Timing is everything! We harvested our vineyard on Friday October 6th. Picking started at 4:00am using headlamps, with a full moon overhead. Having the assistance of the Harvest Moon was certainly appropriate. Grapes were at the winery by 10am and through the destemmer and optical sorter by 2:00. The grapes were still in their cold
We’re closing in on Harvest 2017 and so far it’s been a bit of a roller coaster- wet winter, normal budbreak, cool spring and a very hot summer. As I write, it’s 105 degrees in the vineyard and the rest of the week is shaping up to be a series of hot and hotter days.
In Napa Valley the 2014 vintage was exceptional. Bud break was early as a result of the warm winter and the growing season was quite long. Rain in March and April came just in time to provide the water needed for a smooth growing season. The vintage was relatively cool bringing some concerns in July
Most mornings this time of year find me in my Napa Valley vineyard – nursing young replanted vines, working on the trellis, and digging out wild blackberries and thistles that are the scourge of the vineyard – there’s lots to do and it’s got to be done now! As I’ve walked the Napa Valley vineyard
Vines are pushing right on schedule—the first week of April. This not only signals the start of another growing season, but also signals us to release the 2014 vintage before we get busy with vineyard tasks. Watch for the release notice later this week! Shipping conditions are often favorable in late April and early May
The storm arriving tomorrow (February 19) will likely put us up over 60 inches of rain for the season here in Napa Valley. After 4 years of draught, we were giddy, at first, at the idea of a rainy season but now the fact that it looks like Ireland in the vineyard is starting to
In the Dyer household, there is no better Holiday gift than a good book. In the last couple years, several friends have published books related to wine. They range from memoirs to collections of interviews, to deep reference (highly readable) about soils and history to guide books. Each is worth a read and would make
With the 2016 vintage safely in the barrel and now undergoing malolactic fermentation, we have time to step back and reflect on the season. It’s too early to prognosticate about “vintages of the century” but it was certainly a good one. Before we get caught up in planning the holidays, and maybe another tropical vacation, here’s
AS WE APPROACH THE RELEASE OF THE 2014 DYER VINEYARD CABERNET FRANC, WE THOUGHT IT would BE A GOOD IDEA TO POST THE CABERNET FRANC STORY Cabernet Franc has long been our favorite blending variety here at Dyer Vineyard and is best known worldwide in that capacity- used most often with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the making of Bordeaux style
Here are the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in our vineyard on Diamond Mountain just waiting to be picked. We both sampled them today; Bill’s sample was 24.7 brix and Dawnine’s was 24.6 brix so we dodged having to talk about each other’s sampling technique and went on to check the other varieties. Cab Franc was a
Matt Kramer’s New California Wine, a revision of his 1992 classic Making Sense of California Wine has just been published. We like his revisionism! Here’s what he says about us: “Dyer Vineyard—This is the tiny, personal vineyard (and home) of two former winemakers, Dawnine Dyer (former head winemaker of Domaine Chandon) and Bill Dyer
Diamond Mountain District 8/22/16 – It’s mostly quiet on Diamond Mountain where there’s near unanimous agreement that it will be mid September before we see any real action. Budbreak was early but a cooler May delayed bloom and put us pretty much back to “normal” by the time we had berry set. Cluster counts are