Folle blanche at bunch closure, we should get our first single varietal folle blanche wines this harvest 🤞

Montils still a week or so behind

Semillion is clean, and coming along nicely, even in a drought year and dry farmed.

Semillion is clean, and coming along nicely, even in a drought year and dry farmed.

Can’t help but remain impressed by how Montils balances fruit production and vegetative vigor without any manipulation.

Our (and likely the USA’s) first baco blanc crop for distillation.

When offered a lug of mirabelle plums, there is just one answer (at least till I can get my hands on a ton)!

Climate adaptation: match crops to climate – California Water Research. Guess we need to re-learn what our ancestors knew for millennia. cah2oresearch.com/2022/08/08/cli…

Folignan. Quite distinctive cluster morphology and… we may have enough to ferment separately for the first time🤞

Montils made it through the record heat in great shape for our first real harvest off this block.

Our first small harvest of folignan. Unfortunately we had to regraft much of the block this year, but next year we should be near full speed.

They don’t call it crush for no reason. After record breaking heat, we now face a record rain storm (any rain in Sept. is a record). And to top it off, the press went down (5pm on Friday) now we wait for parts. Fingers crossed for the final harvest of the folle blanche blocks.

Off and running in our new building.

Raising the frame.

Walls

Our first single variety folle blanche distillation. On the alambic armagnacais. Running at 53% ABV.

As the northern hemisphere distiller (falsely referred to as the archer) sinks to the west in the night sky, I’m putting 2022 to bed tonight (me as well finally) with the final barrel. Semillon.

What one does when they need quality and can’t afford to have someone else do it. #traditionalmetalroof