My assessment of any winemaker’s talent is always enhanced tenfold when I discover that she or he can create a beautiful white wine.  Creating a luscious, nuanced white is a thin cord balancing act built on both science and art.  The natural delicacy of a white wine quickly reveals flaws that cannot be smoothed away by time in oak, or softened with age.  Guiding a white wine to maturity requires a refined approach:  a constant vigilance to retain the delicate flavors and the fruit and floral nose that are the hallmark of a great white wine.  And when the flavors are layered and complex, with each sip revealing yet another hue, then I am in white wine heaven.

Many of our visitors in the tasting room have asked how the vines — and other inhabitants of Shadow Run Vineyards — are holding up with all the rain and the first significant snow since the 80’s. Over the past 10 years, the annual rainfall in this part of the world has averaged about 12 inches. At the time of writing this article, we’re at 22 inches for the season, and expecting another 2 inches in the next 10 days.

Recently I was invited to speak to a group of (very bright) women on the topic of wine and at the end of my presentation, one of the ladies asked why California wines have relatively high alcohol levels. Beyond thinking, “lucky us” I answered that climate is one underlying cause of wine styles. For example, the climate and the wines of the northern regions of Germany are obviously different from sunny Tuscany, the climate in the New York Finger Lakes wine district is drastically different from Napa. The wines of these regions reflect (in some measure) the climate differences. A shorter growing season means the grapes may have lower sugar content and ultimately lower alcohol. A white wine produced in a cold region with a short growing season may include descriptions of “taunt, bracing acidity.” A red wine produced in a cold region may be “elegant, age worthy.” A shorter growing season may also produce red wines best described as thin, pale in color with herbal flavors and more aggressive tannins. The key to great wines rests in the winemaker’s ability to take the conditions provided by nature and make the most of them.

Each year the vines rest from about mid-November through mid-March.  In March, we prune the vines from scraggly bare sticks to neat shoots that extend out a few inches above the cordon (the horizontal branches that grow out on either side of the main trunk of the vine).  It is these shoots that will ultimately leaf out, then form buds, flower and produce grapes.  Fertilization, introduced through the irrigation system as well as nutrients sprayed on the leaves of the vines is undertaken in April.  Irrigation is gradually increased as the weather warms and the vines need energy for the spring reawakening process.  During the spring and early summer we constantly try to control weeds through mowing, weed whacking and hoeing.  We don’t use herbicides in the vineyard.  As fruit forms we evaluate the potential crop and actually drop many green bunches to insure that there is plenty of energy to produce the best grapes possible from the remaining bunches.  At this time we also work with the canopy of leaves formed by the vines by using “catch wires’ to keep the canopy vertical rather than letting it flop over.  This action allows the light to reach the fruit during the growing process, developing those flavor compounds that we all love to find in the wine.  As the summer comes on we may allow the western side of the vine canopy to drop over to protect fruit from the intense afternoon sun.

Finally the Cellar Rat gets the recognition he so rightfully deserves.  Recently we met some friends at their home and as we pulled into their pristine driveway we were gratified to find a reserved parking space designated for the Cellar Rat.   Naturally, I expected nothing less and look forward to finding that each of you have followed suit and now proudly reserve the most desirable parking space at your home or business for Cellar Rat parking.  An appropriate design is shown below.

A couple of months ago, we were pouring Shadow Run wines for a young, fun, very bright group of tasters and one of the men asked, “why rosé?  I mean, I just don’t get it…”

There are no pink grapes in vineland…  Vines yield grapes that have either green/pale amber skins, which we use to produce white wines, or purple skins which of course are used to produce red wines.  So in a world awash with delicious, sometimes quite wonderful white and red wines, why do we bother to create a pink wine?  Great question!

Summertime in the vineyard means working to bring the vines into “balance” – the right balance of nutrients, water and leaf area.  One of our generations’ great names in viticulture, Dr. Richard Smart, in his famous text, Sunlight Into Wine taught us the importance of light on the grapes to achieve those flavor compounds that result in the wines we all love.  Too much shade from the green canopy of vines will result in veggy flavors in the grapes (think bell pepper) and ultimately in the wine.  Too much sun, the grapes will be sun burned.  Find just the right balance and the flavors and deep purple colors will evolve to the wines we all cherish.

An often repeated conversation in our tasting room includes my Favorite Cellar Rat asking me to taste through the wines that we are pouring in the tasting room and my reply, “I can’t because…
I just ate an orange,
I just had salsa,
I just ate gingerbread with lemon sauce (so good!)
I just brushed my teeth.”

Some of my favorite scenes and sounds from the harvest season include the laughter and banter between the men and women who work in the vineyard.  Pruning thousands of grape vines in a week is tedious at best.  It is also an art form – I watch an experienced crew complete the precision work required to prune each vine in a minute or two and think of the 1990 fantasy, Edward Scissorhands.  Pruning may be tedious, but harvesting grapes is just brutal work.  But the sun comes up, the music is lively, and there is always enough energy to work hard, flirt and tease.  The laughter in the vineyard is contagious.

All of the flavors and deep lush colors found in red wine come from the skin of the grape.  These prized, but sometimes elusive flavors and colors are extracted during the fermentation process.   So a critical component in making deeply colored, flavorful red wines is to keep the juice of the grapes in contact with the skins.  As the grapes are fermenting, the yeast turns the sugar into alcohol and creates carbon dioxide which pushes the skins and seeds (the “cap) to the top of the fermentation bin.   A daily task for the winemaker or her cellar rat is to push the floating cap of grape skins back down through the juice.  The job of “punch down” is done at least three times a day during the fermentation period.  And hopefully no one falls into the fermentation bin.

Harvest is upon us!  For a would-be cellar rat / winemaker like myself, that means every weekend is spent in Paso Robles, helping to harvest or process grapes.  Because every varietal we grow is ready to harvest a different time -- unless it doesn't reach ripeness, but that is a story for another blog entry -- we're harvesting a different block every week and have grapes in all stages of winemaking for the next month or so.

ORGANIC FARMING
As many of you know, we have been trying to get away from the use of herbicides and pesticides in the vineyard.  Herbicides are used primarily to kill weeds, and pesticides of course, kill invasive bugs.  For the past three seasons we have removed weeds by hand hoeing.  Ridding the vineyard of invasive bugs is another story.  This year we introduced the green lacewing, a bug which will eat the voracious and damaging leaf-hopper.  The photo shows Susan in the vineyard releasing thousands of these bugs as well as their larvae.  Within a few days it was evident that the “bug eat bug” solution was working.  This year we are herbicide and pesticide free.  As you know we now generate over two-thirds of the electrical energy needed for our well pump and the refrigeration systems in our winery and tasting room with a 12.5 KW solar system.  Although we are on a drip irrigation system that we monitor for leaks or other water-wasting problems each time we irrigate; and we have moisture sensors in the vineyard to insure that we neither over-water or under-water, we are still working on water conservation.

“Delicate floral tones, flavors of ripe apricots, Asian pear, honey and a hint of peaches in fresh cream…” 

This description is an excerpt from the tasting notes for our 2012 Melissa, a white wine blend of Viognier and Grenache Blanc.  The tasting notes for our wines often prompt the questions, “How do you distinguish (learn to recognize) the flavors and aromas in the wine?” “How do those flavors end up in the wine?” and “Who writes this stuff?”  The last question is the easiest; as the winemaker for our family, I write our tasting notes, although I often add to those notes based on comments I hear in the tasting room (“You are getting cloves?  I missed that!”).

Spring is sprung and events in the vineyard are coming fast and furious.  Some of these events are ones we have to do every year:  pruning, training vines, shoot thinning and... today...  pulling petiole (leaf stem) samples to be tested for nutrients in the vines. Testing the Vines for Nutrients

Aaron introduces us to the vineyard at Shadow Run, and to some of the choices that are made in the vineyard, including how and why we prune. "You can't put in what God left out." Shadow Run Vineyards and Winery is a family-owned business located in the Paso Robles wine region of California.

I feel slightly guilty blogging about this barrel room topic (relating to micro reactions in the sleeping wine) when there is so much going on in the vineyard right now!  Flowering, petiole (leaf stem) pulling for nutrient analysis, bulldozers, profoundly hung-over laborers, fire trucks, etc.

Introduction to Shadow Run's winery and barrel room in Paso Robles, the role of oxygen in winemaking, and the role of wine barrels in the elevage -- or aging -- of the wine. Shadow Run Vineyards and Winery is a family-owned business located in the Paso Robles wine region of California.

When I was a young man, Spring was a time when my attention was focused on the pursuit of young women.  Later in life and happily married, my springtime focused on the baseball season.  Now, when I should be sleeping in the sunshine, Springtime is all about “weeds.”

There are so many variables in wine making:  conditions in the vineyard, chemistry of the grapes, choices made during the wine making process and ultimately, barrel selection.  A barrel might be considered the winemaker’s spice rack, with the potential to bring flavors of brown sugar, nutmeg, clove, vanilla bean, coconut, toasted nuts, chocolate or coffee to the wine.  The presence of these flavors depends on the origin of the oak, how the wood is initially air dried, and the length and intensity of the toasting of the inside of the barrel.  And of course our goal is to select a barrel that will complement and enhance the wine, never overpower it.

We've just released our first series of videos on YouTube. Join the winemakers, Aaron, Les and Susan as they take you "behind the vine" to get a rare glimpse into a Paso Robles winery. We'll be uploading content once a week so please subscribe!