Straight from the Winemaker’s Mouth… “60 Hours and Counting”

We have finally reached the most exciting part of the year for Hometown Wine Company! Sara is calling it, ‘our Super Bowl’. This week the grapes have reached their optimum ripeness and we are thankful that we will have a good harvest. But… let’s back up and take a look at what the grapes have gone through and the preparation to get to this 2022 Harvest.

Every year mother nature throws some sort of wrench at you as a winemaker. No two years are ever the same. This year is no exception with all of the weather twists and turns. In much of the west coast, the unusual spring frost in April froze the delicate new buds as the grape vines were coming out of dormancy. This resulted in a lower production of buds on the vines which means less grapes for the 2022 Harvest. In some cases, we have seen the vineyards producing 30% – 50% less grapes than expected. Then, came the unusually high temperatures reaching the triple digits every day during the last week of August and continuing into the first weeks of September. As a result, grapes ripened very quickly and a frantic start of harvest in the state of California. This, coupled with fires, have been so troubling once again for California. Next, came the rain in Southern California (Hurricane from Mexico) that was much needed but a cause for concern for the grapes getting mildew or rot. The vineyard, that we are so lucky to work with in supplying grapes for Hometown Wine Company, has made it through all that mother nature had to offer this year. We are lucky to have some real experts working in the vineyard making the right decisions at the right time too.

Now for the exciting part… I have been enjoying getting out early in the morning walking the vineyard, tasting the grapes and analyzing the juice to make the decision to pick. We have cared for the grapes through the many weather events and now the weather has become more temperate. This temperate weather has given the grapes just the right amount of heat and sun to ripen to the perfect flavor profiles in the end. After years of experience, I know the time to pick is now. It’s time.

It’s an amazing time of year for me as a winemaker. This is where science becomes the art to create something truly special. Speaking of special, this harvest will be unbelievably special as it will be my and my wife, Sara, inaugural year of wine production. I can’t think of anything more special than that! We have been getting our fermenters, hoses, pumps, punch down device and refrigeration ready. All of our orders for yeast, nutrients, enzymes, oak, and fining agents have arrived. We are looking forward to getting the winemaking going. The grapes will be picked Friday and they will get crushed, destemmed and pressed. Then, fermentation of our first wines will then begin!

Are you wondering what will be making? Well, we’re going to make you wait in suspense.

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Brian