April, 2024
The pruning job that we talked about in February is nearly finished. It has taken 50 people more than three months to get the job done. Some of the early variety buds have begun to open and we now see green in some fields, which requires us to spray with a mix of copper and sulfur to prevent mildew or any fungus caused by rain. Over the next six weeks, we will be on frost watch, prepared to run our sprinkler systems should temperatures drop below 32°F.
At the present time, we are reviewing the last year’s vintage, which was the product of a good and plentiful crop. The first to be bottled will be the white wines and in late summer, we will bottle the Rosé and early reds like Dolcetto and Pinot Noir.
2021 Ramato: About 12 years ago, a close friend of mine, Jim Palmer of Malibu Winery fame, returned from a trip to Italy, which he does often because he is married to a very sophisticated Italian lady. He accused me of having Ramato in one of my tanks at the winery when he saw the orange pressed wine from making our Pinot Grigio. Pinot Grigio grapes are, of course, typically used to make the white wine Pinot Grigio. The orange color of that wine came from the skins of the Pinot Grigio grape, which is an off-red. This style of wine is called Ramato in Italy, so why not? We had our first Ramato. This vintage has a great nose with lots of flavor and color. Serve chilled.
2020 Sangiovese: Our Sangiovese has proven over and over again that our Los Alamos vineyard is the perfect place to grow this variety, not too hot and not too cold. It makes a very flavorful, fruit-forward, and jammy wine, and like true Sangiovese, it has a salmon-red color when you look to the light. Sangiovese blends well with Cabernet to make our Super-Tuscans, Riserva and Classico. This one just earned a 90+ score in the coming summer issue of Wine Enthusiast. Sangiovese is the traditional wine of Chianti in Tuscany.
2021 Pinot Noir: This wine is super-rich, rich in color and taste, and not bashful in body, not lacking in anything really. When I inhale, I inhale the Santa Maria winds off the Pacific Ocean, which cool our vineyard. How’s that for air-conditioning? It has a little snap and I like it.
I am looking forward to being educated by the Italians soon, when a group of 40 of us taste the wines and food when we visit Tuscany. Mama Mia!
Dirtman, Louis Lucas