Morn'n Rich
YES - it is dry now until Dec and then after the first rain (if we get some then) it will start to turn green. You will notice that the grass is dry and the oak trees are green BUT then when the grass is green the oak trees are brown. Then in March the wildflowers start and the hills are carpeted with color. Our total rainfall is about 12-14" year. SO, now you can see how the California wildfires can get going and cover such vast acreages.
Ya know I was not going to expand the vineyard since I will be approx 70 when the first bottle is enjoyed BUT then a friend of mine said in 5 years I will be 70 anyway whether or not I expand. Well, It will be alot of work but I am looking forward to it AND it will keep one active and movin'. SO, off we go - - -
Gotta get to bottling - have 80 gallons that have been bulk aging. Had a quandry but finally figured it out.I have 12 gallons of syrah (american oak heavy); 12 gallons of syrah (french oak house toast) ; 6 gallons of syrah (hungarian oak heavy) and 6 gallons of syrah (no oak). I am going to bottle 1 carboy of each as-is and then play around and blend the rest somehow. They certainly each have their own personalities with the different oaks. Depending on the final blend (%'s) we just may have a Sierra Red. Probably introduce some Cab and/or Merlot into the blend so that's gonna be fun!!!
Since freight is such a killer for us in Ca. I contacted several wineries (fairly close) and asked if they had any excess bottles. I was able to buy 36 cases of new bottles @ $5/case and everybody was happy.
I will keep posting pictures as I can - - -
Good luck to all and have fun - - -
rrawhide