2013 Harvest Report
What a year! Most varieties matured a bit early; yields were up 17% over last year even with conservative pruning in February and crop thinning in August. All of our reds exhibited outstanding dark color. I could go on and on, but two of the new wines really stand out:
Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon: Both varieties matured at the same time allowing us to co-ferment this year at our normal 75/25 ratio. The aromatics and flavors are quite enticing in this young wine, which will be bottled in January.
Aglianico: We decided to bin ferment the 4 tons this year. With a couple days of cold soaking and vigorous punch downs twice daily for a week, the resulting pressed wine shows the most intense flavors and color we have ever seen from our vineyard.
By October 28th, everything had been picked, fermented and pressed with the exception of a ton of Semillon for our late harvest wine. Those grapes were picked on Nov 7th, our latest picking date ever.
On a sad note, Lena Esola passed away in July. The vineyard is now in the capable hands of Lena’s daughter Denise who intends to continue the farming tradition started by Giacomo and Louise Esola who settled in the Shenandoah Valley in 1910.