Many of you are asking about the impact of the #LomaFire on the wineries up here in the Summit area. Thankfully, our Summit wineries have had little or no impact: we at Burrell School are fine. Our neighbors at Loma Prieta Winery have had a scarily close bird’s eye view of the fire since it broke out on Monday. It’s in their back yard, but all their grapes were harvested weeks ago. Road closures at the east end of Summit, well past the Summit Store, have been enacted to assist in the firefight, and tanker trucks and equipment are out in force. Check with Loma Prieta Winery before attempting to drive up Mt Bache or Loma Prieta Way, and if you do, use caution. We hope the cooler weather and potential rain will assist the hardworking firefighters to win this battle before more homes and vineyards are lost.
How did it get to be October already? We’ve wrapped up a rather rapid harvest, just in time for what we hope will be a wet and early winter. Already, Harvest 2016 is a wrap, and was it ever short and sweet. We started picking Syrah on September 13th and finished with Cabernet Franc on September 26th, harvesting all our grapes in just 13 days: that has to be the most compressed harvest ever. Kudos to our hard working crew!!
Tonnage is again on the light side, but quality is great, with flavors, sugar levels and acid levels all right where Winemaker Dave likes them. We’re super excited about the potential for this almost ideal vintage, that experienced pretty much perfect weather, after the cool wet fogginess of May. Now, the cellar is filled with the glorious aromas of fermentation, as Dave and the crew keep busy punching down caps and pressing off the young wine before sending it to barrels.
Out in the vineyard, we’ve done some repairs to the irrigation system and will be watering all the vines twice before the onset of winter so they get “put to bed’ in a healthy mode. Perhaps Mother Nature will cooperate and join us in tucking the vines into winter slumber with a very wet blanket!
Meanwhile, we welcome you to feast your eyes on the beautiful vineyard colors and enjoy the matchless aromas of fermentation, combined with the falling leaves and chill in the October air. Raise a glass and help us celebrate our 22nd vintage here at the old red schoolhouse.
EVENTS
October 1st—Celebrate Harvest with us here at the winery! Autumn “show and tell,” music by Mélange and freshly shucked oysters by Bill the Oyster Man. Yum!
October Saturdays—live music on the tasting room deck every Saturday. Pack a picnic and enjoy a mellow autumn day with us.
October 29th—A Taste of History, 3—6pm. A benefit for the California History Center at DeAnza Collage. www.deanza.edu/califhistory