March: bring on the bottling season

Lots been happening around here lately, I'll try to summarize all of the myriad activities going on at Fogarty.

Vineyards: I helped Julio prune our small block of Nebbiolo last week. Our pruning is almost entirely finished, just a small block of Merlot at Gist to finish. The buds are juts beginning to swell. It looks like this year will be a normal to late bud-break, which is good for us, early bud-break usually puts us at more risk of shatter (bad weather during bloom which really limits our crop).

We have decided to prune our canes (we are 100% cane pruned) a little shorter this year, this should limit our crops a little more and minimize some bunching of cluster and shoots. A more "open" canopy is less of a haven for fungus and allows our sprays to be more effective.

Winery: We are bottling our 2007 aromatic whites this week (Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris) as well as our Skyline Chardonnay (100% stainless steel) and a Barbera Rose.

Bottling is always a stressful time, there is a lot going on and getting the wine into the bottle soundly is your last chance make and final changes. Luckily all the wines are looking great and things have been running smoothly (knock on wood)

World of Pinot Noir: This weekend we are participating in the world of Pinot Noir celebration in Shell Beach, CA. I am a panel member at a Seminar on Old Vines/Old Clones vs. New Vines/New Clones on Friday morning and we are pouring at the Saturday Tasting. If you are into Pinot Noir, especially from the Central Coast, this is a must; one of California's great wine events.

We also are thinking ahead to the end of the month when we will bottle our 2006 Chardonnays!