We have a saying in the farming community. "Every year we dance with Mother Nature - and she leads." This year she was a tough partner. As we feared, this spring's extreme cold really affected the crop. Not in terms of quality, we adjusted our farming methods to compensate for the frost damage, and the fruit we harvested is excellent. It looks like 2008 is going to be another very fine vintage. However, the crop was 33% smaller than usual and even though we planned to make more wine from Kanzler Vineyard's home estate, we simply didn't have the fruit. The good news is that we were able to source some really great fruit from another vineyard in west Sonoma County, and will be able to slightly increase production over last year. 

We still have a little bit of Pommard clone from the slowest ripening part of the vineyard to process. It's usually the last fruit in Sonoma County to get picked, which is one of the reasons Kanzler Vineyard produces such great Pinot. The extended hang time allows the fruit to really mature and develop complex, intense flavors. Other than that, we have processed almost all of our fruit and it is now safely in barrel.

Here's hoping that Mother Nature is a kinder and more bountiful partner in 2009.

Steve, Lynda, and Greg