2023 Harvest Update

2023 Harvest Update

Well,  all the speculation as to how the rains will affect the vineyards, we are now seeing some great results.  Vineyards all were refreshed and while running late, fruit looks great and there is plenty of it.  

We are making a small amount of wine this year, focus will be on whites, so let's take a look at what we have.

Sauvignon Blanc:  We are excited to be working with a new vineyard this year....Sycamore Ranch. This is a new vineyard off highway 246 in between Solvang and Buellton.  Planted in in 2018, the Ranch was used for breeding thoroughbred horses.  While still active with horses, a good portion of the property was planted to vineyards.  We harvested the Sauvignon Blanc on Friday October 6th.  The fermentation is completed, and we will be aging the wine in a combination of stainless steel and neutral oak barrels.  The date of picking this grape if about 3 to 4 weeks later than normal.

Grenache Rose:  We also obtained some Grenache fruit from the Sycamore Ranch as well for our rose.  This was also picked on Friday October 6th, and is currently aging in stainless steel tanks.  The fruit is also about 3 to 4 weeks later than normal.

Viognier:  The fruit for this wine is coming from Zaca Mesa Vineyard in the northern part of Santa Ynez Valley, up Foxen Canyon road which is a new source for us.   As of the date of this writing, we are still waiting for the fruit to ripen and get to the desired Brix level.  We anticipate harvesting this fruit by the end of October. This is usually about 4 weeks later than normal.  

Grenache Blanc:  We are sourcing this fruit from a Vineyard that all the fans of Seal Beach Wines know well.....Estelle Vineyard in Los Olivos.  The fruit here is also expected to be picked by the end of October.  This will be the first white wine that Mike has produced from this vineyard, and we are really excited to taste the results.

Stay tunned, I will update this posting after the harvest is completed.