Harvest at Honig began on August 11th this year. We have been picking Sauvignon Blanc from the various vineyards we work with over the last three weeks and to date we have harvested over half of the white wine we will make in 2008.
Kristin Belair, Winemaker at Honig Vineyard and Winery, says that the pattern for this vintage seems to be “the lack of a pattern. While some vineyards have delivered what we expected them to deliver this year, some have a lighter crop level than they normally have”. Kristin noticed that the vineyard sites that are affected by maritime currents have deviated more from their normal course. For example, Gordon Valley is less affected by the marine influence and its grapes were ready for to be picked only two days later than last year. Contrarily, some other vineyards closer to the water were harvested an entire week later than last year. So far, the fruit that is being fermented tastes great and we are excited and looking forward to another fabulous vintage of refreshing Sauvignon Blanc with racy acidity, and loads of tropical fruit.
The sugar levels of Cabernet Sauvignon are ahead of normal for what we would expect to have right now, measuring 23 to 25 degrees BRIX (measurement of sugar levels in grapes). Kristin thinks Cabernet Sauvignon crop levels may be lighter for 2008, since the sugar levels increase more rapidly when the crop is smaller. Now we are waiting for the phenolic ripeness of the grapes to catch up with the sugar levels, in order to have a perfect balance of flavor and alcohol. The fruit looks fabulous and we’re really excited about the potential of the 2008 vintage!
More to come…
Cheers!
Images of the Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Harvest at Honig (block #3) on September 1