The Bumper Crop Year

Harvest 2012 ~ The Bumper Crop Year

In farming they say “feast or famine” and with this year’s harvest there is no shortage of celebration in the Russian River Valley with a fantastic vintage now resting peacefully in the cellar. After a pair of unusually cool seasons in 2010 and 2011, vintages which resulted in lower than average yields and lower than average ripeness levels, 2012 looks bountiful, with good-sized yields and excellent fruit quality. After a relatively dry winter, bud break in the valley was earlier than normal, but berry set was quite good. The summer progressed with mild temperatures which led to extraordinary hang time, and as a result, excellent flavor development. A few extra heat pushes in late September ripened our Zinfandel and Petite Sirah with a final convergence of high quality and yields. Here at the end of October we are hopefully looking at a year that will rival other highly acclaimed vintages in the Russian River Valley such as 2007 and 2009.

Read our entire Fall 2012 newsletter here