Checking in on Harvest
I try not to judge a vintage until all the fruit is in the cellar, as winemaking is at the end of the day, an agricultural enterprise and we are at the whim of Mother Nature. That being said, all of our white wines have been harvested, except the Riesling, and the rosé fruit is beginning to be picked so I think it's safe to make a few comments on the vintage thus far.
Everything that has been harvested to date looks and tastes 'beautiful'. Here on the North Fork we have been enjoying a wonderful Indian Summer so far in September with warm days and high sun. The warm weather has been coupled with 'low' humidity and next to no rainfall all of which add up to ideal grape growing conditions.
The North Fork doesn't give us an easy harvest like this very often but I'll take it! I am very pleased and excited for all of the fruit that has come into the cellar so far this year. We have had bright, fruitful, dynamic flavors in the grapes that have thus far been harvested and are seeing nice progress on the current ferments. The team in the cellar, headed up by Suhru's assistant winemaker Brad have been busy these last few weeks and will continue to be busy for the rest of this Fall tending to and managing the ferments to ensure the wines develop correctly.
At this point in the season all we can do is watch the weather and hope that this hurricane season in the Northeast remains calm (even though Ian is likely going to give us some issues). Fingers Crossed!
We are beginning to look ahead to the reds which are still a few weeks away but the red harvest will be here before we know it! Despite the slow, cool spring all varieties are ahead of normal in fruit development so our red harvest also should come in earlier than expected. More to come on that in the weeks ahead.
If you're not already, be sure to follow @suhruwines on Instagram for regular harvest updates!