2007 Harvest Winding Down

Our last grapes for the year will picked in the next couple of days, that being some Gamache Vineyard Malbec. It's been a good harvest with most vineyards about a week ahead of normal ripening time. The quality that I have seen is very encouraging and can best be summarized by the great acid levels we have seen in most of the grapes for the year. I have talked to a few other winemakers in regard to the relative high acid levels before malolactic fermentation and have reassured them that we are going to see the acids fall into normal levels once malolactic fermentation is complete. This is what we saw in the 1999 vintage in Washington where the acid levels turned out to be nearly perfect. For Fidelitas so far I think we have seen some great wines with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec being the highlights. Much of our Cabernet Sauvignon is right in the middle of primary fermentation and will come off its skins this week to go to barrel. It's great to be winding down, I am feeling a bit fatigued at this point.
Last Saturday, October 27th we hosted three of our growers for dinner and our Wine Club event. Grower's taking part were Dick Boushey - Boushey Vineyard, Paul Champoux - Champoux Vineyard and Miguel Rodriguez from Weinbau Vineyard. We have a story board at the winery now behind our tasting carts that highlight the contributions these growers make to the success that Fidelitas has had with its wines. All three of these growers have twenty years of vineyard management experience under their belts and is reflected in the grapes we recieve and wines we are able to make. We put these guys behind a table with either a wine from their vineyard or a blend that had grapes from their vineyard in the wine. It was great for our Wine Club members to actually meet the grower who's name is often on the bottle they have purchased. This was a special time and I think all three growers had a great time meeting the customers.