FALL 2010 UPDATE
Same old song...
Everyone seems to be talking about the weather and the summer that never was. Sure, it seemed colder than normal. And so it would be easy to assume that the harvest would be later than normal. Well, we just completed harvest yesterday, and it is within one day of harvest over the last five years. Why? Don't know. But Mother Nature is darn clever and her desire is to get tasty, ripe grapes - and she did it again this year. The 2010 harvest looks really terrific. Our Pey-Marin Pinot Noir is some of the best looking wine we've seen in a while. Unusually dark and aromatic at this early stage. And our Pey-Marin Riesling saw almost no botrytis and also bodes very well. Textbook Napa Valley wines should show superb flavor and balance after a long growing season.
Muddy waters...
Young vines need water. Lots of it. And California doesn't have much water, so an inherent conflict exists. We are fortunate that Pey-Marin does not have young vines. They gave us their twentieth harvest this year and for the first time were completely dry farmed (besides what Mother Nature provides in the winter months via natural rainfall). So we are helping protect the environment in yet another way by not depleting the water table and completely eliminating runoff - unlike many newer wineries up in the hills. Our vines, importantly, seemed not to notice. Sounds like a win-win.
Marin meets Manhattan...
The James Beard House in Manhattan is America's culinary epicenter and celebrates excellence in everything it touches. So we were thrilled to learn that Pey-Marin Riesling was to be the first Marin-grown wine featured at this venerable institution. Paired with other locally-grown products and chef Christian Caiazzo's expertise (Osteria Stellina) the evening quickly sold out. Another first for Pey-Marin Vineyards
New kid on the block...
After studying and working with the Chardonnays of Burgundy, Australia and California for a collective 50 years, we finally decided to craft a small lot of our very first Chardonnay: 2009 Textbook "Fin de Journee" Napa Valley Chardonnay was released in October and already has gathered a small but strong following. Its style is a bit like Goldilocks - which is a good thing. It is not too oaky, not too sharp, and many are saying it is "just right". Grown in Los Carneros from some rather regal sites, and paired with some mountain-grown grapes, it strikes a delicate balance. Part was new French barrel fermented and barrel aged - but a good part was fermented in stainless steel with no oak or malolactic fermentation. The result - creamy, textured, but crisp and delicious. The best Napa Valley Chardonnay should taste this way. 19 barrels at $23/bottle.
Jonathan & Susan Pey
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