This past week, winegrowers have been on watch for freezing weather. In the Walla Walla Valley and elsewhere, early morning temperatures have gotten down into the low 30's, which is when they turn on the fans which bring temperatures up a few degrees, enough to keep the vines from freezing. Preventing freezing is essential because, once vines freeze, the leaves fall off and the plants shut down, thereby ending the grapes' mauration, at which point, there is nothing to do but harvest the grapes and crush them. This happened on October 10, 2009 when a freeze forced wineries to crush tons and tons of grapes in a matter of days.

What winegrowers and winemakers are hoping for is that the mild afternoons (in the '70's) will continue so they can coax some more phenols (which add aromas and flavors) out of the grapes. The brix numers are in the 22.5 - 24 range, but the grapes could use a bit more complexity. Most whites and Merlot have been harvested and Syrah and Cab Franc are about half picked. Growers expect to start picking Cabernet Sauvignon at the end of the week and hopefully continue until the beginning of November.

The harvest outlook continues to look promising with temperatures from the low 'forties to low 'seventies forcasted. Let's just hope the weather keeps holding.

 

Walla Walla Wine Events


Here are a few noteworthy events Lynn and I attended in Walla Walls during the past couple of weeks.

On Saturday afternoon, September 29th, Tero Estates (Jan and Doug Roskelley) and Flying Trout (Ashley Trout) held their "Wine and Swine" Release event at the winery near Milton-Freewater. A roasted pig was served, and the new releases were poured. The Tero wines are in the October issue of the Review of Washington Wines and Flying Trout's will be in the November issue.

The following Saturday, October 6th, FIGGINS had its Release Event at the Estate Vineyard, overlooking Mill Creek Road, east of Walla Walla. There was a big turnout and the 2009 Estate Red (reviewed in the August issue) was poured along with the Figgins' own Lostine Cattle beef.

That evening, we attended the La Porte Brune dinner at Long Shadows, seated in the Chihuly room. There, winemaker Gilles Nicault poured the winery's range of 2005's, including a vibrant Poet's Leap Riesling and superb reds. As usual, chef Andrae Bopp served superg dishes, perfectly paired with the wines.

The next afternoon, Sunday, the 7th, we drove down to Milton-Freewater to the home of Leonard and Leslie Brown, where we tasted their new Ellanelle ("L and L") 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, which was quite impressive. The wine will be reviewed in the November issue. The Browns do not have a tasting room, but the wine will be poured at Petits Noirs in Milton-Freewater on November 2nd and 3rd (Fall Release Weekend).