To date, November 2, we have Semillon and Chardonnay close to completing fermentation in the barrels. Merlot and Zinfandel have finished fermenting, have been pressed and are in the barrels. Ventana Syrah is pressed, ready to barrel down tomorrow. Syrah from Paso Robles is still fermenting. The first load of Bates’ Cab is fermenting. More Santa Cruz Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, and Nebbiolo yet to be picked.

Credit for these quality grapes goes to the growers, those who jumped on the mildew problems promptly, during the spring that never arrived. Then they reduced crops by dropping bunches to the ground when confronted with a cool summer that did not bode well for easy ripening. Growers are now picking selectively. Really fine grapes, but at a cost of about a 30% reduction in crop levels.

Not all growers passed the test. There are reds out there, unthinned and not likely to ripen. There are whites out there, not properly managed and looking pretty ugly, tasting "off" and bitter.

Without exception, our grapes so far are superb. The statistics on the Zin are the best we have ever seen, 1.0 acid, great flavors and evenly ripened. We have never before seen bunches of Zin without any raisins, without the typical Zinfandel uneven ripening. We tasted this wine about a week after pressing, and it is extraordinary already.

So, this is what is really happening here: Very late harvest; condition, ripeness, and flavors of the grapes coming into our winery are impressive.

Quail abound, as always. Val was visiting with a friend down on the terrace, and looking up they saw a covey delicately crossing the path in front of the house, hopping up and tiptoeing across the porch then gliding off into the redwoods. Friend said, "Glad I was here to bear witness to this."

In spring we wrote, "Black-headed Phoebes are flitting around the front of the porch, roosting in the rafters, perching on the peak of the roof and on the handle of Dexter's wood splitting maul, now a tiny guano island." We discovered shortly after that, they had made a nest and raised a family under the overhang of the roof. Nice view for the nestlings.

The migrating visitors and the residents have been here this summer; Anna and Russet Hummingbirds, Steller's and Scrub Jays, Ravens, Band-tailed Pigeons, Brown Towhees, Red-tailed Hawks, Coopers Hawks, Great Horned Owls, Oregon Juncos, Robins, Hermit Thrushes, etc. Lush growth following the wet winter and spring supported a bumper crop of little quail and others. As the wild vegetation dried up, hungry birds increased predation in the garden. There is hardly a tomato that has not been visited by a jay or a quail.