Have you heard the news? Harvest is late this year. Last year's harvest was “early”. At this time last year we had about 80% of our fruit in. We’re currently sitting at a whopping 0% in. As some of you may know, we had much more rain here in Paso Robles than we’ve had in years. Bud break was un-rushed this year, the flowering period took its time, and the feeling of summer came and went faster than what we’ve grown accustomed to. I am confident that most if not all of the grapes we are harvesting this year will be just fine and will get ripe. The possibility of earlier rains and frost are somewhat looming over us as we wait patiently for mother nature to complete her growing season.

Taking time to reflect how this vintage varies significantly from harvests of recent past, has been a great reminder of how different each harvest can be . Every vintage has its own set of fingerprints. Understanding that they are supposed to be different is fundamental to making the best wine you can. Once you start thinking about what the vintage is rather than what it is not, is when you begin to recognize its vast potential. That's when the story of the growing season really begins to reveal itself. Recognizing all of this is one of the more humbling parts of this craft. A reminder that there is little control and practicing relinquishment becomes important.

Upon tasting and testing the fruit in the vineyard, we are being shown some really cool characteristics. Flavors were slow to develop but now that they’ve begun to show themselves, we’re all impressed. Thanks to cooler temperatures the acid retention has been exceptional. The hope is that this will lead to wines of great concentration and enough structure to hold it together. Of course there are unknown variables that can change the course of our expectations but there is little we can do about all that.

Every harvest poses a new set of challenges. Challenges evolve into lessons and to be frank, that is what makes this time of the year so exciting. Our only hope is that the wines we make this year taste like this year and from the places the grapes come from. It's these variables that contribute to the unique set of flavors, textures, and experiences in the wine. We very much look forward to sharing these wines with you one day. We can sit, taste, and reflect on what makes the wines of 2023 so distinct. We can reminisce about the harvest being late… or maybe we will come to realize that harvest is always on time.