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Winemaker Dishes on the 2015 Sonoma Harvest

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Every fall, Theresa Heredia anxiously awaits what she calls the “ticking bomb” – the moment when the Pinot Noir grapes reach optimal sugar levels and are ready to pick. She walks through the vineyards daily at Gary Farrell Winery in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, where she is winemaker, observing, tasting and collecting grape samples to bring back to the winery for analysis.

Unlike many other varietals, Pinot Noir tends to ripen all at once, leaving winemakers scrambling to harvest tons and tons of grapes before they get out of balance.

“I know the bomb will soon explode, and the winery will be full of grapes all at once,” Heredia says, explaining that they rent a refrigerated trailer to hold the grapes at optimum ripeness, carefully separated by vineyard block, until the winery is ready to handle them.

“Each block from our different vineyards requires unique treatment to make the best wine from that particular site,” Heredia says. “I do not have a winemaking ‘formula,’ which is a blessing and a curse,” she adds, explaining that she evaluates each of the fermentations several times a day, tasting, smelling, touching each tank to make individual punch-down, pump-over or pressing decisions.

While the hours are long at this time of year, Heredia wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Harvest is absolutely my favorite time of year,” she says. “I … see it as my once-a-year opportunity to make great wines. If I go home after an eight-hour day, I may miss out on a chance to get the perfect extraction [just the right balance of color, flavor and tannins] during peak of fermentation."

Every season has its challenges, and 2015 is no exception, Heredia says, explaining that the harvest started early this year – on August 10th, followed by a heat wave that caused huge variation in blocks, and even in individual vines, but her attention to detail is likely to result in a well-balanced product similar to 2014

“Fortunately, I am a bit OCD when it comes to sampling, so I don’t think this challenge will make any negative contributions to the wines in the end,” Heredia says. “They are all beautifully balanced and we may even have a couple in the 12.5 percent to 13 percent alcohol range, which makes me very happy.”

While Heredia says Gary Farrell usually harvests on the early side of ripeness, to showcase acidity and control for alcohol, other wineries are starting to follow suit.

“Many winemakers are picking earlier and earlier, trying to respect the grape and the place [or terroir] by capturing freshness and purity of fruit,” she says. “I’m even observing that some wineries known historically for making high alcohol wines are beginning to pick around the same time as winemakers who tend to pick early in general.”

Some years, however, that ticking bomb of ripeness even catches the most prepared winemaker off-guard, as Gary Farrell’s 2013 releases demonstrate, many topping 14 percent alcohol.

“The truth of the matter is that Mother Nature makes the final call,” Heredia says, adding that 2013 was a warm year, exacerbated by the fact that it was an unusually large crop, making it impossible to pick everything at her target ripeness. Layer that on top of the fact that, in addition to all the Pinot Noir grapes ripening all at once, as expected, Chardonnay grapes were ready simultaneously. Mix it all together, and it was difficult to control for ripeness, leading to alcohol levels on many of the wines that top 14 percent,

“This was the first time in my career that I’ve seen Chardonnay ripening happen all at once, and even worse, at the same time as Pinot Noir,” Heredia says. “My challenge was to be patient, and select which grapes to leave on the vine for another day or two or three.”

While the resulting wines showed higher alcohol than is classically the case in Pinot Noir, Heredia says winemaking decisions helped to craft the elegant balanced wines for which the label is known.

Here is a selection of their recent Pinot Noir releases:

2013 Russian River Selection Pinot Noir

14.1 percent alcohol, $45

Despite topping 14 percent alcohol, this blend of grapes from 10 different vineyards is sprightly, like springtime in a glass, redolent of strawberries with undertones of rose petals and anise.

2013 Hallberg Vineyard Pinot Noir

14.1 percent alcohol, $55 suggested retail

Hallberg Vineyard enjoys a climate tempered by marine breezes, producing wines that are elegant, yet rich and earthy with blackberries and mushrooms on the nose and almost meaty textured tannins. This is one of the wines Heredia will be serving for Thanksgiving.

2013 Hallberg Vineyard-Dijon Clones Pinot Noir

14.2 percent alcohol, $60

The Dijon clones, from specific blocks within the Hallberg Vineyard, produce a lighter, brighter wine than the more structured heartier Hallberg blend. Floral hits of lavender and orange blossoms on the nose give way to red fruit and spice, with undertones of leather.

2103 Toboni Vineyard Pinot Noir

Daily cool morning fog, warm afternoons and clay loam soil combine to create a herbaceous final product, mixing with notes of orange and dark fruit. Bright acid and soft tannins contribute to a long finish.

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