How do you decide when to harvest?

Greetings dear reader!

This time of the year, I get asked a lot of questions.  Some of those questions are easy to answer in a few short words, like String Theory in particle physics.  Other questions are a lot harder and sometimes require a little hands on tour.  So today, I would like to answer one of those more tricky questions by taking you on a little trip to the vineyard to answer, “How do you know when to harvest?”

Quick dissolve and then, lights up

You and I, dear reader, find ourselves in the middle of Whitestone’s estate vineyard.

“Cold” ask I?

“Yes*” responds the reader.

“You should read the footnote at the end of this email. Moving on.”

We are standing in between two long rows of vines.  Green leaves reach up towards the sky.  A streak of purple dots the middle of the green.  Tight clusters of berries hang from the vine with the promise of a harvest to come.  Reaching out, we both grab a few grapes from a cluster.  Here in the vineyard is where great wine gets made.  Cold nights and warm days bring a balance of acid and sugar to the fruit.  The artistry of winemaking comes from identifying the best time to pick the fruit when all aspects of the grape are in balance.

The taste buds of the winemaker are put to the test during this time of the year.  Tasting the grape, a winemaker must peel back and analyze the flavors and the potential of possibility the grape reveals.  Pick too soon, and the acid will strip the character from the fruit.  Pick too late, and a flat and flabby wine will be created. Taking the picked grapes, I pop them into my mouth. 

“What does it taste like?” Asks you, the dear reader.

I break the grape apart in my mouth.  Running it over my tongue and slowly grinding the skin beneath my teeth to extract the tannin.  Focus fills my face.

Your eyes widen and you, the reader, leans a little closer to me in anticipation to the description forthcoming. 

My eyes squint a little.  Lips purse.  A small smile slowly expands upon my face.  In a tone of the utmost seriousness I proclaim...”It tastes like a grape.”

459

Michael Haig

*You should have anticipated me transporting you to an outdoor location when you sat down to read this email. Because I never know where an email will take me, I always wear layers.

The Magic Of Numbers

The Magic of Numbers I like numbers.  In fact, as many of you who have had a bottle of our Pieces of Red know, I am kind of a numbers geek.  So, imagine my surprise and absolute delight when I discovered that all of our Robert Parker scores add up to 459!!! Silence fills the room as the reader of this email ponders the meaning of 459 as crickets can be heard in the background. Hmmm. Maybe I need to explain.  For those with kids whom text a lot (especially before the proliferation of smart phones and their QWERTY keyboards) you can ask them or keep reading with everyone else. The number 4 on your phone keypad corresponds to the letter “I”, the number 5 corresponds to “L” and the “9” is a “Y”. ILY is the texting short hand for I Love You.  Or, to make things even more simple, people will simply text or write 459.  Before I got my iPhone, I would always sign off messages to my wife with 459.  Pretty cool, huh!? From Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate Issue 196 Whitestone Vineyard & Winery is located on the shores of Lake Roosevelt and all of the fruit is sourced from their Lake Roosevelt Shores Vineyard technically located in the Columbia Valley AVA. Production is limited to 2400 cases. The Whitestone portfolio is impressive. It begins with the N.V. Pieces of Red #8that was raised in a mix of new and used barrels for 12-36 months depending upon the component.  Cedar, spice box, violets, tobacco, and assorted black fruits lead to a racy, savory, nicely balanced wine that displays some elegance in a wine meant for drinking over the next 5-6 years. It over-delivers in a big way. The 2007 Cabernet Franc was aged in mostly new French oak for 30 months. It displays exotic spices, dried herbs, violets, rose petal, black cherry, and black raspberry. Round, velvety textured, and nicely proportioned, it has enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years and will deliver prime drinking from 2013 to 2022.  The 2007 Merlot spent 32 months in 100% new French oak. An already complex array of Asian spices, herbs, sandalwood, early minerals, and black currant are followed by a ripe, rich, layered Merlot with excellent volume and length.  Drink it from 2013 to 2022.  The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon does not display the opulence of fruit from the 2007s noted above but it does deliver an enticing perfume, savory flavors, good depth and concentration, and lengthy, pure finish. It offers a drinking window extending from 2013 to 2023.  Lastly, the2007 St. Vincent’s Meritage is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc also aged for 30 months in new French Oak. Purple in color with an expressive, already complex nose, on the palate it is satin-textured, round, and impeccably balanced. It has enough structure to evolve for 2 to 3 years and, like its peers, will provide optimum drinking from 2013 to 2022+. Interested readers should check out the web page and act quickly. www.whitestonewinery.com Whitestone 2007 Cabernet Franc 92 pts (sold out) 2008 Franc will be released October 2011, pre-order now Whitestone 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon 92 pts $28 per bottle Whitestone 2007 Merlot 92 pts $26 per bottle (limited qty remain!) Whitestone  N.V. Pieces of Red #8 90 pts $17 per bottle Whitestone 2007 St. Vincent’s Meritage 93 pts (sold out) 2008 St. Vincent coming Spring 2012 Our Harvest Wine The leaves are starting to change; the grapes are nearing time to pick which means that Scared to Pieces must be coming out.  Scared to Pieces is a special limited edition blend we do in honor of the autumn season.  This year’s blend features Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon aged mostly in new French Oak for 30 months.  Rich spice and black currant highlight this perfect wine for drinking while pumpkin carving.   Join us tomorrow night, Friday September 30th from 6 to 9 pm for live music as we release this wonderful wine. For more information, please call 509-838-2427 or emailinfo@whitestonewinery.com or visit our tasting room in Spokane at 111 S. Cedar Street. 459 Michael Haig Winemaker

Oh yeah, this blog is also about wine

2011 Harvest!? Get back to me in December. Oh, alright, I guess I can share a little.  It's been a cold, wet year and we are behind even last year (which was the coldest year on record), but we still have two months of possible growing conditions. So, hopefully like last year, a nice long warm Fall will help ripen the fruit and we will see the same great flavor complexities of 2010 with lower alcohol levels (I was just barrel sampling some 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, WOW!!!). Now some more important information.

Labor Day weekend is fast approaching, and I know many of you are going camping.  Most of you probably were not great boy scouts, and even if you were, that time is fading in the rear-view mirror.  You remember to pack all of the essentials, wine, wine glasses and maybe some food or a tent.  But you forgot the wine opener! Now, you are in the middle of no-where, with your sister and her family and the outlook of nothing but Kool-Aid and hotdogs to tide you over until your return to being a desk jockey on Tuesday. Have no fear, I'm here to help.  You see that tree over there? No, not the one little Billy is peeing behind, the other one.  That my friend is your salvation.  Watch the video, understand and send a thank-you on your coffee break Tuesday.

Twilight Golf

Hobbies can get expensive! Even the simple hobby of running can start to add up if you get good shoes, register for races, register for races out of town and then register for marathon races out of town.  One must learn to allocate what few scarce resources we have, both time and money, to the best maximization of our heart's pursuit. 

This summer, I picked up the game of golf. From my first round (which was a tournament), I knew it was going to be trouble based on on much enjoyment I had.  Another hobby, another thing fighting for my little  bit of resources. Lucky for me (and even for you if you are interested in learning the game) there are a lot of people who either give up on the game or are addicted to upgrading their equipment every time something new comes out.  Daily, Craigslist is full of used clubs for sale in the sporting section, most of which, are priced and in good enough condition to give anyone a taste of the game.  Additionally, we are blessed to live in Spokane, where there are a lot of great golf courses with reasonable green fees.

For time and money allocation, I rarely play 18, and when I do, I look for discounted days and coupons.  The key to playing golf, and saving your time and wallet is 9 holes, in the afternoon, with a fast playing friend.  Use cheap old balls, if you have any friends who play, they will have boxes of balls they will give you, so when you miss hit, you will not spend 5 minutes looking. Take a drop and move on. By using this strategy, one can get in a quick 9 in under two hours, after work and still be home for dinner by 8.  And now the greatest money tip I've learned...TWILIGHT GOLF!

As the season grows shorter, many courses offer twilight rates!  This is your chance to hit the links at rates around $10 for 9 (or I've seen $14 for 18).  This is a great time to get out and practice your game without breaking the bank.

It's almost time to can! (Oh yeah, I signed up for another marathon)

After much thought and inner soul searching, a realization occurred that I need a goal.  My original plan of signing up for a marathon, completing that race, and then living blissfully ever after in great running shape did not fully work.  After the race, I kind of botched the staying in marathon shape.  My attempts to get resume running...did not go so well.  HEY! It's hard to get going in the morning when one is confronted by a big batch of homemade blueberry pancakes, dripping in maple syrup with a big side of bacon while the Jersey Shore airs on MTV for the 2,398th time. Running shoes or Snooki? I know, unfair question when the mind is in a food coma of maple and bacon goodness.  Happy trees by Bob Ross could keep me planted for hours on the couch in that condition.  I need a goal.  So this weekend, I went searching for another race.  On March 4th, 2012, I will be running in the Napa Valley Marathon. Side note, I wonder if there are any wineries down in that area that I could stop at, therefore righting off the whole trip as a business expense?  If that is not a valid deduction and you work for the IRS, that past sentence was not written by me.

In other news, my tomato plants are coming along and I got a ton of jalapenos ripening up.

Life without focus

My knee feels great. My cardio...not doing so well.  Last Saturday I was able to run 8+ miles (The Spokane Dirty Dash, plus running 2 miles from where I parked to only get to the start line 10 minutes late), but was dying the last 1/2 mile.  Why? I got do not have a serious running goal on my calendar.  I am the type of person that wishes they could just go out and run for running, a free runner. But I'm not at that point. I need a big goal looming over my head, if not, life will distract me. So this weekend, I am sitting down and finding my next big race to register to run.  I'm looking marathon and one that is about 6 to 8 months away.

Great Video, Great Song, GREAT EVENT

I am all signed up with an 11:00 am start time. I hope all of you will join in the fun August 20 in Spokane!

If interested, register here