2 posts tagged “syrah”
What does a realtor do on his day off? If he or she happens to live in wine country, how about bringing in the bounty? A ton of it! Conditions were perfect for a bountiful haul of this year's 2007 Syrah crop, as friends and neighbors joined the winemakers for an early-morning pick, crush and celebratory brunch.
Despite recent pre-seasonal rainfall, well over a ton of spectacularly deep purple Syrah clusters came off the vines in our west-side Petaluma backyard vineyard, with neighboring hobby-grower Steve and his winemaker Jeff bringing in an additional half ton in what has evolved into an annual "open garage" community crush!
The garagiste's were prepping late into the dusk on Friday evening, rather like a bunch of nervous bridegrooms tweeking their bow-ties for one final dress rehearsal and polishing neatly lined-up pairs of dress shoes to reflect an anticipatory smile!
Big questions pre-harvest day were whether the rain would hold off for the pick, would the brand-new addition of a sparkling stainless steel Italian "Motori Eletrici" crusher conform to the garagiste's handling?
Just as a winemaker wishes for a dry morning, the cool, Petaluma Gap temperatures are equally as imperative in insuring successful conditions. Picking grapes when the fruit is still chilled from the night is the ideal for a quick, cool crush in which the chemical balance of the crop remains unaltered in the fermenting bins.
After several years of harvesting, and witnessing so many variables along the way, it's beautiful to behold a text-book pick and ultra-smooth, oh-so-efficient immediate crush, wrapping the bins of purple bounty to make their natural viticultural magic in the course of the following week.
Closing the doors to the garage after this hive of ancient activity drives home the relevance of a one-stop harvest and family-farmstead boutique winemaking production. How often can one open a bottle of wine which was made from grapes on the same acre of land in which it was crushed, fermented, barrel aged, bottled and stored?
Winemaker, Timo, the Italian husband has a passion for this hobby of his. And it shows. Together with his awesome partner-in-winemaking endeavors, Jeff (President of Petaluma Gap Grape and Wine Alliance), the pair have the immaculate tiny on-site prep and production facility down to a fine art.
More than a few fine examples of previous harvests were savored in the long, luxuriously sunny afternoon hours of our backyard vineyards following the winemaker's efficient clean-up. More to follow on a vineyard brunch in a later post.....
What does the resident realtor do with himself when he's not pounding the pavement with his agent/broker hat on? The answer is simple. He makes wine. Really good wine. Wine that has been scooping medals all over wine country this year and last.
Timo's homestead, handcrafted, boutique bottles of spicy Que Syra Syrah start off as the teeniest, tinest grapes on his West-side Petaluma back-yard hill, flourish through the growing season with tons of TLC, are picked at their peak toward the end of October (Syrah is a much later varietal than popular Pinot in these parts), crushed on the premises, fermented in the garage, pressed right on the doorstep and barreled right where he can keep his eye on the current vintage 'til it's time to bottle on-site.
Although these award winning wines (Gold- Sonoma Harvest Fair 2006 - Double Gold and third in Show - Marin County Fair 2007 and Silver -Sonoma Harvest Fair 2007) are not available for purchase, clients and neighbors of the resident realtor are pretty well-impressed with Timo's rather unique tool of the trade.
How many real estate agents can lay claim to be an award-winning winemaker in their free time? Not many!
This year's 2007 bumper crop is still hanging on the turning vines. It will be among the very last within the Petaluma Gap Grape and Wine Association to be harvested next Saturday. I'll be keeping you posted......
