Oregon Pinot Noir Harvest Starts...

[Craig Camp]

The sunshine has finally peaked out this afternoon after a string of cold and rainy days. The 2005 north Willamette Valley growing season has been an up and down affair. First a drought plagued winter with only 25% normal precipitation, was followed by a cool, wet spring that made for a poor flowering and extensive shatter. The unusually warm summer was plagued by powdery mildew, mites and even voles.In early September it seemed the harvest was going to be early, but it suddenly cooled off and then rained and here it is October 4th and we have only just started to pick pinot noir. It is far too early to judge quality, but the fruit in the fermenters is of very high quality due to rigorous selection in the vineyard and winery. However, quantity is going to be very low for the second vintage in a row.

Here is a look at some of the pinot noir so far:

Deux Vert Vineyard - a warm site on Willakenzie soil in the Carlton-Yamhill AVA - picked September 28th

Hawks View - a cool site at the eastern end of the Chehalem Mountains - picked today, October 4th

[Bill Miller]

It looks like we're coming at an interesting time of the year. Beautiful pictures of my favorite grape!

[Rebel Rose]

Great photos, Craig! I'm glad to see an Oregon member chiming in here, particularly one who, ahem, mentored my earliest posts on eGullet.

Will you be posting more photos and reports as the season progresses?

What is the forecast for your autumn up there? Does harvest look like an all at once slam now that fruit is finally getting ripe?

[little ms foodie]

I'll be in the area this weekend, can't wait to see things in action!

[Craig Camp]

Great photos, Craig!  I'm glad to see an Oregon member chiming in here, particularly one who, ahem, mentored my earliest posts on eGullet. 

Will you be posting more photos and reports as the season progresses?

What is the forecast for your autumn up there?  Does harvest look like an all at once slam now that fruit is finally getting ripe?

←

I will keep updating with photos as I get a chance. Rain is the biggest issue right now. After several days of rain last week, some vineyards dropped a full two brix. Then there is the issue of botrytis after many berries burst. We had to rush in several vineyards because of this, but after some tough selection, what we got was very good.

Rain is threating again today, but the weather service is more often wrong than right in the Willamette Valley. If the rain holds off long enough, we will have about 12 tons of pinot noir arriving today - 8 from our estate vineyard behind the winery, with the rest being Pommard clone from Hawks View.

On the bright side it looks like 2005 will produce (like 2004) more graceful wines with alcohol levels closer to 13 than 14 where they were in 2002 and especially 2003 (where many pushed 15).

More later...

[Craig Camp]

the cap on a tank of fermenting Deux Vert pinot noir

Edited October 7, 2005 by Craig Camp (log)

[Craig Camp]

punching down the cap by hand

[Craig Camp]

A tank of Deux Vert Vineyard pinot noir has finished its fermentation and is being loaded into the press (by myself and Juan). First the free-run wine is drawn off and then the remainder needs to be shoveled by hand into the press. We use 2-ton open top fermenters for pinot noir. After being loaded into the press, the remaining free-run wine is put into tanks for malolatic, while the press run is separated for our second label.

[Craig Camp]

This is pinot gris harvested from our estate Webber Vineyard. The color of the bunches ranges from pink/gold to bunches that are just as purple as pinot noir. These bunches went directly into the press for whole cluster pressing.

[Craig Camp]

John and Cellarmaster Tammie Crawford barrel Deux Vert Pinot Noir by gravity flow.

Edited October 12, 2005 by Craig Camp (log)

[ludja]

This is pinot gris harvested from our estate Webber Vineyard. The color of the bunches ranges from pink/gold to bunches that are just as purple as pinot noir. These bunches went directly into the press for whole cluster pressing.

←

Beautiful photo.

Is is typical to crush grape bunches that seems to have such a spectrum of ripeness? If so, is this triggered by a necessity to harvest the grapes before losing them to frost, etc or by the desire to have a range of ripeness within a grape cluster for the final impact this has on the wine? Is the answer the same for different varietals?

Thanks for sharing this nice snapshot of harvest, CraigCamp.

Edited October 12, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Craig Camp]

Pinot gris varies quite a bit in color from bunch to bunch. Unripe grapes have a decided green cast to them and those not rejected in the vineyard by the pickers will be rejected on the sorting table in the winery before hitting the fermenter. This photo is in very bright sunlight which brings out the golden cast in some of the grapes.

[Craig Camp]

Although we call this crush, in fact we don't crush pinot noir, but just de-stem it. Pictured below is a freshly filled 2-ton fementer of Hawk View 777 clone of Pinot Noir. About 80% of the berries enter the fermenter whole. They will now be cold-soaked for about 5 days before fermentation will be allowed to start.

[Rebel Rose]

Craig, I know some pinot noir producers utilize whole cluster fermentation. Would you explain the difference between whole cluster and whole berry fermentation, and why Anne Amie uses one method over the other?

[Craig Camp]

Craig, I know some pinot noir producers utilize whole cluster fermentation.  Would you explain the difference between whole cluster and whole berry fermentation, and why Anne Amie uses one method over the other?

←

Well that is one of the great debates of pinot noir making and it varies from winemaker to winemaker. There is not one right answer, as it should be - great pinot noir should vary vineyard to vineyard, region to region and winemaker to winemaker. This produces an endless variation on the theme of pinot noir.

As far as your question, I would make the following points. If you are going to ferment with whole clusters that means, of course, that the stems will be included. If those stems are not lignified (turned to wood instead of the soft green texture you see in the photos above) they will add green tannins to the wine. Even when fully lignified, too many stems will make the wine too tannic.

We almost always choose to ferment the whole berries, as compared to the whole bunches, as we feel the stems are rarely fully lignified in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley. Fermenting whole berries greatly enhances the complexity and depth of the fruit. Many producers here do select small amount of fruit from warm sites to whole bunch ferment as, when done correctly, this style of fermentation has the potential to bring out unique complexity in the wine.

[Craig Camp]

Pinot blanc is a favorite here at the winery, sometimes I think we drink as much as we sell. We are working to acquire more sources for top-quality pinot blanc and will be planting more in our estate vineyards next year.

Pinot blanc is nowhere near "blanc" just after it is crushed. Pictured here is freshly whole-cluster pressed pinot blanc ready to start its fermentation. Its hard to believe that this muddy looking liquid becomes a bright fresh wine.

[Rebel Rose]

We almost always choose to ferment the whole berries, as compared to the whole bunches, as we feel the stems are rarely fully lignified in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley. Fermenting whole berries greatly enhances the complexity and depth of the fruit.

As there are tannins and pigment in the grapeskins, and additional tannins in the seeds, I would imagine that in a well balanced pick the tannins in those elements might perfectly balance the fruit acids and flavors of the pulp.

Therefore, is deciding on bunch-and-stem fermentation based on the condition of the stem, or on the potential of the grape?

[Craig Camp]

We almost always choose to ferment the whole berries, as compared to the whole bunches, as we feel the stems are rarely fully lignified in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley. Fermenting whole berries greatly enhances the complexity and depth of the fruit.

As there are tannins and pigment in the grapeskins, and additional tannins in the seeds, I would imagine that in a well balanced pick the tannins in those elements might perfectly balance the fruit acids and flavors of the pulp.

Therefore, is deciding on bunch-and-stem fermentation based on the condition of the stem, or on the potential of the grape?

←

Yes and no - if the stems are not lignified you have no option. If they are, then you have to look at all your options. The tannins in the skins is less intense that that of non-lignified stems. There is more than one kind of tannin. I would say it can be interesting to add some percentage of wine fermented whole-cluster if the option is available.

[Bill Miller]

We toured the Wllamette Valley on the 8th & 9th. I am an "average" taster so I do not pick up all the nuances the experts do, but here goes-----

Annie Amie is a lovely facility with banquet facilities--they were having a wedding that nite and were also quite busy with the harvest. It started raining, halting the harvest but lucky for us winemaker and vineyard manager Scott Huffman came in and gave a wonderful tour. We tasted several wines but really liked the Pinot Noir La Colina 03--smooth tannins, berry, bright acidity, medium body, and extremely well balanced. Scott gave us a barrel tasting of the 04--very similar, a little more tannic but smoothing out--excellent. He plans to release one of his own on a limited basis early next year--it was similar to the La Colina but with a difference that I was unable to identify. Annie Amie makes lovely wines worth seeking out.

Bella Vida is a little treasure high on a hill with a beautiful view and very nice wines. They have a smooth Pinot Noir 02 with the 03 right behind it. We also tasted Erath and Elk Cove Pinots, choosing the Elk Cove to go with dinner at Canlis in Seattle on the 13th. Sokol Blosser was so crowded we gave up and left--their $7 per person fee was a little steep anyway.

Lovely experience, gracious people, and worth every sip.

[Craig Camp]

We have been going dawn to whenever the last week so I havn't had a chance to update this thread, but I'll have more time to catch up next week. In the meantime, I thought everyone would be interested to get a look at some viognier grapes. Pictured here is freshly arrived viognier from the Del Rio vineyard in southern Oregon. This is a very strange year as we have picked most of the vineyards in the northern Willamette and the fruit from southern Oregon, which is usually among the first to arrive is just coming now. We are still waiting for the syrah.

[Craig Camp]

We almost always choose to ferment the whole berries, as compared to the whole bunches, as we feel the stems are rarely fully lignified in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley. Fermenting whole berries greatly enhances the complexity and depth of the fruit.

As there are tannins and pigment in the grapeskins, and additional tannins in the seeds, I would imagine that in a well balanced pick the tannins in those elements might perfectly balance the fruit acids and flavors of the pulp.

Therefore, is deciding on bunch-and-stem fermentation based on the condition of the stem, or on the potential of the grape?

←

Interestingly enough we received some gorgeous pinot from the Arbor Vert vineyard with fully lignified stems. Everything seemed perfect so we included about 20% whole clusters in the fermenters. I'll keep you updated on their progress.

Edited October 21, 2005 by Craig Camp (log)

[vengroff]

Great photos and descriptions, Craig.

Could you say a little more about the pressing itself, or maybe post some pictures if you have them. I was just out in Walla Walla and saw a couple of rotary presses at work, both with and without pressure applied to the fruit. Do you use those or some other type?

[James Kendal]

Hi Craig,

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. My wife and I just spent a week in Portland and we popped down to see Peter Rosbach as Sineanne. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to see him due to timing. This does not seem to be the greatest year and not a lot of fruit.

Here in B.C. the season has proven difficult. Spring rain in the Okanagan dropped fruit production big time. Frost in the fall in the South Okanagan. Here on the Island the birds were nasty, in particular the finches.

I notice one thing you were talking about in terms of alcohol. Do you think Pinot should be made at 14-15%. After tasting a lot this past week I found the oak and alcohol in most of the wines so high.. too high. Sadly, I found very few restaurants with older vintages to assess. Most wine listed are 03's.

[Craig Camp]

Hi Craig,

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. My wife and I just spent a week in Portland and we popped down to see Peter Rosbach as Sineanne. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to see him due to timing. This does not seem to be the greatest year and not a lot of fruit.

Here in B.C. the season has proven difficult. Spring rain in the Okanagan dropped fruit production big time. Frost in the fall in the South Okanagan. Here on the Island the birds were nasty, in particular the finches.

I notice one thing you were talking about in terms of alcohol. Do you think Pinot should be made at 14-15%. After tasting a lot this past week I found the oak and alcohol in most of the wines so high.. too high. Sadly, I found very few restaurants with older vintages to assess. Most wine listed are 03's.

←

No I don't think 14%+ is our goal, that of most producers nor my personal preference. I think "ideal" for pinot noir is around 13-13.5%, but an "ideal" level is a moving target changing from wine-to-wine, vineyard-to-vineyard and vintage-to-vintage. Some wines are just structured to carry more alcohol with balance better than others. Certainly pinot noir under 13% often seems to lack the viscosity and depth to be really complex. They only way to tell if the alcohol level of an individual wine is balanced is to taste, if it tastes balanced it is. I have had wines at 13% that tasted hot and alcoholic and wines at 14.5% that tasted perfectly balanced.

Another element is that if you are making a non-manipulated wine, there is only so much you can do to lower the final alcohol level (raising the level is a bit easier thanks to C and H). A fine pinot noir is the sum of the vineyard, winemaking and the vintage. If you have a very hot vintage (2003) you are going to get higher alcohol levels - that is just the nature of the vintage and the wine must reflect that nature. You can't just pick earlier as the seeds, stems and skins are not mature. Each vintage gives its own balance of sugar, acid and tannin and thus its own unique personality. Vintage variation is the reality of winemaking in Oregon, and I think one of its strong points. For those who find the 2003's to alcoholic (me included) you will find the 2004's and 2005's a refreshing return to a more elegant style of pinot noir with alcohol levels more in the 13% range.

[James Kendal]

Craig,

Thanks for your reply and nice to hear your thoughts on style. I'll look for your wines when I am State side as there is very little Oregon product in the B.C. market.