This cluster is from McGinley Vineyard and will eventually be part of the innaguaral vintage of K.Furtado Syrah!!!
For more info about the vineyard; check out this article from the LA times http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-trw-santa-barbara-vineyards-to-watch5sep07
‘07 Star Lane Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc saved from leaking barrel- nice work Seth!
Happy Thanksgiving
and thanks for coming by to check out our website!
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Another shot of the fermenting room at Central Coast Wine Services. In this photo, James Boskill is getting ready to rack some freshly fermented Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir into oak barrels. Mr. Boskill is a 22 year old exchange student from New Zealand. He is planning on working back to back harvests somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. Working back to back harvests would be, IMHO, absolutely crazy.
This is where I have been living lately, on top of this wine soaked plank with a punch down tool in hand. The grapes get crushed into these ton and 1/2 fermenting bins. The grapes stay in these “boxes” for the duration of fermentation which can last anywhere from a week to a month. During that time, and through the process of fermentation, a cap will form. It is critical in making red wine to make sure that the cap stays as wet as possible. We (I say we but mean me) punch down each box between 2 and 3 times a day- depending on what part of fermentation they are in. We have over 30 boxes going right now. By the time I finish morning punch downs it is time to start the afternoon ones…
As we were getting ready to crush/destem 6 tons of Demetria Vineyard syrah, Seth became concerned with the amount of saw dust and 2 stroke oil that was in the air. Amazingly, and after several phone calls, he was able to get the crew to stop cutting down the trees long enough so we could process the fruit. This syrah is going to be used in a project that Seth and famed Cote Rotie producer Yves Gangloff are working on. You have heard of Mondavi and Rothschild…it is time to get ready for Kunin and Gangloff!
A good friend of ours has just finished putting his inaugural vintage of Pinot Noir into barrel. My advice is to get on his mailing list as soon as possible! His name is Mike Padrick and you can find him and his very interesting harvest blog at…
Seth is showing me the inner workings of a crusher/de-stemmer. It is go time right now for Westerly and Kunin Wineries. Yesterday, we brought in 15 tons of Zinfandel from a vineyard in Paso Robles know as Rancho Santa Margarita. In addition to the Zin, we also brought in 7 tons of Alisos Vineyard Grenache.
These bins are filled with Westerly Vineyard Viognier. The first person to guess correctly and post a comment as to why the grapes are still sitting in a truck in the vineyard will get a bottle of the inaugural vintage of Cuatro Vientos Rosé.