Fermentation Update 9-28-2009

Here is an update from our winemaker, Sal Captain:

September 28, 2009: Last night, I did the punch down and SO2, this morning again another punchdown, the color is fabulous deep red, the numbers are moving, started with 24 Brix, today it is 25.8 Brix, then it will drop gradually down to dry. pH is at 3.95, and TA was .7875, both of these numbers are towards the upper end of the scale, but Tom Morehouse is comfortable letting them settle by themselves w/o additions. We shall apply yeasts today once Morehouse gets here. The color is fabulous. Will keep you posted of developments.

Sal Captain

2009 Harvest and Crush---Results of

Here is an update on the Eagle Hill Wines and Vineyards harvest and crush.

At 9:30 AM Saturday September 26, 2009, 11 people arrived at Eagle Hill to help with the harvest. We had 7 in 2008. In 2008 for Block 1, planted in 2006 and which has 246 vines of Cabernet Sauvignon, the first harvest resulted in 150 pounds. We believed we would have 300 pounds in 2009 but instead we ended up with 528 pounds not including the lugs' weights. In 2009, we started at 10 AM and worked for 3 hours, finishing at 1 PM, in very hot weather. Next year it may be better to start at 8 AM so we work in cooler weather. Next year our winemaker at Captain Vineyards believes we may have 1100 pounds from Block 1 if we don't lose any to raccoons (we estimate we lost around 20% to them until we realized what was happening and put two of our German Shepherds dogs down there at night). The dogs just need to be there when the grapes are starting to get sweeter, probably the last 2 or 3 weeks before harvest. In 2010 the Block 1 vines will be starting to reach their maturity as to pounds produced. In any case, we are sorry that we totally miss-calculated the work involved. Next year, when Block 2, planted in 2008, will be producing a fair amount of grapes (only about 20 pounds this year), that Block's 200 vines (Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese) will be adding to the time involved. Accordingly, it seems to us that to keep the time involved to a more manageable 1.5 to 2 hours, we should attempt to have around 30 people doing the harvesting. Thus, please keep your eyes out for wine enthusiasts who would like to participate next year and share our web page and blog address with them. We received a very good suggestion that a small group should go through first with poles to more easily put the bird nets up to the top.

Before the harvest, we had breakfast at Eagle Hill and after the harvest we had a long lunch at Eagle Hill. We had it inside this year as it was so hot outside. During lunch we sampled 3 different wines from grapes grown in the Lamorinda area, with a concluding sip of Limoncello!

After keeping the grapes in a cool area of the house overnight, on Sunday, September 27, 2009 Peter took the grapes to our wine maker, Captain Vineyards, a bonded winery in Moraga, CA. Steve and Jane met him there and assisted in the crush and destemming. We also helped Salah and Susan Captain crush/destem grapes from two other vineyards.

If the people who took photos send us email files of them I will add them to the photos I have and then send everyone an email with the photos attached.

Once again, thank you to all who assisted this year.

Harvest delayed until 9-26-2009

The grapes were tested yesterday by our winemaker and they are not quite ready for harvest. Thus, we need to change harvest day to Saturday September 26th; the wine maker's schedule requires we start a bit earlier: can you arrive between 8:15 and 8:30AM? We will have coffee/tea and pastry for you, we will then harvest, and then who ever wants to can go with Peter to the winemaker in Moraga (off Joseph Drive, near our street), to see what it is like to run the grapes through the crusher and destemmer; you can also tour their facility there if you want. It is only 3 miles from our ranch so we will then come back to Eagle Hill for lunch and wine. We have gathered wine from a couple of Moraga vineyards so you can see the quality that we are aiming for. By the way, this year has been a long season for most of the Lamorinda vineyards (what we call the Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda area) that are part of our 4 year old Lamorinda Wine Growers Association. Most places with Cabernet Sauvignon are harvesting at the end of September, caused by the lack of heat recently.

If you can make it, don't forget to wear blue jeans, bring a small garden shear if you have one, and shoes/boots for a hillside. Please tell us if you can make it on this new day, thanks.

Update on 2009 Harvest

Testing of the grapes are giving indications that harvest will be Saturday September 19, 2009 as long as it continues to be hot here. We will be starting between 9 and 9:30 AM. Let me know if you can help so we can plan enough food and drink for lunch after we harvest in the AM. If you have a small garden shear to cut the grape bunches off the vines that would be great to bring. Remember to wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty, like blue jeans, as sometimes it is best to sit on the ground when harvesting, and a hat to keep out the sun. Also, anyone who needs detailed instructions to find us let me know as I have an email I can forward to you.