The 2022 vintage in the Paso Robles region will remain difficult to say the least. The scorching, relentless triple-digit heat that unleashed in early September sent winemakers rushing for an early harvest.

“If there is a winegrower’s vintage, it would be 2022”, declared Daniel Daou when I met him at the top of his hill. Daou Family Domain in the Adelaide district. “Pardon my French, but it’s been a drag,” said the winemaker and co-founder of his eponymous winery known for its Bordeaux-style wines.

“From a physical point of view, it was exhausting,” he continued. “We first received two months of grapes in two weeks. Then the harvest team worked around the clock non-stop, with two shifts, early in the morning and at night.

“The peak of heat came at the worst time: we were two weeks away from harvest. When you rush into the harvest, the sugars increase, but not the physiological maturity. You get tannins in some cases, but you get no color, no texture.

The result is: “You get high tannins with little color or low tannins and no color and the sugars are very high,” Daou explained. “It’s a terrible combination. It is difficult to create a balanced wine.

Yet Daou knew how to manage the tannins. “But it cost us in return. It is also a vintage where you should not be greedy. We produced an average of 1.3 tons per acre.

“It was a difficult vintage from the start,” acknowledged Matthew Glunz of Glunz family wine cellar,which began harvesting in mid-August, which would normally have started in mid-September. “So that was almost a whole month earlier.” Harvesting Cabernet Sauvignon well before Labor Day was not common practice for the family.

“While the early fermentations presented some challenges, we had a couple of rainy days in September that allowed us to hit the pause button,” he added. This allowed him to press the first harvests and the fermentations to finish the skins which impacted the final product. “This step definitely worked in our favour. The first fruits wine is now in the barrel and they are just great.

Glunz invited me to his winery along Highway 46 East for a tank tasting around mid-October. We tasted a dark, inky Petit Verdot, a Cabernet Sauvignon expressing enhanced acidity and a cloudy Viognier showing bright fruit.

Jordan Fiorentini, whose mantra is “I only let the vineyard do the talking”, admitted that the 2022 vintage was different. “This one, the winemaker has to be selective about,” the winemaker told Wines from the Epoch estate during a telephone conversation, briefly absent from his harvesting duties.

Paso has experienced sudden summer heat spikes in previous years. However, this year the temperature has risen and stayed longer. “We had a temperature of 70 degrees in the morning,” exclaimed Fiorentini.

Between the vineyards of Paderewski and York Mountain, the former could handle the heat well. “But York Mountain has never been used to seeing this heat,” Fiorentini said. “The heat and the dry farm were a double whammy,” she commented on this dry-grown vineyard in the cool York Mountain AVA.

The loss was widespread across varieties and locations. “In some areas we lost 40-50% once we cleaned the fruit; much less in other varieties and regions.

Winemaker Curtis Hascall was sorting the Petit Verdot by hand when I went to see him in Shale Oak Wine Estate in the Templeton Gap area. “We let the Petit Verdot withstand the heat and the rain.” The rain, he added, was almost beneficial because it extended the suspension time. However, like many winemakers, the heat was problematic. “We tried to get as many as possible, but it wasn’t ready. We picked the dry-grown Grenache early and got a third of the raisins.

In the San Miguel de Shale Oak vineyard, the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked a month early. “For sure it’s light in color, so there will be mixes, like the petite sirah for the color.”

Sterling Kragten from Cass wine estate let the fruit hang through the heat and subsequent rainy period. Yes, some of the grapes have shrunk, he admitted. “But when it was cool, the vines would take water from the rain and recover.” As for yields, everything is down this year “but with good concentration and amazing colors”.

Atop its 24-acre Willow Creek District hillside estate with spectacular views, Kaleidos Wine owner/winemaker Steve Martell celebrated an end of harvest reunion with his wife Heather, family and friends. “We got three tons this year,” Martell said, pointing to his west-facing 1.3-acre vineyard planted with Rhone varieties. “We started harvesting mid to late heat wave and got a good balance between sugar and acidity.” Martell sources most of the fruit for its small annual production of 500 cases.

Martell pulled from his library a portfolio of older Syrahs dating back to 2001 (his first vintage), followed by 2007, 2008 and a 2005 cab/Syrah blend, plus a 2008 Rhône white blend. These wines were impressive with fruit bright and balanced acidity, a testament to the aging ability of Paso wines.

For Scott Shirley, the early heat prompted to pick Merlot in August. “Because sugars build up quickly, I need to be aware of rising Brix values ​​when making picking decisions, so the resulting alcohol in the finished wines is not unbalanced,” said the winemaker at JUSTIN Vineyards & Cellars in an email exchange.

With successive years of drought, the lack of moisture in the soils is felt more noticeably on the upper part of the steeper slopes, with earlier maturing varieties, he continued. Thin-skinned varieties like Merlot and Malbec are usually the first blocks to be picked after a heat spell. The Cabernet Sauvignon was also picked in early September instead of the usual October. “With these early Cabernet Sauvignon selections, we are looking for more of a fresh red fruit profile, versus darker fruit in vineyard blocks that can enjoy more hanging time,” Shirley commented.

Indeed, the wines of 2022 will require that little bit more from a winemaker. “I must have let everything soak for two or three days,” Glunz thought to himself. “It’s the greatest winemaking I’ve ever done.”

As Paso pioneer Gary Eberle said as he sat in his usual spot in front Eberle Winery to greet guests, “This will be a now vintage drink. No need to age your bottles.

One of Central Otago’s largest wineries is about to go fully organic.

Akarua Estate Vineyard was acquired earlier this month by Edmond de Rothschild, a France-based investment firm.

Edmond de Rothschild Heritage chief executive Anne Escalle said the acquisition has been in the works for two years.

“When the Edmond Rothschild family invests, they really want to find a special place, a jewel.”

The company is one of the largest producers in the world and has big plans – Akarua is set to obtain organic certification to meet global demand.

This is the brand’s first foray into the organic market.

Organic Winegrowers NZ chairman Clive Dougall says it’s “quite important” for Esmond de Rothschild to decide to turn a Kiwi vineyard organic.

“There is also a financial benefit, the consumption of organic wine in the world increases by 10% each year,” said Dougall.

“Organic is, in a way, climate action as well, so people are trying to think about the sustainability of their businesses.”

Dr Damien Mather, a senior lecturer at the University of Otago Business School, says organic wines could boost our wine export profits by a billion dollars.

“They’re able to command obviously quite large premiums in the international market…I think that’s going to be a beneficial thing overall.”

Customers can expect small branding and logo changes with the new owners – but Akarua will remain on the label.

A year after a freak hailstorm, farmers in parts of South Australia are still counting their losses.

The October 28 storm cell last year was declared an “insurance disaster” by the Insurance Council of Australia, with more than 60,000 claims in three states.

Heathvale Wines owner Trevor March said he lost 100% of his Eden Valley harvest almost instantly.

While initially trying to smile and put up with it, Mr March said he later realized the disaster had shocked him.

“It had a mental effect [on me],” he said.

“And then that afternoon we had these high winds. Everything that had been bruised in the morning broke in the afternoon.

slow recovery

Laughing Jack Wines owner Shawn Kalleske said he was still repairing his property in the Barossa Valley a year after hailstorms wiped out 50% of his crop.

The sixth-generation farmer said he was bottling wine when the storm hit.

“I thought to myself, ‘Is this hail? Surely not. I was not aware of any forecast,'” he said.

Riverland producer Ryan Arnold would rather not remember the day 150-mile-per-hour winds left the nets of his family’s citrus orchards in Pyap “ragged like Halloween cobwebs “.

“It pretty much went through the center of our property – I was just sitting in the office watching it unfold,” he said.

Mr Arnold said he was grateful the state government had provided funds to help with the cleanup.

“I was also able to access the anti-hail net grant, with a co-contribution.

“It certainly helped lighten the load, but it was a significant cost to our business.”

But Mr Arnold said hail damage and having his fruit exposed while awaiting rethreading reduced the quality of his oranges by around 20%.

Century Orchards managing director Brendan Sidhu said it took a few weeks to clear the Loxton almond orchard after it was hit by golf ball-sized hail.

“The trees really looked like they had been beaten down, but it was also a very stressful time for management and staff,” he said.

However, Mr Sidhu said he was more optimistic about returns this year than he was then.

Mr Sidhu said he planned to claim hail insurance to help cover the loss, it would not be an option in the future.

The ABC contacted the state’s Department of Primary Industries for comment.

Did you know that chardonnay is made from pinot noir and an obscure white grape called gouais blanc?

DNA analysis in the 1990s revealed that Chardonnay is descended from Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. Both varieties were widely planted in northeastern France in the Middle Ages, but today Gouais Blanc is nearly extinct.

Chardonnay has long been considered a variant of Pinot Noir and is often confused with Pinot Blanc. To further complicate matters, it has been called pinot blanc, pinot blanc chardonnay, and pinot chardonnay.

Greg Morthole’s compelling version of this offspring is our winning wine of the week – the Davis Bynum, 2018 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Gravel Lens River West Vineyard, 14.5%, $38. What makes this wine intriguing is its yin-yang balance — it’s rich yet crisp. Carried by a lively acidity, it has complex tropical flavors and a note of crème brûlée.

“Two things make this chardonnay stand out,” Morthole said. “The first thing you notice are her beautiful floral tones. But the second thing is seductive: when you taste it, you immediately feel the richness you expect, but a hint of acidity lurks in there. And seconds after the taste begins, it passes through your palate, keeping you coming back to determine if it’s a big, rich chardonnay or one with a little oomph. The fact is, it’s both.

The late Davis and Virginia Bynum, who founded the label, sold it to the Klein family in 2007. Rodney Strong Vineyards winemaker Tom Klein produces the Davis Bynum brand at his Healdsburg winery.

Davis Bynum is credited with being a pioneer of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. He bought a vineyard in Napa but was prevented from building a winery, so he moved to the Russian River Valley and bought an old hop kiln on a property on Westside Road. He turned it into a winery just in time for the 1973 harvest and bought grapes that year to make the first-ever single-vineyard Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley.

Morthole, 50, joined Rodney Strong as laboratory director in 2005 and was promoted to associate winemaker in 2007. He became a winemaker for the Davis Bynum brand in 2010.

Drawn to the world of wine after sipping a glass of Gran Reserva Tempranillo, Morthole sought a career in grape bottling.

“Twenty years ago my wife, Mary, and I traveled to Spain to visit a friend whose father worked for the International Organization of Vine and Wine in Madrid,” he said. “His father gave us the bottle. We opened it at Girl and Fig when it was still in Glen Ellen.

Morthole said he and Bynum had regular lunches during which they talked about wines and various topics.

“Davis was always a gentleman, and we grew to have a great relationship,” Morthole said.

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at [email protected] or 707-521-5310.

Good Shepherd pantry chef Joe Capobianco has been fired by the Diocese of Fall River after more than a decade of service. Capobianco served as facilities manager for Good Shepherd Catholic Parish of Martha’s Vineyard and ran the parish pantry in addition to his facilities duties.

Tom Engley, a pantry volunteer and friend of Capobianco, said Capobianco went to what he thought was a typical monthly meeting on Wednesday and was surprised at the real reason for the meeting.

The Good Shepherd food distribution program takes place every other Saturday at Oak Bluffs Parish Church. Cars are often lined up in the nearby cemetery and the schedule was particularly busy at the height of the pandemic. It’s a no questions asked distribution program with food sourced from the Boston Food Bank.

Capobianco told The Times that he recently met with the Reverend Paul Fedak and, unexpectedly, someone from human resources at the diocese. Capobianco said Fedak first asked about the recent marriage of Capobianco’s son. He then told Capobianco that his job was dissolved.

“How was the wedding?” said Capobianco. “Your job is being cut.”

Capobianco said he had no idea the meeting was about ending his job with the church.

“I’m completely sick about this,” Capobianco said. Capobianco said he felt he was the subject of an orchestrated ambush to replace him with a “contractor assistant” he had previously fired, a woman named Sara Stigleman. Capobianco alleged that Stigleman was complicit in the ambush.

“She stabbed me in the back and took that position,” he said.

Stigleman could not be reached for comment.

Capbianco said his access to the Boston Food Bank and car insurance were almost instantly terminated after the meeting he had with Fedak and the HR person.

“It’s embarrassing,” he said. “I’m disgusted. I can’t sleep.

A Good Shepherd parish secretary referred all inquiries to the Diocese of Fall River. A spokesperson for the diocese had no immediate comment but said it was reviewing the situation and would get back to The Times.

Capobianco said it was not so much the loss of his job as the “disrespectful” treatment he claimed to have received that irritated him.

In a statement during a Sunday morning service at Vineyard Haven at St. Augustine’s Church, Fedak told parishioners that Capobianco was over. Fedak told parishioners that his predecessor, the Reverend Michael Nagle, held the position for 28 years. Fedak described it as unusually long and under normal circumstances three priests would have rotated through the parish, he said. When a new priest arrives, “often what follows are changes,” he said.

Fedak said he reviewed the employees and, after saying so, appointed Capobianco and used his former title, facilities manager. “…I made the decision after praying for a year that the parish would not need a facilities manager. This post has therefore been deleted.

Fedak noted that Capobianco also runs the pantry.

“But we also have Sara Stigleman, who has worked with Joe for several months,” Fedak said. “She even has a CDL license. She can drive a heavy truck. And so last week she was able to go to the Boston Food Bank, pick up the food, get it on the boat, get it off the boat, bring it back, unload it, and with the volunteers that showed up, we have able to serve 120 boxes of fresh food to those in need. And so we want to let you know that part, we have complete confidence in Sara. And also Alicia Nicholson, whose president of this cooperative, knows that we want to continue and we have her full support – the parish will continue to do what she has been doing.

The Times could not reach Nicholson for comment Monday and could not leave a voicemail because his mailbox was full.

Capobianco also ran a Thursday meal program and Fadak said that would also continue, but without Capobianco.

“And also with meals on Thursdays, during the winter, in January and February and March. We will continue as I have already mentioned. We have several parishioners who are ready to cook. We have parishioners, God bless them all, they put the salad in the salad bowl. But we also have parishioners who are ready to cook the food. And maybe they give a little direction, what needs to be done… We also want to thank Joe for his 11 years of service in the parish – for that – we can see that we need to move forward in some areas.

Capobianco said he served the church for 13 years.

“I want the community to know how the church treated one of its employees after 13 years,” Capobianco said.

On Saturday, volunteer Tom Engley picketed the food distribution line at Good Shepherd Parish in Oak Bluffs. Engley told The Times he was a colleague and friend of Capobianco.

“It’s not fair,” Engley said. “I mean, that’s why I’m here.”

Engley made it clear that he in no way wanted to discourage people from coming for food. He was protesting what had happened to Capobiancio.

“We distributed maybe half a million pounds of food working together,” Engley said. “He was a friend of mine…I’m not even Catholic, I’m Methodist, but this cause was so great – that’s why I’m here.”

Engley went on to say, “In my opinion, they were trying to get rid of him. They tried to offer him a severance package and he didn’t accept it. Unfair. He never got along with the new priest.

Engley described Capobianco as a sexton like him, Engley is a sexton for Martha’s Vineyard United Methodist Church.

“I support Joe and the Capobianco family,” Engley said. “He started the Good Shepherd parish food basket program.”