November 2021 Harvest Update
A Note from Winemaker, Russell Hearn
October has been kind with a beautiful spell of warm weather in the mid to late portions of the month. The above normal temperatures and dry spell that we have had in October have allowed the red varieties to ripen nicely across Long Island. Early in October I was a little concerned about the red grapes but the warm Indian Summer we experienced in the middle of the month has really allowed for the red varieties to reach full ripeness. We haven't had an Indian Summer for several years but when they do come, they make some of the best quality reds.
We harvested our Teroldego and Shiraz last week on October 24th and 25th just before this last bout of rain. They had developed nicely during the beautiful long spell of sunny days and we are very happy with the fruit quality that came into the winery! Both varieties 'cold soaked' in the tank (50 degrees Fahrenheit) for 3-4 days to extract the initial skin tannins and color before being warmed up to initiate fermentation.
Our Bordeaux varieties—Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot—all needed a little more time on the vine to fully ripen so we waited through the most recent rain event and began harvesting these grapes in the first few days of November with the Cabernet Franc harvested on November 1st and the Merlot on November 2nd. I am hopeful that we will have several more sunny, and dry days ahead to allow the grapes to fully ripen. The plan is to let our Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot hang on the vine a little longer, aiming to harvest towards the end of the first week or first half of the second week of November.
Sometimes harvesting in early November is necessary to fully ripen the fruit. This extended hang time allows for some dehydration in the berries which intensifies the flavor profile. So this year our winery team will be working over the Thanksgiving period, punching down the fermenting tanks and getting close to pressing off shortly afterwards. We plan to be enjoying a bottle of our 2019 Shiraz with our Thanksgiving turkey while probably pressing off the 2021 Shiraz around the same time.