Happy Grapes; Happy Juice; Happy Winemaker
The last thirty days have been full of grapes, fermentation, and a lot of hard work! All the things that made me fall in love with winemaking in the first place. As a fourth-generation craftsman, nothing is more satisfying for me than to work not only with my hands, but all my senses. As winemakers we employ them all. Our eyes, ears, nose, and palates are some of the most important “tools of the trade” that we use to guide us through this critical time. I am extremely thankful that mother nature was kind to us this year. The growing conditions and weather in the Russian River Valley led to amazing fruit quality. We mostly had moderate temperatures which allowed for slow sugar accumulation. This increased “hang time” leads to intense aroma and flavor development and the cooler day time temperatures are key to retaining natural acidity. In fact, I haven’t seen the balance of these components be in such harmony in quite some time. My harvest team and I have had smiles on our faces as we have worked the sorting table and filled our open top fermenters because these were happy grapes. We smiled when we tasted the fresh pressed wine, sensing the quality and tasting the potential in this memorable vintage, this was happy juice. As I write this, I am filled with the same sense of gratitude that I started this harvest with, thankful for such an amazing vintage – I am a happy winemaker!
Freshly picked Estate Chardonnay
Staying Connected
The opportunity to make a five-barrel lot of Estate Chardonnay presented itself this year. Working together on this with renowned Winemaker, David Ramey, who is one of our educators is truly a dream come true as he is undoubtedly one of the best Chardonnay producers in California. What I love about projects like this is that it brings people together not only to connect with one another but to the winemaking process itself. Once we had a pick date scheduled for the Estate Chardonnay to come in for this project, I quickly had two volunteers ready to come in early on a Saturday to help process the grapes. This shows how contagious enthusiasm can be when there is excitement and buzz around a project!
Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Diane and Winemaker and Resident Cooper, Ed Morris
Diane, Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Ashley, Western Regional Sales Manager turned into winemakers that day. They were a great help in pressing and collecting the precious Estate Chardonnay juice destined for this five-barrel program. It was a lot of fun connecting with them during this process. It was even more fun to see them connect with the winemaking process and to see them share the passion for an ancient art that winemakers carry on every day.
Western Regional Sales Manager, Ashley and Winemaker and Resident Cooper, Ed Morris
I look forward to sharing in more detail about the five-barrel programs as we are doing some exciting things with these wines that we have not done before. That’s right – plural – programs and wines. We are completing such a program with our Estate Pinot Noir as well with renowned Winemaker and Ron Rubin Winery Educator, Adam Lee! Stay tuned for more details…
Winemaker and Resident Cooper, Ed Morris with Operations Enologist, William and Western Regional Sales Manager, Ashley
On behalf of the entire team here at Ron Rubin Winery, we wish you all continued good health!
Be Well,
