Today we brought in just under 3 tons of Merlot from Frediani Vineyards up in Calistoga. Mia was up and out before daylight to get up to Calistoga and watch the pick. She also had some other vineyards to walk through and sample before heading to the winery for the processing of the Merlot. You [...]

Today is Sunday, which means we aren’t picking, but we are tasting. We rode over to the winery on our motorcycles to taste all the fermentors and see how everything is coming along. It’s a treat to ride during harvest, as we don’t usually get the time to ride, and even if we get a [...]

Mia was up bright and early yesterday for the first pick of reds. She was up at Bressler Vineyards for their Cabernet Franc and Merlot picking. The fruit came in really clean and it’s all in a tank soaking away. Mia sampled the Bressler Petit Verdot (24.6 brix) and the Cabernet (24.4 brix) while she [...]

Mia and I went out to Frediani Vineyards today to walk through the Merlot vineyard. We are picking the Cabernet Franc on Friday, September 25, and wanted to see if the Merlot was going to be ready to pick at the same time. The Merlot has been dragging it’s feet, so the sugars aren’t moving. [...]

Ah, it seems like just yesterday that I talked Mia into getting a blackberry. (It’s been almost two years.) It’s been really good for her to have since she travels and is out in the vineyards, and at the winery, more than at a desk. Recently, I drug her to the store to get the [...]

Now that the Sauvignon Blanc is all in and fermenting away, we can focus on the red varieties. The last time we sampled was seven days ago. Mia made the rounds again today to sample all the red vineyards. First up is Bressler Vineyards in St. Helena. The Bressler Cab Franc looks great! Mia’s sample [...]

It’s hard to believe, but Selene Wines Blog is five years old! Well, technically it’s only four years old, because the first harvest that Mia blogged about was the 2004 Harvest, and she did that for Wine Spectator. Mia got started with blogging when Wine Spectator asked her and a few other winemakers to do [...]

Today we went to the winery to check on the Sauvignon Blanc fermentations in barrel. Mia has always fermented the Sauvignon Blanc in Stainless Steel barrels and 100% new French Oak barrels. The Sauvignon Blanc was innoculated (yeasts added) and put down to barrels two days ago. Once again, Mia is doing yeast trials, so [...]

Mia was up and out at Hyde Vineyards before the sun came up. She likes to be there before the picking starts to make sure everything is set up and all involved are on the same page. It’s exciting since it’s the first pick of this Harvest. Mia’s happy she was able to get on [...]

Since we have had a chance to visit most of the vineyards and sample everything once or twice, I asked Mia what stands out in her mind, if anything, or what is the theme of this year’s harvest. Without thinking very long at all, she says “Flavors are coming on fast.” I hadn’t noticed until [...]