All grapes processed at Chatham Hill Winery are from vineyards operated by my grower partners, currently all of them located in Yadkin Valley. Although I did have written contracts with growers in the past I found them difficult to execute with regard to certain grape parameters. Instead of written contracts I now have partnerships with my growers that we all cherish and do the best possible to produce highest quality grapes and turn them into highest quality wines. My growers are hard working people whose passion to growing excellent grapes equals to my passion to make the best wines from their grapes. And we are in this together through great vintages as well as not so good years in the vineyard. I do not refuse to take what they deliver even if the fruit quality is not at its best due to weather conditions or other factors. However, it must be said that even with 11 years of commercial winemaking under my belt, it is still a challenge for me to turn every harvest into a successful vintage. And as the vines grow older and stronger we continue to learn and improve year after year.
My work with the growers intensifies about six to eight weeks before harvest. First we make sure all the growing parameters are under control. As early as possible we try to estimate the crop size for each vineyard and each variety. This continues to be a challenging task not knowing how much fruit is going to make it to the harvest. Some unevenly developing and God forbid sick clusters will have to be dropped. Some grapes, despite all protection in place, will be lost to deer, birds or other grape loving creatures. Crop estimates are very important for me. I need them to decide if, and if so how much grapes I should secure from other vineyards to meet my production goals.
At the beginning of August I start receiving samples of grapes from my grower partners. My samples are 5 to 6 whole clusters of each variety (not 100 berries as others use) picked from different areas in the vineyard. My analysis includes visual and taste inspection of the skin, juice, and seeds. I measure the pH, total acidity, and sugar level in the juice. From this we can decide if any intervention may be necessary in the vineyard to improve the grape maturing process. As the grapes ripen and the harvest approaches the frequency of sampling increases from once a week to every 2-3 days. Results of my tests, combined with the data gathered from the same or similar vineyard in previous years, give me a pretty reliable indication of the grape maturing process. This data in combination with weather forecasts allows us to make optimal decision when to pick the grapes.
I always wait for the sugar in the juice to reach a “healthy level” which in my vocabulary means that without adding sugar during fermentation I can finish at above 12% alcohol in the finished wine. To get this level one needs at least 21 Brix (which is close to 21% of sugar by weight) in the juice. There are years that as we wait and wait for the sugar to come up the acidity starts dropping down and the pH starts creeping up. For me the pH is the most critical parameter. I can add sugar if needed. I can correct the acidity fairly easily. But lowering the pH to the “healthy level” (3.6 in juice of crushed red grapes and 3.5 for white grape juice) is a very difficult and often impossible task. The intensity of color and tannins in red grape skins is what I carefully evaluate in grapes intended for full body, barrel aged reds. The color of seeds and its uniformity from berry to berry is also a very important indicator of readiness of grapes for harvest. The seeds must be brown or brownish while green color indicates immature grapes which if fermented will produce wines flawed by vegetative flavors.
Our decision when to pick is also strongly influenced by the weather. Quite often we would get an unexpected inch or more of rain the night before we were to pick. When all this water runs down the vineyard water deprived vines and berries pick up water very quickly and the juice gets diluted. If this happens we would often decide to postpone the harvest for a few days to let the grapes loose some of that water by evaporation. But if more rainy days are in the forecast and waiting for sunny weather would increase the risk of a disease or other problems to sneak in, we are forced to decide not to further postpone picking and deal with the grape deficiencies in the winery.
With all this said, let’s try to keep in perspective the statements that the good wines are made in vineyards. Let me conclude that in wine growing regions such as our state, making great wines requires both the excellence in growing grapes and the experience, skills and artistry of the winemaker. And, of course, a lot of cooperation from Mother Nature.
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