Filed under: Vineyards, Winemaking | Tags: 2017 harvest, 2017 vintage, Anderson Valley, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir, Wentzel Vineyard, Winemaking
At last, 2017 harvest is underway for Waits-Mast Family Cellars, as our first pick of the season took place at Wentzel Vineyard on Friday, September 15. It’s been a weird few weeks of weather and due to high temperatures, many of our winery friends are much further along with their harvests; some have picked fruit from all of their vineyards already.
Pinot Noir clusters from Wentzel Vineyard from September 15, 2017 pick. Photo: J. Waits/Waits-Mast Family Cellars
Filed under: Vineyards, Winemaking | Tags: 2017 harvest, 2017 vintage, Anderson Valley, anderson valley pinot noir, Mendocino wines, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Family Cellars, Wine Song
Our house is finally cooling down to the 70s after several weeks of hot September weather in San Francisco. It has been much the same up in Mendocino County, although there are already signs of fall, with a smattering of leaves starting to change color in the vineyards.
Leaves changing color at Oppenlander Vineyard on September 9, 2017. Photo: J. Waits/Waits-Mast Family Cellars
Filed under: Vineyards | Tags: 2017 harvest, 2017 vintage, Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, Mendocino Ridge, vineyard visits, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir
Over the past few days, a major heatwave brought 100+ degree temperatures all over the San Francisco Bay Area and up north into Mendocino County. San Francisco reached a record high of 106 degrees and friends in Anderson Valley reported that the mercury topped out at more than 110 degrees. During our visits to all four of our Waits-Mast Family Cellars vineyard sources in Mendocino County a week ago, the weather was already hot, even at our traditionally cooler sites.
Anderson Valley on August 25, 2017. Photo: J. Waits/Waits-Mast
Filed under: Vineyards | Tags: 2017 vintage, Anderson Valley, Nash Mill Vineyard, news, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir
Before bringing some updates from our vineyard visits from last weekend (spoiler alert: things are heating up, with harvest drawing near), we wanted to flash back to our final late July vineyard tour. During a quick visit to Nash Mill Vineyard on Saturday, July 22, we continued with our series of check-ins at sites from which Waits-Mast sources pinot noir grapes. As we saw at Wentzel Vineyard earlier in the day, the fruit at Nash Mill has developed considerably since our trip to Anderson Valley in May.
Nash Mill Vineyard on July 22, 2017. Photo: J. Waits
Filed under: Vineyards | Tags: 2017 vintage, Anderson Valley, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir, Wentzel Vineyard
Seasonal changes are in full effect in Mendocino County as we hit the peak of summer. Temperatures are rising, the hills have gone from green to amber, and grapes are maturing on the vines. Looking ahead to harvest, this weekend was an excellent time to check in on a few of the vineyards that Waits-Mast sources fruit from.
Pinot Noir grapes at Wentzel Vineyard on July 22, 2017. Photo: J. Waits
Filed under: Events, Vineyards | Tags: #AVPNF20, Anderson Valley, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival 2017, Nash Mill Vineyard, Wentzel Vineyard
One of our favorite wine events is the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival. Brian and I started going to the festival probably around the year 2001 and began pouring Waits-Mast Family Cellars wine at the event’s Grand Tasting in 2009, so it’s always a great opportunity to see many friends and fans and meet other Pinot Noir lovers.
The big tent at Goldeneye Winery during set up for the 2017 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival Grand Tasting. Photo: J. Waits
Filed under: Events, Vineyards, Winemaking | Tags: 2016 harvest, Anderson Valley, Nash Mill Vineyard, Oppenlander Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir, WineSong
We are just back from a long weekend in Mendocino/Anderson Valley for several Winesong-related tasting events. It’s also the thick of harvest, which necessitated a few vineyard visits as well as picks at another two. Meanwhile, Brian celebrated a milestone birthday, so we tried to squeeze in some cake amid all of the wine work.
Birthday sign for Brian at the Andiron Inn. Photo: J. Waits
Filed under: Vineyards | Tags: 2016 harvest, Anderson Valley, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir, Wentzel Vineyard
And we’re off…On Labor Day, the 2016 harvest began for Waits-Mast Family Cellars. We brought in our first pinot noir pick from our little section (the Clos) in Wentzel Vineyard in Anderson Valley yesterday. As predicted, we were exactly one week later than our first pick (also from that vineyard) in 2015.
Wentzel Vineyard pinot noir grapes. September, 2016. Photo: J. Waits
Filed under: Vineyards | Tags: 2016 harvest, Anderson Valley, Mendocino Ridge, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir
Fruit at Wentzel Vineyard on August 28, 2016. Photo: J. Waits
Over the weekend we headed north to Mendocino County to see how all of the Waits-Mast pinot noir vineyard sources are doing. Harvest is in full swing for many wineries already and we are getting close to picking our first fruit. We trekked up to Mendocino Ridge first to visit Mariah Vineyard. Fog was rolling in as we arrived at the vineyard on Saturday morning and owners Dan and Vicki Dooling told us that it was the first fog that they’d seen in about two months. We walked the rows with them and based on the color (there were still some green berries), taste of the fruit and sugar measurements (our winemaker Shalini brought along her portable refractometer), the Doolings are estimating that harvest for us is about 2 to 3 weeks away. Continue reading
Filed under: Vineyards | Tags: 2016 harvest, Anderson Valley, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir, Wentzel Vineyard
Wentzel Vineyard in July, 2016. Photo: J. Waits
Harvest is getting closer, so I wanted to wrap up my series of vineyard visits from last month. On July 23, we took a trip through three of the Anderson Valley Vineyards that Waits-Mast sources from. I’ve already covered our visits to Deer Meadows Vineyard and Nash Mill Vineyard and in this post I’ll focus on Wentzel Vineyard.
ValleyFogBlog 