical shoot positioning), so the vines develop slightly differently, but it is interesting to compare the growth of the buds here as opposed to those in Block 29.
The little greyish-white nubs on the canes are the buds as they begin their growth. Each bud contains all the leaves and the individual inflorescence that will become a cluster of grapes.
Expect further updates on the vineyard and winery later this week. As always thank you for reading!
Vishnu says:
A big thank you to all who participated in the Wine 4 Paws event this past weekend by visiting our tasting room! We, and our four legged friends, greatly appreciate it!
Thank you to all club members who attended the first pick-up party in the new facility. We had an absolutely smashing time showing it off and sharing our new wines with you!
The staff recently had the pleasure (along with members who attended the pick up party) of tasting a few of our 2011 Reds out of barrel. Specifically a special Syrah lot, a similarly unique Grenache lot, and a blend of the two. The consensus? Let us just say that among all the other recent developments, the 2011 wines offer a nearly overwhelming multitude of tastes and experiences to be excited about.
A few updates:
-As you can see from the photos, we are currently retrofitting the silo barn. The plan is to carefully deconstruct, pour a foundation, discreetly place some reinforcing beams, and put it all back together. A fun detail about this barn is that it was constucted piece by piece, by the MacGillivray family, using pieces salvaged from other barns and buildings. The silos were used for barley while the interior rooms (4 of them) were used for safflower. We will continue providing photos and the project continues.
-Over the weekend of April 20-22 Halter Ranch will be pouring at and participating in the Earth Day Food and Wine Festival. Additionally, on Sunday April 22 we will be offering a special vineyard tour with Mitch Wyss including a block designate tasting in the vineyard itself with delicious bites provided by Chef Jeff Scott.
-May 18-20 we will be pouring at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Cooking for Solutions event. Check out the details here.
As always thank you for reading and keep an eye here for additional updates, wine adventures, pairing suggestions, and general geekiness.
First, we are proud to (belatedly) present our thoughts on a comparative tasting of 2010 Halter Ranch Syrah:
Recently Winemaker Kevin Sass guided our tasting room staff through a tour of block specific Syrahs. Some were from younger vines (3-5 years old), some from older (10-16 years old), some were barrel fermented in new French oak, some went through fermentation in tank before making their way into neutral oak, some of the lots saw mostly punch-down cap treatment while others saw mostly pump-over, finally, some were co-fermented with Viognier lees while others were fermented on their own.
The experience was eye, mind, and palate opening to say the least. Lending new dimension to the versatility and great potential of Syrah as a variety.
Some of our notes from (jotted while tasting) with Kevin’s comments:
-Barrel fermented Syrah from one of our newer blocks displayed remarkable aroma and drinkability for a wine that was so young. Kevin’s comment:
“Fermenting in barrel requires a lot more work–the top of each barrel must be removed by hand and what begins as two barrels of fermenting fruit becomes one barrel of completed wine–but ultimately this method accelerates the process of integrating oak into the wine by reducing the amount of time the wine must spend in barrel to achieve the desired effect (approximately 9 months as opposed to approximately 14-18 months).”
-Syrah co-fermented with Viognier lees produced a much more floral and delicate aroma while that fermented on its own showed the wilder, earthier, more meaty side of the variety. Comments from the tasting room’s collective experience:
Adding a little Viognier to Syrah during fermentation is a fairly common practice worldwide, specifically in Côte-Rôtie (Northern Rhone, France) and Australia. The effect tends to be a heightened nose with distinct fruit and floral notes and the potential for a wine that is more approachable during the first few years after bottling.
-Those lots that saw exclusively pump-over (juice from the bottom of the tank is gently pushed to the top and sprinkled down to add oxygen and break up the cap) as opposed to punch-down (physically pushing the cap into the juice using a long pole with a platform on the end) displayed more distinct flavor and aroma. Kevin’s comment:
“I generally describe the distinction between these two processes by comparing them to percolated as opposed to French pressed coffee. In terms of method, the pump-over would be similar to a percolated batch, while the punch-down is closer to a French pressed batch. The difference in winemaking is that pumped-over wines tend to show a heightened character while punched-down wines tend to be more subtle–the reverse is typically the case with coffee.”
If you have any comments or experiences with Halter Ranch Syrah (or Syrah in general) we would love to read them (the comment area is below).
As always thanks for taking the time to check us out! Below are a few upcoming events and updates.
Wine Club Pick-Up Party March 31, 2012
If you are not a memer of our Wine Club, the next 1.5 weeks would be a choice time to join!
Looking for something exceedingly fun and exciting to do this coming Saturday night?
Join wine club manager Tony Quealy on March 24, 2012 for a special pouring and dinner at Hunter Ranch Golf Course in Paso Robles! Event details here. The phone number at Hunter Ranch is: (805) 237-7444 or email: info@hunterranchgolf.com To contact Tony directly you may call: 805.226.9455 ext. 16 or email: tony@halterranch.com
Also!
Here are a few clips, bits, and Halter Ranch mentions dredged from the e-waves:
