V2 Uncorked Summer 2024
July 1, 2024
As we battle the first extreme heat wave of the season, we continue to remain excited about the promise of the 2024 vintage, with many comparing it to the exceptional 2012 growing season.
We thought we would share some updates with you as we’ve already begun preparing for harvest.
In the Winery
Absent any curveballs, we’re ready for the 2024 vintage! The new barrels have arrived and we have everything needed to produce another vintage of incredible Oregon-grown wines. Our plan for 2024 includes:
- Estate Pinot Noir
- Rose of Pinot Noir
- Estate Chardonnay
- Rocks District Estate Syrah
- Rocks District GSM (Grenache – Syrah – Mourvèdre)
- Rocks District Albariño
- Rocks District Cabernet Franc
- Rogue Valley Chenin Blanc
- Rogue Valley Pinotage
2024 will be our last Rocks District Cabernet Franc and Albariño as we transition to using our Estate Vineyard in Sheridan in 2025. Same with the Rogue Valley Chenin Blanc.
Last month, we bottled our 2023 white wines and we’re incredibly excited to share them with you in the coming months. The planned release date for the Chenin Blanc, Albarino, and our first ever Estate Chardonnay is July 19, 2024! The 2023 Rocks District Chardonnay and two wines many of you are familiar with – our Stiling Clone 76 and Clone 95 Chardonnays – will be released later this year.
We also took the next step with our 2023 sparkling wines – last month, we added yeast and sugar to the base wine (a process called tirage) and then bottled them to start secondary fermentation. Now the LONG wait begins… in late 2026 we will have our Estate Sparkling Rose, Estate Blanc de Blanc, and Estate Blanc de Noir.
We’re also excited for what we hope is a recurring event. We’ve invited a few local wine club members and guests to our tasting room on July 18th to help us make some preliminary decisions on 2023 Pinot Noir blends. We’re going to taste through and blend samples from 47 different barrels to see what stands out! We’ll share some pictures via our social media channels later this month.
In the Vineyards
The Summer Solstice is behind us now, so canopy growth slows a bit in both of our vineyards.
In The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, we have five acres of very healthy vines that don’t quite look like two and three-year-old vines – they look much more mature! We’re expecting our first estate Syrah harvest sometime around the third week of September. I keep finding myself taking the three-and-a-half-hour drive to check out the vineyard’s growth. Here’s a link to a video taken last year introducing you to the Set in Stone vineyard.
At our estate vineyard in Sheridan, we’ve had a relatively cool Spring with some periodic rain but we’re settling in for our first heat wave with no rain in sight. With the exception of some frost damage to the Fehr Block (Chardonnay Clone 76) and Elk’s Envy Block (Pinot Noir Clone 115), we’re through Bloom now with good fruit set, and tracking for a late September / early October harvest.
As a reminder, we’re always happy to welcome visitors to the vineyard for an elevated wine tasting by reservation. Wine club members are always welcome to visit for a tasting or a picnic, just let us know and we’re happy to host you or provide a code to access the property – your preference!
In the Tasting Room
Wine tourism is in full swing here in the Willamette Valley and it’s been great to welcome so many new visitors!
On July 14th, it’s our official 2022 Syrah Release and in the tasting room. That day, we’ll be offering barrel tastings from our 2023 Syrah with a cheese pairing (in terms of a prediction, we think this Syrah will be our first Reserve – aka “Infrared” – from The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA).
As previously mentioned, look for the release of our 2023 Chenin Blanc, Albariño and Estate Chardonnay on July 19th. These unique white varietals will be a refreshing welcome during the summer heat and will be available in our tasting room and online.
Also, we’re excited to announce that we’re taking our tasting room virtual! We’re partnering with Vinovae to bottle smaller tasting bottles that can be sent to those interested in an online, virtual tasting! Perfect for virtual team events or a casual tasting from the comfort of your home, we will ship wines directly to participants with recommended food or cheese pairings. For our wine club members, these virtual tastings are available once a year free of charge. Stay tuned this Fall for a more formal announcement and how to schedule your virtual tasting.
Upcoming Events
As mentioned in our Spring Newsletter, we’re excited to participate in the International Pinot Noir Celebration (http://ipnc.org) at Linfield University in McMinnville, OR from July 26th through the 28th. We’ll be joining 70 featured wineries from all over the world on the 28th to pour for guests.
We’re also excited to participate in the Willamette Valley Winegrower’s Association’s annual Pinot Auction (https://www.willamettewines.auction/), which brings together buyers to bid on specially bottled wines, with all proceeds directed to helping support the promotion of our exceptional Oregon wine region. The wine we crafted is called “Taylor + Two”, which is sourced from our estate vineyard in Sheridan. This 2022 wine was our first opportunity to get our oldest son’s name on a label (with a nod to his two younger brothers who regularly get named on a label!).
Enjoy your Summer (stay cool!) and we hope to see you in the Willamette Valley this year. If you’re planning a visit during harvest, it’s looking like the third week in September through the first week of October for our vineyards and varietals.
Cheers!
Brian and April
