In last week’s video on leaf pulling, we mentioned that summer temperatures in Northern Sonoma County have been 10-20 degrees below normal. Veraison, when the green grapes change color and increase their sugar levels, started the first week in August. As a rule of thumb, harvest begins roughly six weeks after 100 percent veraison. What [...]
Posts by Ronald
A South Africa native, Ronald arrived at Jordan for a three-month internship in 2000, became an integral part of the team and never looked back. Former volunteer firefighter.
Video: cool weather, grape veraison and thinning fruit before harvest
by Ronald on August 24, 2010 in From the Vineyards
Winemaker video cam: touring vineyards on an electric ATV
by Ronald on August 5, 2010 in From the Vineyards
As a long-term member of the Sonoma Green Business Program, we are constantly looking for new ways to decrease our impact on the environment. Our latest project in viticulture & winemaking is the electric all-terrain vehicle (ATV), shown in above video. Our first locally supplied electric four wheeler arrived last week. A prototype developed by [...]
Cooperage trial tastings: which barrel producers make the cut
by Ronald on April 15, 2010 in From the Cellar
Twice a year our winemaking team spends several weeks conducting a series of blind tastings to assess the merits of each cooperage from which we source barrels. Although we only work with the finest coopers, we still believe it’s important to test their performance every year to ensure the quality and consistency of the oak [...]
Recycling and Chardonnay winemaking
by Ronald on January 13, 2010 in From the Cellar
One of the vital steps to crafting a great Chardonnay involves lees, residual yeast cells that remain in contact with the wine during fermentation and aging. The lees help give Chardonnay its round mouthfeel and mild tannins. When fermentation and aging are complete, we rack our Chardonnay from the lees, leaving the yeast cells as a by-product. In keeping [...]
