Taking Pre-Harvest Measurements

We try to do whole cluster sampling when determining when to harvest:  we collect whole clusters from the vineyard, take them to the winery, lab , or home, where we do a mini crush; then strain the juice and measure Brix, pH and acid levels.  Ideally, we harvest at about 24.5 Brix but there are several other factors to be considered–acid levels, flavors, condition of the fruit, weather forecast, and so on.  Here are photos of our “lab” work this morning:

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Pre Harvest Sampling in Carneros

It’s been a long, cool growing season and harvest is still maybe 2 weeks 1 week ?? away.  Yields look small but with the long hang time, complex flavors are developing in there.  And it’s always a pleasure to walk Steve’s vineyard with him.

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Barrel Tasting ’10 Pinot

Uzi and I just tasted through all of our ’10 barrels as it is time to make decisions on clone and lot blending, which barrels to single out, and when to bottle these babies.  Time to distinguish between differences in lots and clones and coopers.  Time to consider which lots to age a bit longer, which to bottle, which to keg, which to blend, and which, if any, don’t make the cut.  We’ve done almost all we can to “raise” these babies…almost time to get ready for 2011.

 

Pinot Days is Around the Corner

Stomping Girl is excited to participate in the upcoming Pinot Days SF which includes several Pinot Noir tasting events culminating in the Grand Festival on June 18.  Come taste our wine, we’ll be pouring at the Grand Tasting and at two smaller, more intimate events leading up to the big day.  Here are the details:

• June 9,  Pinot Day’s “Kickoff Tasting” at Bar Adagio, 6-8 pm, 550 Geary St., SF.  Stomping Girl will be joined by Zotovich, Calstar, Adastra and Argot in pairing our Pinots with some incredible, pinot-focused appetizers.
• June 16, Pinot Days/AIWF Winemakers “Table Hop” Dinner 6:30 at Scala’s Bistro, 432 Powell Street, SF.  One of us will be pouring Stomping Girl along with about a dozen other Pinot Noir producers at this spectacular winemaker dinner.
• June 18th, Grand Festival, 1pm-5pm, at the Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center.  220 artisan winemakers will be pouring their best.

 

Introducing the Stomping Girl Wine Club

Response to our plans to offer a wine club has been enthusiastic and we are happy to officially announce the Stomping Girl Wine Club!  We anticipate this will be a perfect way to maintain close relationships with our customers and be able to offer you the best possible discounts and benefits. 

Club Benefits include:

• Shipments of four (4) bottles of wine three times a year

• 20% discount on all wine

• Preferred access to our library wines

• Complimentary tastings

• Free or discounted entrance to Stomping Girl events

• and more…
  

 

SF Vintners Market

Our first time participating at Fort Mason’s San Francisco Vintners Market…(or Mayhem?)  Tooted as a farmer’s market for wine, it is, in general, a great way to try and purchase wines from many small producers whose wines are not otherwise widely available.

No need to swallow each and every of the 300+ wines available for tasting!  Saturday was crazy busy and people got a little sloppy (to put it nicely) by the end of day.  Sunday, however, was a lot more sane.

Here are some photos of us, our awesome volunteers and the crowd.

 

Photos from EBVA Passport to the East Bay

Here are some photos of the day.  Thanks to those who came out!

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East Bay Vintners Present: Passport To The East Bay

Enjoy 22 East Bay Wineries, Food and Live Music!

We are happy to announce we are pouring Stomping Girl Pinot Noir at the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance 4th annual “Passport to the East Bay.”

This event features 22 award-winning urban wineries pouring our wares at 6 winery locations.  The East Bay Wine Trail wanders the concrete jungle of Oakland and Alameda, providing hours of imbibing and hors d’ oeuvres. You’ll get to sample the classics: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Pinot Noir, but also more intrepid varietals like Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional & Roussanne.

Each ticket ensures free access to all six tasting rooms, an assortment of appetizers, and a souvenir glass.

WHEN: April 2  12 pm – 5 pm

COST: $40 in advance or $45 at the door. ($10 ticket for designated drivers.) Buy tickets

WHERE: Stomping Girl will be pouring at:
Urban Legend Tasting Room
621 4th St
Oakland, CA 94607

Wineries participating in the event: Stomping Girl Wines, Urban Legend Cellars, Adams Point Winery, Urbano Cellars, Dashe Cellars, JC Cellars, Aubin Cellars, Eno Wines, Stage Left Cellars, Tayerle Wines, Cerruti Cellars, Irish Monkey Cellars, Periscope Cellars, Rock Wall Wine Co., Andrew Lane Wines, Blacksmith Cellars, Carica Wines, Ehrenberg Cellars, JRE Wines, R&B Cellars, Rosenblum Cellars, Prospect 772.

 

Pruning time

Pruning represents the start of the new year for a grapevine.  It is one of the most important steps and is done in late winter when the vines are dormant. At pruning, you decide how many spurs, buds, shoots and, ultimately, clusters each vine will produce.

One of our growers, Steve Beresini, hand prunes each of his Pinot vines himself.  He knows his vines well and how much they are capable of producing, which, in the end, means small quantities but top quality fruit for our wines.  We joined him in Beresini Vineyard on a beautiful February morning and took a video.

Here’s a link to the video.

 

Petaluma Gap AVA?

A recent blurb in Food and Wine recognized the merits of the cool and windy Petaluma Gap area of the Sonoma Coast AVA.   Corona Creek vineyard, the source of 2009 Stomping Girl Pinot Noir Corona Creek Vineyard, is located in the Petaluma Gap.

Link to article