Bringing in Chardonnay, Syrah and lots and lots of Zinfandel......

Winemaker - Kevin Hall writes today:  "The very warm weather has kicked the winery into high gear.  We have been bringing in Chardonnay, Syrah and lots and lots of Zinfandel.  The flavors from the Zin are great.  At this stage it is all about fruit flavors of raspberry, cherry and plum.  The spicy side of Alexander Valley Zinfandel usually shows itself once fermentation begins.  Dry Creek Zinfandel will display a spicy side from the beginning.  I was out in Dry Creek today and the fruit looks good.  I have scheduled the harvest of the first dry creek zin for next Monday.  The weather is going to cool down dramatically over the weekend with a very slight chance of rain on Sunday. 

In the winery we are busy inoculating the tanks and racking settled Chardonnay juice off of its lees.  We will start to barrel down some Chardonnay juice for barrel fermentations.  I have included a picture of one of our crew "Carlos Martinez" prepping French oak barrels for Chardonnay."