Cerro Prieto at Sunset's Savor winepouring event.

Well, it has been a week since last blog, when we were tearing our hair out waiting for the Paso Robles Westside boutique vineyard red wine grapes to ripen. Day after the post, we got hit with an incredible run of not Indian summer, but of Houston- hot, insufferably humid weather. I took a brix reading on our Pinot Noir a week ago, and by this Tuesday it had gone from a stuck 21 Brix to 24.5, with pH(desired 3.4-3.6) at 3.5 and TA(total acidity desired .6 to .8) at .8 on the dot. Flavors came in next day, with a delightful light cherry, some delicate strawberry, and a hint of blueberry. It has been since 2004 when we last made our own Pinot, and we have sold those grapes ever since. The 2004 Pinot we barrelled and then laid down until 2009, when we began drinking it. Truly amazing how good an old Pinot can be, and we just drank the living daylights out of it. Can't really afford to lay down our wines that long anymore, but they can do special things if of low yield and made with loving care.

Anyway we finally harvested our Pinot on Tues, 3 days ago, and it is stellar. I look for it to be of our 2004 caliber. Also took our first harvest of Sauv Blanc, and it went from 21.5 Brix to 25 Brix in 4 days. Wow. It was, however, hotter than Hades, and we had 6 days in the 103 range and 2 days at 108. We were really glad to have taken both cold weather grapes off before that heat spell took over. Now we are awaiting flavors to come in  the best Syrah we have ever had, but have to be careful to titrate Brix with pH and TA. Right now flavors are coming in way below where we had to wait last yr, at 27.5 Brix. Right now at 24.5, flavors are beginning to show, with plum the easiest to detect. That means we will be picking syrah soon. Merlot and Cab, both stuck at 21 Brix for 2-3 weeks, took off during the heat spell, but when we go over 105 degrees, we add 1-3 gallons of water to each vine. We are in a good range for ripening now, something I thought wasn't going to happen one measly week ago.

On the winery front, Cerro Prieto is pouring at the Sunset Savor event at Santa Margarita Ranch, just 12 miles south of Paso. They have spent some $1.4 million on this extravaganza, with everything from abalone farm tours, live bands, cooking demonstrations, to wine and food pairing, to farming displays in a 2 acre garden, to just plan wine tasting at one of several hundred wineries from Monterey County to Ventura County. It is a shebango not to miss, and if you want to come, call 805 438- 5200 for ticket availability. The setup is something I have never witnessed before, and we at Cerro Prieto are fiercely proud to be part of it. The weather is going to have to cooperate tho, or there is going to be mighty little red wine pouring with high 90s and lots of humidity. We are hoping for a slight cooling.

That's it from the nite before the big Sunset production, in cooperation with the SLO visitors and convention bureau. Hope to see you there, and if you do come, please come by for a Cerro Prieto wine tasting. Note: don't be fooled by the miniscule tents we are pouring from. Two wineries share a 7 foot by 8 foot tent, each with a tiny serving table that accomodates one person, two at most. Good news is the wines are worth waiting for, and the multiple restaurants next door are all excellent. Wine and food pairing. How could you beat that?

Paso's Westside Red Winegrapes still waiting

"Waiting for what?",one might ask. Well, how about some heat and grape sugar(Brix), for starters. Wineries we sell the 95% of our grapes to all ask the same question and all wonder "what in the heck is going on?". Obviously we are all somewhere between 2-3 weeks behind in ripening, but an interesting phenomenon is occuring... at least here on Paso Robles' Westside, and in particular, in our vineyard. Usually our red grapes ripen, and then hang...and hang...and then hang somemore. Last year our Cab Sauv was ready to pick, along with Merlot and Syrah at or near Oct 1st. But, since we, like most other high end wineries don't pick on Brix, but rather on flavor, we waited...and waited, and waited for the flavors to come in. Having ripe grapes on Oct 1st meant we could harvest anytime, but our grapes were just completely, totally without flavor.

So what is going on this yr? Well, we actually had flavor come into our Pinot the first of Sept, but it is now Sept 23, 8 days past every other yr when our Pinot ripened and was picked. Grapes, seeds...all ripe. Brix? How about a strong 22.8. Our best Pinot(remember we are picking on flavor, but follow the Brix, nonetheless) always ripened first, and then, magically on Sept 15 the flavors came in...luscious cherry, a touch of blueberry, some strawberry, cassis...but this yr, flavors have been drifting in, appearing slowly, not en masse, but the Brix has lagged way, way behind. Normal Pinot here is 23.5 to 24.5 when we pick, but a week past normal harvest, we still are only at 22.8 Brix, but with some lovely early flavors. This may be like a Bordeaux yr, where they frequently end up harvesting at lower Brix, 23.5, maybe 24.5, and that is for Bordeauxs, not Pinot(Burgundy). I am almost forced to begin to think the wonderful flavors we have been so blessed with may actually precede the ripened grapes.

Surely that is the case in our Merlot(20 Brix) , Cab (21 Brix), and Syrah(20 Brix). Looking at the berries, which are starting to shrivel, and based on color...deep inky purple black...we should be ripe, and probably at 23, maybe 24 Brix right now, but no...we are sitting at 20-21 Brix. The long cold summer following the long, first warm, then cold, wet winter has obviously upset the apple cart...er, make that the grape cart. It is apparent that the grapes are confused at present, and aren't sure whether to, ahem..."either go to the bathroom", or get off the pot. Frankly, I think our grapes are as confused as we are. One other minor...okay, major problem we have, is that it always freezes in our valley vineyard on Sept 15, and then that is followed by 3+ weeks of Indian summer, which we are encouterning now. This Sept 15, however, we only had lows of 34 degrees, followed by a 95 degree day, and that has been our coldest day yet, for the lows. We are set and ready to pick the valley Pinot and Sauv Blanc, but with no frost yet(knock on wood) we don't have to pick...soooo...I am guessing we harvest Pinot this coming Mon or Tues(assuming no frost first).

A couple wineries I know started harvest 10 days ago, then abruptly stopped after first day when it became apparent the Pinot just wasn't ready. Meanwhile, we all sit here, singing intonations and incantations, with fingers crossed, prayers on lips, and the Gods of grapes are looking down, laughing at us. I have to admit it isn't funny ha-ha, but it is funny weird. Never a day goes by when I don't learn something brand new, fascinating, and exhilarating. Well, I am over fascinated and exhilarated at present. This teasing deal is getting old. Please, let's get on with the harvest. To do that, a fair number of westside grapes are going to have to ripen first.

My prediction? Syrah, Cab, and Merlot, which we waited some 3 weeks on last yr as the Brix went up and up, and then up some more, somewhere around 26.8 to 27.5(port, anyone)...well, that Brix with flavor is going to be somewhere around the 23.5 to 24.5 Brix this yr, much like vineyards near my aunt's bakery, in Bordeaux. I really see this as a low Brix yr, with flavors dragging in, instead of ripe grapes waiting for the flavor to come in , as happened last yr...as well as most previous yrs. I honestly believe that our Brixes will all top out at no more than 24.5, but that is within keeping of the appearance of the saggy grapes, and the extremely early flavors...that we usually have to wait for.

Stay tuned. One thing for certain...the high alcohol of many of Paso's finest vineyards, are not going to be a concern this yr. Every Nov 1st since I first owned this property in 1984, it has frozen from top to bottom. If that happens this yr, people with heavily cropped vines are going to be harvesting after the first really hard frost. Oh for the joys of the low yield vineyard. We still worry tho.

Cerro Prieto & Paso Robles' Westside Red Wines...watchful, worrying, waiting

I obviously cannot speak for other Westside producers, but I can sure speak for Cerro Prieto. We actually had to water just before and during Labor Day weekend, when temps rose to 105 degrees and northwards. Each vine got 3 gallons of agua prior to the heat wave. Then, 2 beautiful days in the 80s to 90s, followed by the "brisa" last nite, and this evening we watched the fog roll in...massive fog that encompasses everything. Today was a typical fall day, beautiful in the 60s and 70s here, but it really cooled off when the fog bank rolled in. Forecast is for more of the same, which means, with barely any summer, we are now in Fall. I missed 12 days in August when I had back surgery #12, and reportedly, we had 7 hot days during that time. That means if I were to go back and count the number of hot summer days we have had here at Cerro Prieto this yr, we still would not have had one entire month of our standard Paso hot days/ cold nites.

Maybe I am getting the wrong impression, but during a drive down Vine Street in Paso today, I saw a magnificent Chinese Pistache tree...in 85% full orange plume. Oregon Plum trees(ornamental) and Chinese Pistache tend to go off together, the former in red and the latter in orange...but never on Sept 7th. It usually is much later in October that these two harbingers of Fall go thru their magnificent color change. Another piece to the weather puzzle is that all our poison oak is either in full red or has already lost all its leaves...something that happens usually late, late in Fall. So there are signs out there...ominous ones, that portend an early Fall, and more importantly, an early frost. For us that would mean Pinot Noir and Sauv Blanc, but we have harvested Pinot on Sept 15 every yr since 2001. Two weeks ago, we roared thru a very late veraison in Pinot, and the very next week our grapes had seeds starting to get brown and crispy. In a usual yr, that all happens slowly, methodically, over time. This yr is just like a jailbreak with veraison being 3-4 weeks behind, and then rapidly catching up. Grapes are already sweet, but not yet ready for Brixing. Probably most are at 20 to 21 Brix.

So, during my 33 yrs here in Paso, I have never seen the likes of this, nor has the East Coast seen the likes of their heat wave. No matter where you look, everyone, everywhere has different weather than they have had in yrs. Meanwhile, we here at Cerro Prieto watch, wait...and yes, do worry about what the next 3-4 weeks will bring. With our crop load pruned to 2.5 T/acre (or less in some blocs), if anyone ripens here, we should. But as everyone knows, "would have" and "should have" are not too very far apart, but yield vastly different outcomes for grapes. Our higher blocs are pretty much immune, but the cold of the inland valleys is a concern. Right now, I am looking at Sept 15 again for our Pinot, but it could drag on a week longer. With flavor already in the tiny beries, I like our chances for some outstanding Pinot. Sauv Blanc will be the suprise, in that this is our first harvest, altho it will be no more than half ton/acre.

I tried valiantly to get our '08 Pinot, Cab, Merlot and Syrah in bottle before surgery, but failed...so it probably won't get bottled until sometime past harvest. That's a shame, because I am really excited about all those wines, especially the Syrah, about which one well known winemaking consultant said, "Wow, that's a big wine." No kidding, Dick Tracy. Even tho our '07s are probably going to be better than our '06  International Gold medal and 92 point wines, it looks like our '08s are going to be better yet.  Man, talk about excited...well, yes, actually, I am. We really need to get those '08s into bottles so they can lay down for six months. They are ready to drink right now, which is great news for all our wine club members, as well as friends and family. For 2010 we are holding our breath...but I sense something great on those vines. Nature just has to let it ripen a bit more first. My guess? It will.

Paso's Westside, Wild, Wet, Windy, Wacky, Weird, Weather

I should have guessed something was up when the second week in January was summer in winter. Off our back deck the temperatures were in the mid to high 80s for 13 straight days. Believe me, I was checking the vines for bud swelling daily towards the end of the month. Not only the days were balmy, but so were the nights. Coldest it got at our home overlooking Paso's westside Cerro Prieto Vineyard was in the high 40s. For Paso, that qualifies as weird. The vines definitely looked like they were trying to swell their buds, but never got to the point of bud break. No question I was worried about the summer weather we were having, but as long as it didn't precipitate bud break, I felt we were okay.

Then came February(plus last two days of January). Winter returned with a vengeance, and our lows registered mid to high 20s in the colder valley vineyard. Winter here at Cerro Prieto dragged on well into Spring, when suddenly, one day winter fled and summer arrived. Well after March 21st we had our first day of not spring, but summer. Once again we were basking in 80-90 degree weather, without the intervening Spring. This time we did get bud swelling, and not long after, bud break. It was late, but out buds came. The only way we knew it was Spring was because of the monster winds that visited during what was nominally called "Spring". The first winds registered in the high 60+ mph, and evidence of their presence were huge piles of 50 and 60 foot live oak trees, knocked down en masse, with one pile numbering 12 trees piled up like a bunch of big splinters. We had a second such event just below our house, but it was composed of only 6 trees worth of splinters.

2005 was a big year for us with rain totalling some 42". In 2006,2007,and 2008, we had 16", 12", and 9", respectively. It is no secret that 2009-2010 was a huge rain year, and we registered 41", which ran clear into April. Here in Paso Robles, for every mile west of the 101 Freeway, the rain is roughly 1" more/yr for every mile west you go. So there were some folks 15 miles east of town who got 15-20" of rain, whereas normally they only got 7" or so. The wacky part was the late rains, which tried their best to sabotage grape farmers by raining hard, every time we mowed, weedeated, macheted, or hoed. In all we did all four tasks up to five times each. Part of that is my fault, as I had refused to use pre-emergents(that can contaminate the ground water). But next year, we use pre-emergents, because each trip thru the vineyard with hoes or machetes, costs out at $4000. That's right. It is expensive...especially the way all this came down.

The weird part was during bloom, which although absolutely perfect at outset, was submarined by gods of wrath bringing not only heavy late rains, but 2 monstrous wind storms...neither of which a grower wants during bloom. The first I already alluded to. The second, some 3 weeks later, and still during bloom(but near the end), again was in the 60+ mph range, with gusts strong enough to knock down more trees...this time the biggest pile of live oaks numbered sixteen. From a distance it truly looked like a tepee made of broken sticks, but up close it looked like a giant mass of snapped 20" diameter trees that had been broken in anger by some monster from the sky. The Weber Grill ended up in the pool, despite being well anchored down. During that windstorm I turned the outside spotlights on near midnite, and was amazed to see massive oaks being blown into near horizontal position...and not just several. They were all virtually at 90 degrees to their normal upright position.

Wind aside, the weird and wacky continued when once thru bloom it appeared that only the Merlot had been hard hit by the late rains and winds. The fruit set resulted in many clusters looking like banana clusters, not grapes. Instead of one long rachus there were 4 or 5, each half to a third the length of normal. There were "aces and spaces" among the odd looking rachi, with early estimates at Merlot fruit set somewhere at only 1/3 normal. Instead of .33 lbs/cluster, we looked to have maybe only .15 lbs or less. As it turned out, the rachi filled in, and we ended up with .25 lbs/ cluster, but as yet, we have nary a berry that has started to go thru veraison.

Matter of fact, we started veraison July 3rd in 2009, but had not one berry veraising by August 3rd this year. August 4th we had 3 berries of Pinot Noir beginning color change, and just a week later, all Pinot and most Syrah is pretty well thru veraison. This was not a long protracted veraison as we have had the last 3drought years...this was veraison in hyper-speed. The rest of the story is the Cab Sauv, which needed only a week from start to finish in some blocks, whereas other blocs have yet to move. This is definitely due to cold, as our lower Cab has yet to turn and our higher elevation Cab is finished.

As I write this today, it reached 89 degrees and was a beautiful day for grapes. Unfortunately the fog didn't lift until well past 10 a.m., so we didn't get near the heat and light we so desperately needed. One old salt said that he didn't even keep his heat/light days' data this year because we couldn't possibly catch up. That may have been so, but there is no question that with the rain, the cold weather staying around until the last two days, veraison has been way speedier than the last 3 years. Of further note, the springtime that we got cheated out of in March and April turned into 7-10 days of blistering summer, followed by a return of cold spring weather for the last 5-6 weeks.

I have lived here for 33 seasons now, and can say that without a doubt, this year is one for the record books. The high pressure system on the East Coast is making the midwest, south and east coast all insufferably hot. The low pressure system we have had here for the last 6 weeks is doing the reverse to us as on the east coast. There is a definite La Nina current offshore the Central California Coast, with water temps running 10 degrees cooler than normal. The Bay Area and Napa are similarly situated, with record cold days virtually daily. Altho I do not have first hand knowledge , I have heard Napa is about 3 weeks behind, vineyard maturation-wise, which is what half our vineyard looks like, too.

With super cold days, the marine air hanging around all day (La brisa in Spanish), and fog every morning, it has been essential to maintain good mildew spraying routines, with Westside mildew a real problem for those that missed spraying dates. Anyone who is going totally organic is bound to have mildew problem this year, when it has been a setup for mildew for almost two months now. If we can get more days like today...good and hot...then we may be okay, especially if the rest of our Cab and Merlot go thru veraison. Additionally, those vineyards with low crop yields
(2-2.5T/acre)will have less chance of mildew than those with heavier crop loads.
Also we have been hedging and leaf pulling on the shaded side of vines to help airflow and sunlight get to grapes and leaves. An added benefit of these two tasks is that sprays, when used, are much more effective.

Overheard a buyer and grower's rep discussing the wacky weather and they agreed, "This ought to be a great year for Syrah". The unsaid thing was this could be really tough year for Cab. A lot of Westside Cab is way behind...but as we have seen here at Cerro Prieto, once it gets kick started, it races thru veraison. We just need to get it going. Also, it would be nice to see summer before we are thru autumn. The way this year is going, however, no one has a clue as to what lies ahead. I have advocated for low crop yields for a number of years now, because weird weather such as this favors a low yield vineyard such as Cerro Prieto. Those folks hanging 5 T/acre of fruit...or more...are in for a rude surprise. In times of wacky, weird, wild, wet , and windy weather, low yields are also going to make the difference between ripening grapes vs not.It is no secret that if a vineyard has world class terroir,and we do,then low yields will translate into truly great wines.

Postscript, 2 days later: Last two days have been pure summer...barnburners. BUT, the most recent news is for that accursed low pressure to return to sitting on the coast. Whew! I sincerely hope they got the facts wrong on the low pressure issue, but I have already noticed the cold air blowing in from the west. Ouch.

Bordeaux comes to Cerro Prieto

Obviously, that is physically impossible, but two of its nicest and loveliest residents did come for a 4 day stay...my Aunt Jackie and cousin Josieane. Both were in the US to visit the Stanton family, strung out from Fort Worth to Austin, then Sacramento, and finally Paso Robles. The visit reminded me of my delightfully memorable first trip to Bordeaux, when our Bordeaux family hosted a fascinating trip throughout the entire heart of France's wine country. That was 30 yrs ago, and at the time, I merely liked wine, but had nowhere near the appreciation for it that I do now. The Rochard's live in a chateaux/bakery, which was built in the late 1700's, and was idyllic. Dinners of standard French fare were served which equated to the best 7 meals in my life. Wines, fine wines, were served at lunch and dinner, and altho I had trouble distinguishing labels of what we drank, the wines were...well, fabulous. The chateaux itself had walls 22 inches thick, which in warm months kept the interior comfortably cool. The wines actually were brought home in a 20 liter bottle, which had been siphoned from barrels in one of the many nearby underground caves. I was amazed to realize that many of the local citizenry routinely obtained their wines that way.

My aunt and grandma took me on tours of all the famous nearby chateaux, and I was privileged to meet some of Bordeaux's many superb winemakers, most of whom were family friends of Jackie, Robert, and grandma. At the time it was a spectacular trip, but, I was going full bore in my medical practice, and was vastly undereducated for such a fascinating experience. Now, that sounds like a trip of a lifetime, and my wife and I have been invited to do it all over again, this time experiencing it from the eyes of someone in the grape and wine business. We do many things at Cerro Prieto that are similar in France, namely utilize world class terroir, low yields for our grapes, and loving, hand care of the vines. One thing in particular stood out as different in the two countries, and that is how much the government interjects itself into the wine business. Here we irrigate; there they don't, but they also do get summer rains. They typically make wines with lower alcohol content, whereas in our vineyard, if we do that we miss out on all the wonderful flavors that come with ultra long hang times. Granted the alcohol level creeps up as we wait for flavors to come in, but if we were able to get the magnificent flavors early on, our wines would be of lower alcohol also.

Both Jackie and Josiane liked our wines, especially the blend of Paso Bordo, which would not be found in France within a Bordeaux domaine. Why? Because our 92 point 2006 Paso Bordo(85% Cab/15% Syrah), is a Bordeaux/Rhone, and that is a no-no in France, both in the Rhone River valley as well as in Bordeaux. This is no secret, but the American winemakers have essentially all the latitude we need to mix and match not only Cab with Syrah, but Syrah with Pinot Noir, Merlot with Syrah, as well as the traditional Cab/Merlot/Cab Franc/ Petit Verdot. Paso Robles has been noted by wine critic Steve Heimoff (Oct, 2009, Wine Entusiast) as home of the big, bold, red blends, and both Jackie and Josiane liked the blends we served. It seems strange that the government would restrict what French winemakers can do re: blending as well as certain viticultural practices, but France has been making great wines for centuries, and their rules and regulations go back at least several hundred years. I wouldn't be surprised to see that change one day, but no time in the foreseeable future.

As for the vineyard, currently we are at August 3rd, and still no sign of verasion...which last year was well underway by JULY 3rd. That is bizarre, but is certainly in keeping with our lovely spring days of mid to high 70's and lows in the low 40's. Unfortunately we are rapidly approaching fall, and to have spring weather now is blatantly weird. Oh, that isn't quite true...last nite I saw 3 berries beginning verasion in our cold valley Pinot and Sauv Blanc. This is either going to be a late harvest, hopefully not too late, or we are going to race thru verasion like a race horse. There are mumbles of worry from many neighbors, all of us wondering when is the hot weather coming. Since we are both in the southern end of the Paso AVA and also the north face of the Templeton Gap, the coastal marine air (known to Mexican workers as "brisa"), we are some 18-20 degrees cooler than downtown Paso Robles which is just 4 miles west-north-west of us. Nonetheless, while the days are perfect to enjoy the great outdoors, for ripening grapes...it be cold... truly, unseasonably cold. As producers of low yield grapes, 2-2.5 Tons/acre, we are well positioned to ripen our grapes, as opposed to higher yielding vineyards, with yields 5 Tons/ acre...or more. Still and all, we growers are beginning to worry, altho there still is plenty of time. We do need for verasion to get in gear, however.

As for all the "behinder" vineyard chores mentioned in the last blog, those are now done, only to be replaced by yet another list, in which we are once again 3-4 weeks behind. One thing of note, and this is ugly. We have had to net our early ripening grapes because the small songbirds, (finches, juncos), wrens, sparrows, Robins, Mountain Blue Jays, Western Blue Jays, plus the grape stealing kings, grackles, have started eating bitterly green grapes, with a voracious appetite. Normally we would just use bird distress calls, kites, and windmills to scare away birds, but not this year. When the Cab and Merlot start to ripen there will be hundreds of other acres nearby where they can eat. Right now, anyone who has grapes beginning or in verasion, definitely has a bird problem... unusual, because generally grape eaters wait for grapes to develop sugar. As they say, just another day in the vineyard...or paradise, if you will, but we all are starting to have some concerns re: our spring in summer.

As a postscript, writer and blogger Randy Fuller of Now and Zin, wrote a very nice article about Cerro Prieto last week, and I would highly recommend it to all who follow our blog. (http://www.blog.nowandzin.com/)

Behinder: The Mistress

We've all been there before...the harder I work, the behinder I get. It's the darned mistress, again, like a siren calling the ships onto the rocks. Her name? Well, we all know her by different names, but most have to do with work...lots of work, all the time, 7 days a week, never relenting. In my case her name is Cerro Prieto, our vineyard, all encompassing in time, thought, care, emergencies, devotion, dislike, love...she is the reason I need a clone to do the other half of the work I can't get done. Do I love her? Yes. Can I live without her? Definitely yes. Do I wish she would be less demanding, require less of my time, and yes, function without me? Yes, yes, and certainly yes. Would I miss her were I to go away on a year long cruise? Yup. Can I do other things, fun things, simultaneously, without having to think about her? Yes again. Sounds like some conflicting thoughts here...but that's the way it is in the vineyard. In truth, 18 of our 20 acres are pristine, require little care other than pruning, thinning, leafing, canopy management, fertilizing, harvesting, and finally, making the carefully tended grapes into fine wines. Truth be told, some 90% of my time is spent on just 10% of our vines. How on earth could that be?

All of us have something that is a cocklebur under our saddles, and everyone has something in their jobs or everyday lives that is just a continuous pain in the rear. In my case, it is 2 acres of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, both grafted and replanted some three times now, over the course of the past 4 years. One year it was late...really late...spring cold spell, that fried our 2 above varietals just after planting and grafting. Next year, we had a similar situation, but that time the frost came the 3rd week in June(no kidding). Heck, we were 2 days short of summer, and our cold valley vineyard dipped into the low 20s. Last year we had summer in January, followed by a cold snap, then once again, it became warm. So warm, in fact, that on May 21st, San Jacinto Day in Texas, that our cold valley vineyard reached 117 degrees.

We had been pouring wine at the Paso Robles Wine Fest that day, and upon returning home, we were greeted by 2 acres of Pinot and Sauv Blanc that appeared as if someone had taken a blow-torch to them, neatly beginning at the fruit wire and working upwards. It honestly looked as if someone had put a running brown paper bag from one end of each block to the other, with a decidedly brown strip running from the fruit wire upwards, and running the entire length of both blocks. Hot air rises and cold air sinks...at least there was a tiny bit of cold available to keep each entire vine from cooking up. We managed to save most vines, but did have to re-graft and replant almost 12oo vines. For someone seeking perfection in the vineyard, it is painful to have some vines just misbehave over and over...and yet over again. Yet that is the way it goes, and everyone knows whereof I speak. One little thing is enough to make an otherwise

pleasurable job very unpleasant at one time or another. I like to think of this kind of event as "negative work", in that it takes a lot of time, thought and energy to "get it right", only to have one's hopes dashed by some event...in this case something as simple as bad breaks in the weather. The remaining vines can withstand these climatic insults because they are well established, inured to pain...er, really cold spells, or more recently really hot ones.

This is the time when it is good to remember the glass scenario: is it half full or is it half empty. We all would like to be positive, glass half full types, and mostly we are. It is just that persistent cocklebur, if you will, that can make life more...well, challenging, for lack of a better word. Some in the grape biz say they have "issues", but we all know that to mean that there is a problem...to lesser or greater degree. Whatever, I would be delighted to airmail those two acres to anyone nearby who might want them. Yet I know that isn't in the cards, so I will just have to persist, be even more diligent, put more time in, and hopefully, one day actually get the entire 20 acres to behave. Until then, I guess I will continue to get more behinder the harder I work, and just remember it is a privilege to be able to work in the fields, in the cellar, and sometimes in the parks for big holiday pourings. When you get right down to it, 90% perfect ain't all that bad. Matter of fact, the tiny 2 acres that have caused all the problems are more than counterbalanced by the 18 acres that require little more than the usual care and maintainence. Like the saying goes, "Nobody's perfect"...but it sure is nice to be almost perfect.

Our orginal goal was to grow the perfect grape. Then it was to make the perfect wine. Well, they may not have been perfect, but , by golly, they sure came darn close. The 2006 Cerro Prieto Merlot won 2 International Gold Medals, both the San Diego International wine competition, and the Critics Challenge International Wine Competition; our signature wine, the 2006 Paso Bordo(85% Cab/ 12% Syrah)received 92 points in the Wine Enthusiast...and this was our first bottling. Aside from being very proud, we were also a bit humbled by what we had achieved. That's why the mistress, that time demanding, worry wart of a vineyard, is really not so bad after all. She has brought us fulfillment and fame...the worry and hard work are just the price of admission...nothing more, nothing less. Being able to live life and work outdoors at something I truly love, worry warts and all, is really, truly, just a matter of being blessed. Someone, a client, once said, "Being able to live here is like living in a tree house , and the vineyard is incredibly beautiful". What could I say to that? Sure I thought of the mistress, but when all is said and done, our visitor had it right: it is beautiful and it is sheer pleasure to work here...outdoors, in sunlight, living a dream that not many have the chance to experience. Mistresses, schmistresses. We are incredibly fortunate to live our dream, and if there are some cockleburs, or bumps in the road, that is a small price to pay for the spectacular life we have been able to live.

Behinder? Ah, heck...begone. Oh, and if you happen to drop by, don't forget to try our newly released 2007 Merlot with a dab of Cab and a touch of Syrah in it. The '07 Paso Bordo is not quite ready yet, but will be at the end of September. Meanwhile, we still have 60 cases of the '06 Paso Bordo, and I can attest, it goes down fine. Come see us and give both a try. Cheers.

As for the picture above...that is my real mistress...my lovely wife, Teresa

Winter, then summer, and only a hint of spring.

Man oh man, how can 3 weeks go by so fast? Last blog everything was in bloom, then we got a late rain, then we got summer. Now the days are cooling with fog coming in at nite. In the vineyard, weeds and gophers continue to bedevil us. We have mowed, weedeaten, and macheted now 5 times, albeit that this time there was a lot less to do. Not using pre-emergent in a big rain year, going green or not, was a huge error. Additionally we currently are in bloom, the two sets of movable catch wires have been raised around each vine, and the canes are easily 3, sometimes 4 feet in length. It is incredible how fast this vineyard took off. Just got our 2nd mildew spray in prior to bloom, so that when fog comes in at nite, any mildew that wants to form is inhibited from doing so. Each spray is good for 21 days or thereabouts, and is unnecessary once verasion is done.

We just cleared the trail that parallels the cold valley Pinot below and the mountain Cab above. It is a straight up and down side hill that has one trail cut thru it, and is traversible on our 6 wheel drive ATVs. Between poison oak, huge bull thistles, and 4, yes four downed trees, it was quite a task. Once done, however, it gives guests here for vineyard tours a chance to go thru an enchanted forest, 20 degrees cooler than anything else around, and that is all year long. It is completely forested, with the tree canopy not allowing any light to pass thru. The entire mountainside is covered in magnificent ferns which is quite different from the rich dark soil of the valley below in full sun, and the mountain above, in full sun and set in solid limestone. The main reason for reopening this trail is so that visitors can go along the trail and see the 5 nests of redtail hawks, the two nests of grey squirrels, and the 3 nests of horned owls in the white oak canopy, high above.

From here on out, we have some more positions to set for the now 2 y/o grafts of Sauv Blanc. Additionally, with the 60 knot winds we got some two weeks ago, we have had to cut the gangly, and unsupported canes that extend high above the catch wires. Failure to do so makes the entire graft cane whip about and break off when the winds go over 20-30 mph...and that has happened thrice in the last 2 weeks.

We, like others, have seen the traffic in these parts fall off substantially from last year, when it was slow. The economy is hurting most folks, and many of those drink fine wines. Ask anyone at the local wine shop, and they will say this is a buyer's market. Problem is there just aren't anywhere near enough buyers of shoes, cars, homes, clothes, dinners out, movies, etc. Wine is not being picked on here, the entire country is. It is heartbreaking to have so many friends in construction...well, no longer so. Paso has at least 25 to 40% of its income related to construction and everything that emanates therefrom. Builders are getting walloped, and many have just frankly pulled up and quit. With business in general way off, everyone is affected, from school teacher layoffs to the local auto mechanics. Fine wines stay good for long periods of time, and if kept around will be even better in years down the road. You can't say that about many things, but you sure can about wine. Today's vineyard tour guests are 3 hours late as of this blog, so guess they aren't coming. C'est la vi. Good news is, the Cornish game hens were put in the oven with lemon, lemon pepper, salt and paprika, some 2 hours ago...so it is time to feast. I will leave you with that thought, and as always, say a prayer tonite that the belching black cloud at the bottom of the Gulf, just off New Orleans, will somehow, miraculously be capped tomorrow. We've been hearing that for 52 days now, so probably, that is a forlorn hope. We need a miracle down there. I sure hope it is forthcoming...soon.