CLOS PEPE NEWSLETTER

POST HARVEST ‘99

Inside this Newsletter:

News and Reviews:

Harvest is a low-yield success story, First Estate Pinot Noir gets picked and crushed, New Producers get fruit from CPV. Cellar report.

Personalities:

Chanda Adams joins the Crew, More Dogs than you can Shake a Stick At. Wes continues his Wine Education at the L.A. County Fair.

Vigneron’s Narrative: 

The Pepe Italian Heritage is inescapable:  Olives and Bocce and (of course) Wine.

Harvest Data

See what each section of our vineyard produced and how many bottles of wine our producers are going to make!

Viticulturist Writes!  

Articles on Wine and Family and an Anecdotal Harvest Offering.

Pictures of Harvest

For those who couldn’t make it up to help with the picking.

Check out Clos Pepe's FULL Website by Clicking Here!

News and Reviews

HARVEST IS OVER

    As of the first week of November, the entire vineyard is picked! The year began gray and cold, then Summer came. Unfortunately it was gray and cold. The end of Summer was sunny and cold, and then we had a few short heat spells in October and November that saved the crop. The tiny amount of Pinot Noir that was grown this year was harvested in Mid-October, and was fermented, punched down and pressed by hand and is now sitting in four sixty-gallon French Oak barrels. The entire production of Pinot Noir this year from Clos Pepe will be about 100 cases from 14 acres. The first Pinot Noir wine from Clos Pepe tasted great right out of the press--and is an encouraging sign that the red wine from our vineyard will be as tasty, concentrated and complex as the Chardonnay.
    As for Chardonnay, we harvested a bit more than 25 tons on 13.7 acres, which rounds out to less than 2 tons per acre. We hope these type of ridiculously low yields will account for unusual concentration and complexity in the wines our producers make. Chardonnay grapes were picked and delivered to the following wineries: Longoria, Ojai, Hitching Post, Testarossa and L’aventure. Total case production from all these wineries is expected to be around 1500+ cases. Wineries reported being very pleased with the taste of the juice and the golden color of the grapes, a result of leaf-thinning and careful canopy management. Most of these wineries will be producing vineyard designated Clos Pepe wines--which means they will not blend our wine with wine from other vineyards, and they will put our vineyard’s name somewhere on the label. Ojai, Testarossa and L’aventure, all sweethearts of the wine press of late, have come on board, sharing newly on-line vineyard blocks (Chardonnay) and those previously sold to Babcock Vineyards. Contact information will be available for all these producers on the newly redesigned and improved Clos Pepe website: www.clospepe.com.

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Clos Pepe Wines Taste Good

The Clos Pepe crew has tasted the Chardonnays from last year's harvest (1998 Vintage), and we must say that we are excited. For the rookie commercial year (the vines were three years in the ground in 1998), the wines show great complexity, purity of fruit, and wonderful intensity. The wines have been poured publically twice at two separate L.A. County Fair Wine Education events, and were received quite favorably, even by those who don't regularly enjoy California Chardonnays. Hitching Post Chardonay, 1998 will be reviewed in the next newsletter. Clos Pepe Chardonnay from 1998 was produced by:

Babcock 1998 Chardonnay, Clos Pepe:
50 cases made. The most complex wine of the bunch--made from Dijon 76 Clone at a scant 1.75 tons/acre. This wine is wonderfully intense in the mouth, benefits from 1/2 new French Oak barrelling (11 months), and is a fruity, minerally powerhouse that finishes dry as a bone and has a great balance between full malolactic creaminess and a wonderful citrusy structure. Put this one blind into a White Burgundy tasting and see what happens. There are a few cases still available ($25 a bottle). Those who ordered this wine and have not made arrangements with the winery are urged to call before the rest of the readership snaps up the last few bottles. Call Babcock at (805) 736-1455.

Longoria 1998 Chardonnay, Clos Pepe:
Set for release in February, this is the crowd pleaser--and the most popular of the Clos Pepe wines that I've poured. The grapes are 100% Wente Clone from the partially sheltered vines on the west end of the property. The keywords for the '98 Longoria Clos Pepe is balance, power and finesse. The wine is wonderfully intense and balanced between tropical-laced fruit, baked apples, nuttiness, minerals and acid. It's too damn good to serve cold--we recommend cellar temperature. Feel free to call Longoria and see if there's any left--but as far as I know the 100 cases are all allocated. Longoria: (805) 688-0305

Brewer-Clifton 1998 Chardonnay, Clos Pepe:
It's all gone, but damn was it good. From the 5 Clone in the middle of Clos Pepe. This wine is reminescent of great village Chablis--flinty minerals, complex, subdued fruit and enough acidity to make a standard California Chardonnay drinker lose a layer of cheek lining. Go ahead and beg Greg and Steve for a bottle: (805) 452-5609

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Cellar News--'99 Wines Rock  

Even though we're not a bonded winery yet, we're making pushing the legal limit of 'homemade' wine, and practicing for the day when we begin selling estate Clos Pepe. Again, these wines are not for sale, nor will they be, but we'd be happy to talk trades. Remember: Wes REALLY likes Chapelle-Chambertin from 1972. Here's what's chilling in the cellar:

Estate Pinot Noir '99:
We picked a tiny bit of Estate Pinot Noir from second year vines--just enough (off 14 acres) to make a few barrels. As of early November, the 115 clone is the clear winner for intensity and complexity--the wine is tasting great right out of the press and the barrel is raided a few times a week. The Pommard and the 667 clones are also tasting great, but are less intense and show just a hint of herbal tones blended in with great red, juicy fruits. Pinot Noir is generally a difficult wine to judge at press time, but we are very excited to follow the evolution of these first Estate Pinots, and to share our tasting notes with you.

Estate Chardonnay '99:
This was a LONG growing year--we picked Chardonnay from early October to mid-November, which is really unheard of. Fortunately, all of our contracts allow me to pick 1/4 ton of Chardonnay from any field, and I was able to pick and choose some really nice fruit to make our 1999 Estate Chardonnay blend. The wine is smelling superb (pineapple, bananas and grapefruit) through primary fermentation, and for those who like wine with great structure and complexity, this 'late-season' Chard should be classic.

Estate Methode de Champenoise '99:
Waste not, want not. I saved all the juice from my field samples, and it turned out to be a blend of unripe Chardonnay and Pinot noir perfectly suited for sparkling wine. Only 5 gallons--but very pink, very chalky-minerally and extremely tasty.

Purisima Vineyard Syrah '99:
Beckmen Vineyards traded me some Syrah for some Clos Pepe Estate (20 Brix, 2.9 pH) Pinot noir that they are making into a Blanc de Noir sparkling wine. The Syrah was perfectly ripe and tastes fantastic right out of the press pan and the barrel. Now I just need to find a little Grenache or Mourvedre for blending.

Personalities

Chanda Adams Joins the Crew--and Just in Time!

    Wes and Chanda Adams (her first name is pronounced like the word 'panda' with a hard 'ch' sound) met in April, and after attending the Santa Barbara County Vintner's Association Vintner's Festival, it was obvious that cupid's arrow had struck them both square in their respective hearts. It was only a matter of time until Wes urged Chanda to come up and be part of vineyard life--and to his surprise, she agreed! The vineyard and Wes' office have undergone an amazing transformation, as Chanda's organizational skills are well known from Santa Barbara (where she was born) to Ohio (where she attended a special Equestrian program at University of Findlay), to Lompoc--her new home away from home. Chanda still misses Santa Barbara, and a few times a month Wes and Chanda return to do a little shopping or to eat at one of their favorite restaurants--the incomparable Bouchon or the cozy little booths at the Blue Agave.
    During the 1999 Vintage, Chanda has participated in tying and pruning young vines, shoot positioning, leaf-thinning, field testing, harvest and a full season of winemaking. Her calm, perfectionist nature complements Wes' frenetic enthusiam perfectly. Former crew regulars Ariel Lavie and Angela Hobbs took positions at the Central Coast Wine Warehouse before harvest this year, and Chanda did a wonderful job filling in for them. Ariel and Angela (or the 'A-Team' as they are affectionately known), were able to come back and help with harvest, and were rewarded with wine and sticky hands. Other Lompoc friends also joined in for some harvest 'fun'--Ron Randrup has become an enthusiastic regular around these parts, as has Becky Howard and Dave Gaertig.
    We all hope Chanda will remain at the Clos for many, many more harvests, and that the Twenty-First Century will herald great things for both Clos Pepe Vineyards and the loving bond between our Viticulturist-in-Residence and the lovely and talented Miss Adams.

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A Tale of Five Canines

 
    Once upon a time, on a quiet vineyard in Santa Barbara County, there lived a viticulturist and his dog. Many were the mornings when the viticulturist would wake at the crack of dawn and take his beloved Border Collie, Rosa, for a walk through the fog-laden rows of Pinot noir and Chardonnay. It was a simple, hard-working life that both the viticulturist and Rosa enjoyed. A somewhat lonely existence. The vineyard was quiet and peaceful.
    One night in Isla Vista, a magical land of smelly college couches and never-ending beer kegs, Wes met a Princess named Chanda at a party where a mutual friend was playing in a band. Without warning, Wes swept Chanda up in his arms, and after months of courting and gifts of wine and fine food, Chanda packed up her things and moved North to Wes' diminutive Vineyard Castle. With Chanda came Winston, a Pug wisened by age, who became famous for his impetuous attitude, laziness and his propensity for making strange (but endearing) guttural noises. Now there were two dogs at Clos Pepe.
    Chanda mentioned, one night while Wes was under the spell of a great Sanford Pinot noir, that she had always wanted Greyhounds--and now that we had a 'back forty' completely fenced and dog friendly, it might be a good time to rescue a few ex-racing dogs. With haste, the loving couple drove to Acton and returned with Indi (full Greyhound, ex-racer) and Tiva (Greyhound/Whippet mix). Both dogs are brindled like tigers and are faster than any vehicle on the vineyard--hitting top speeds of about forty miles per hour. Chanda was excited that her dreams were coming true, and Wes was assured that the shoot-chewing rabbits on the property were in big trouble. How could they escape such speed and vigilence? And how would the world-famous wonder-Dalmatian Bud react after seeing that his vineyard Kingdom had been usurped? Bud grudgingly accepted his new doggie 'brothers', even though the 'hounds' usually ignore rabbits for their favorite pastime: couch-warming. There are now five dogs at Clos Pepe, and even the roving bands of hungry coyotes roving the hills North of the Clos feel outnumbered. The vet bills may be more than the food bills, but Chanda and the Viticulturist are never without companionship or something furry nuzzling them with a wet nose. Pictures of all the dogs (and Chanda too) can be seen on the vineyard website: www.clospepe.com/people.html

VIGNERON VIGNETTES

>From the Pen of Stephen Pepe, Vigneron Extraordinaire:

    As our long term, faithful subscribers will recall, these epistles used to be solely the work of the Vigneron - though some doubt it if he had that much humor and wit, and a few suggested that they must be written by L'Agent. A few careful erudite subscribers knew that the butchered syntax and grammatical faux pas could only be the work of the Vigneron. Thereafter, with the arrival of the then Writer-in-Residence, cum Putative Pumpkin Grower, cum Viticulturist-in-Residence, cum Winemaker Extraordinaire, the Vigneron's writing efforts have been relegated to the back pages of this epistle. Some have noted this change; however, the Vigneron's mother observed that she really liked the last issue and wondered when the next one was coming!

TRAPPER DAN

    Gophers have discovered that vineyards make a wonderful gourmet buffet. Plants grow in such nice orderly rows. The gophers can make their burrows underneath each row of the vineyard and eat to their heart's content. We have tried various methods to discourage these voracious eaters without much luck. We have eschewed the most effective method - poison - since while it does kill the gopher; unfortunately, the owls, hawks, falcons, and other birds can eat the dead gophers and might die as well - which is not good. (note from Viticulturist: no birds or non-target animals have died as a result of our scant use of non-restricted gopher poison.)
    So after unsuccessfully battling these wiley gophers for the last several years, we brought in a professional - Trapper Dan! He is a retiree who shows up with several days' growth of beard and a gopher skin hat! He arrives trailing his specially equipped ATV gopher mobile. For reasons that the Vigneron cannot understand, Trapper Dan, when he leaves the gopher mobile at the vineyard, covers it with a camouflage tarp. Perhaps he suspects the gophers will discover it and slash its tires or put sugar in the gas tank, or steal the distributor cap. In any event, Trapper Dan charges $2.00 per gopher. After about two weeks, he announced he had trapped several dozen gophers and asked if we wanted to see the dead bodies and what did we want done with them. The Vigneron suggested, following his Roman forbearers, that Trapper Dan cut off the gophers' heads and stick them on the spikes on the front gate as a warning to their brethren. L'Agent gave the Vigneron one of her "we need to adjust your testosterone level" stares, and changed the subject. Since Trapper Dan has been so effective, we have upped his pay to $3.00 per gopher and made him an eternal friend by plying him with Cuban cigars. (Viticulturist's note: no Cubans or customs agents were harmed in the creative procurement of said cigars).

OLIVE TREES

    Now that the vineyard is planted and may even start to have a positive cash flow, the Vigneron decided to plant 210 Italian olive trees around the mobile home in anticipation of making olive oil. L'Agent has aptly noted that neither the Vigneron nor the Viticulturist-in-Residence knows anything about olive trees or olive oil production, there isn't an olive oil press within 300 miles and it takes at least six years before any significant olives can be produced for oil. The Vigneron responded it's in the blood and if you plant the trees the presses will come. L'Agent walked away muttering something about this being another attempt to delay converting the stable into the Retirement Residence.

THEME PARK DEVELOPMENTS

    When one has 40 acres of land and is watching the grapes grow, it encourages adding some recreational activities. First came the pool table. This seems to run in the Hagen bloodline since the first born put one in his living room in his first house - it beat buying a sofa. So of course the Ranch had to have a pool table. That was quickly followed by a foosball table. Next came a horseshoe pit and then the Viticulturist-in-Residence decided the crew, aka himself, needed a real basketball court - the hoop in the hay barn just would not do anymore. So he and friends put in a half basketball court on the end of the hay barn. The Vigneron is still trying to figure out how to describe this deduction on his 1040 Form. Next came skate board ramps on each side of the basketball court. The Vigneron has opined that worker's comp would not cover this! Then L'Agent noted that if the basketball court were bigger she could use it as a roller skating - not blade skating - rink. So the Vigneron had a 5 foot concrete path poured around the other three sides of the hay barn to make a rink and even slightly banked the turns. L'Agent was delighted - finally she could roller skate and also get some exercise! On her first use of the roller rink she lost her balance, fell on her derrière and has not tried again. The Vigneron is concerned that the IRS will disallow this deduction as well. Finally, the Vigneron decided to put in the first regulation Bocce court in the Santa Ynez Valley. Only those whose name ends in a vowel are permitted to play.

L'AGENT MAXES THE FAIR AGAIN

    For the second year, L'Agent's miniature doll house again won a gold medal and was again voted Best of Show. She cannot understand why the Vigneron and the Viticulturist-in-Residence can only get a gold medal every couple of years. The Vigneron is concerned that L'Agent may be tiring of her miniature doll houses and will devote her considerable energies to the Retirement Residence. Fortunately, under their business arrangement, he and the Viticulturist-in-Residence continue to be able to out-vote her on major expenditures!

STICKER SHOCK

    The end of this summer, the Vigneron and L'Agent stopped off at Bouchon, a new restaurant in Santa Barbara, for dinner. The Vigneron, while perusing the wine list, exclaimed "holy cow!" and noted that the Brewer-Clifton Clos Pepe Vineyard chardonnay was on the wine list and was one of the most expensive Chardonnays at $50 per bottle. L'Agent could not figure out if he was surprised our wine was on the wine list or was reacting to the fact that he received $2.10 for the grapes that went into that bottle of wine. In any event, the Vigneron ordered a different, less expensive, wine for dinner.

Here ends another exciting installment of the Vigneron's Vignettes

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A half-ton of Wente Clone Chardonnay

Richard Longoria Wines: Harvest:10/14/99 Numbers:23.5 Brix@ 3.1 pH
12 Bins:        10,700 Pounds         5.35 Tons         Wente Chardonnay   
5.35 tons x 165 gallons = 880 gallons/60 gallons = 14+ barrels x 24 = 335 cases x 12= 4020 bottles

Ojai Vineyards: Harvest: 10/30/99 Numbers: 23.8 Brix @ 3.25 pH
9 Bins        7350 Pounds         3.68 Tons    Dijon 76 Chardonnay
3.68 tons x 165 gallons = 605 gallons/60 gallons = 10 barrels x 24 = 240 cases x 12= 2880 bottles

Hartley/Ostini:  Harvest: 11/2/99 Numbers: 23.8 Brix@ 3.08 pH
21 Bins        17670 Pounds         9.2 Tons    D4 Chardonnay
9.2 tons x 165 gallons = 1518gallons/60 gallons = 25 barrels x 24 = 600 cases x 12= 7200 bottles

Testarossa Vineyards: Harvest: 11/1/99 Numbers: 23.6 Brix @ 3.17 pH
9 Bins        7940 Pounds         3.97 Tons    Wente Chardonnay
3.97 tons x 165 gallons = 655 gallons/60 gallons = 11 barrels x 24 = 264 cases x 12= 3168 bottles

L'aventure Wines: Harvest 10/29/99 Numbers: 23.6 Brix @ 3.18 pH
10 Bins        7710 Pounds         3.86 Tons    D5 Chardonnay
3.86 tons x 165 gallons = 637 gallons/60 gallons = 11 barrels x 24 = 264 cases x 12= 3168 bottles

Total Yields:
Dijon: 3.68 Tons @ 2.2 acres = 1.67 tons/acre
Wente: 9.32 Tons @ 4.3 acres = 2.16 tons/acre
D4: 8.4 Tons @ 4.0 acres = 2.1 tons/acre
D5: 3.86 Tons @ 3.2 acres = 1.2 tons/acre

GRAND TOTAL: 25.26 Tons @ 13.7 = 1.84 tons/acre.
25.26 tons x 165 gallons = 4168gallons/60 gallons = 69 barrels x 24 = 1656 cases x 12= 19872 bottles



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Viticulturist Writes!

Wine, Table and Family Values
Remembering Wine from Childhood.
By Wes Hagen,
Vineyard Manager Clos Pepe Vineyards
Reprinted from Savor Magazine, Spring 1999.

    When I think of wine I think of family and friends. I think of sitting around a lively table--a culinary wonderland full of sumptuous treats, fresh baked breads, grilled meats and vegetables, sipping some handcrafted Santa Barbara County Syrah or Pinot Noir. We sip wine and discuss life's challenges, memories of years past-- what it means to be alive--eating, drinking, indulging in the libations that reward toil and responsibility. These are the pleasures of wine, family and table.
    This description of wine and table can be found anywhere in America, in any city, although it is far more common in Europe. Spending three or four hours at table with family is common in France and Italy. Mainstream America has lost a European cultural treasure--that of drinking wine with family, teaching the younger generations about wine's benefits and dangers, modeling responsible drinking, showing the youth how wine and food can provide a supportive, loving family experience. It is easy to see that this philosophy of alcohol education works. Alcoholism rates are significantly lower in countries that commonly serve wine to children. American children and teens often learn about alcohol by binge drinking in secret, and getting sick or dying, because no one has taken the time to show them how alcohol, and specifically wine, is enjoyed in moderation with family and friends. As long as alcohol is a taboo in our society, children will continue to drink as a rebellious act.
    In interviewing a number of adults who enjoyed wine with their families as children, I found that a pattern emerged. Out of the six interviews (4 Americans and 2 Europeans), 5 of the six still drink wine, and none drink more than a few drinks at a sitting. All of them remember wine as being an integral part of the dining experience, and all recalled the family dining experience in glowing, positive terms. Many described eating with wine as a 'social act', an act as old and as venerated as any human tradition. What would Christians drink for Communion if Jesus didn't have wine at the Last Supper? How many great philosophies would have been rendered mute but for the muse-like influence of fermented grape juice? How many poems would have gone unwritten? How many couples would never have fallen in love?
Joan, an Italian-American in Massachussetts started drinking wine at table when she was 9 years old. She allows her children to have some wine at table as well, and finds it to be 'a natural part of the dining experience'. Susana Marquez, who lives in Portugal, enjoys wine as a daily part of lengthy lunches and dinners with friends. Her parents began to allow her a small glass of wine at dinner at the age of eight, and she never thought anything of it because it was the 'norm' in her culture. To her, wine makes dining 'relaxing and more sociable'. To her it's just part of life.
    Leighann in Charleston, South Carolina remembers wonderful wine and table memories from her childhood. What did she learn from having a family that ate and drank wine together every day?
'I remember sitting at table with my family,' Leighann recalls fondly. 'The togetherness was the important part. Wine makes dining a nicer and more social experience. Those early experiences taught me two things about wine, appreciation and moderation.'
    Emily is 24 years old and is an art student in San Francisco. She remembers trying wine at table as a young girl, but admits she didn't develop a true appreciation for it until she was about 16. Recalling her early experiences, Emily admitted that she has never abused alcohol the way many of her friends did, and partially attributes her moderation to her family's guiding hand.
    'It brought the family together at dinner. I remember my father coming home from a stressful day of work and how family, wine and food would quickly change his mood. Wine at dinner is a wonderful time to let the stress dissipate and have some lighthearted discussion. It brought us back to what was important: family togetherness.'
    Emily goes on to explain how her family wine education affected her later on in life.
    'I took a break from wine when I moved away from home, but I found in my early twenties that I was coming back to it. I took what I learned from family and applied it to my current drinking habits--moderation, and how wine enhances meals and friendships. It really brings people together.'
    I was fortunate enough to have parents that taught me wine. I remember my folks and their 'Gourmet Club' in Palos Verdes, California back in the mid-seventies. They would get together with a dozen friends every month and cook all Saturday and sip different wines. I would help in the kitchen, and I would be rewarded with sips, and I recall the Club's surprise that I preferred red wines to white (I was about 8 at the time). I remember doing dishes and then going to bed, and the sounds of gleeful laughter that would filter into my bedroom late into the evening, and my parents coming to check on me and my brother after the guests had walked home. Recalling the kind words of family and friends, the delicious food and wines, I wonder how much those years influenced me in choosing wine for my vocation. It's amazing what love and support will do for a child.
    Wine has never been so popular in America--or maligned. As wine's popularity skyrockets due to a robust economy, improved quality and medicinal benefits, Neo-Prohibitionists, led by Strom Thurmond, the undying wine-enemy in Washington, try to knock it down from its lofty pedestal. Fortunately, the more we study wine and its history, the more we realize what a social, cultural, familial and medical treasure it is. To me, 'family values' starts at the dinner table, it provides children and young adults the opportunity to express their beliefs and share in the traditions of a lost cultural art--using wine responsibly as a catalyst for discussion and pleasure.

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Harvest 1999
You Reap What you Sow

    At a recent 1997 White Burgundy tasting I attended the subject of farming came up. It turns out that the favored producer at the event, Leflaive, has been farming without chemicals successfully for years, and in a difficult 1997 harvest was able to not only bring in a crop, but produced some of the star wines of an underwhelming vintage. A representative from Wilson Daniels, the distributor of Leflaive wines in the U.S., gave a very informative talk on biodynamic farming, and how the Domaine Leflaive use special composts to stimulate the vines' own resistance to disease.
    I seemed more interested in the farming methods of the Domaine than some of my fellow tasters, all of whom were successful L.A. businessmen. With my long hair and my cheap, unpressed suit I was definitely out of my element.
    'What do you do, Wes?' asked one of my neighbors, between sips of the Bienvenue and the Puligny-Montrachet.
    'I'm a farmer.'
    He guessed my game.
    'You grow grapes for wine?'
    'Chardonnay and Pinot Noir,' I answered.
    'You must be close to harvest.
    'Very close. Maybe next week.'
    He was an amiable sort of man--the kind of hard-working-by-day and Bacchanalian-by-night sort that wouldn't let the pleasures of wine escape him. I find these people a pleasure to talk to.
    'And what did you think of these wines?' he asked.
    'For 97's I think they're profound,' I answered. 'These grapes were grown without any chemical input. Not even sulfur. In a tough year. I guess happy vines make happy wine.'
    On the three hour drive back to Santa Barbara that night I thought about two things. First: I was jealous that my neighbor drank all seven Leflaive wines while I spit most of them out. Second: I thought about those biodynamic Chardonnays and realized that the quality of wine produced from any vineyard is determined by the time, passion and effort that a vineyard manager applies during the growing year, and how their efforts impacted both the harvested crop and the long term health of the vine. It wasn't a revelation, but it reconfirmed my beliefs about farming.
    Maybe great French white wine makes me philosophical. But from that moment on, I have had a slightly different view of my role as a vineyard manager. When I arrived home that night, back from the City of Lights and back to where the Pinot Noir clusters hang like silhouttes on the moonlit hillside, I was intrigued by the idea of treating the vine's health instead of treating the specific pests that attack it. It was a beautiful way to give respect to the vines, right before they would be harvested for wine.
    Harvest only happens once a year--I have only one chance per four seasons to grow a great wine. Within forty-eight hours of the Leflaive tasting, I was picking Pinot Noir for a tiny lot of Beckmen Blanc de Noir sparkling wine. It was a perfect morning for picking--cool and foggy to keep the fruit cool until it reached the winery. We walked through the rows, picking up dew-soaked bird netting and scuttling in for a few clusters--snipped them where they attached to the cane, and dropped three or four clusters at a time into a 5 gallon white bucket with a handle. One person ran full buckets to a 1/2 ton picking bin that is pulled behind a narrow tractor and distributed empty buckets as necessary. A good picker can pick a ton per day, but we only picked a half-ton that day, so we were done by 9:00 AM and had the fruit to the winery by 10:00. Joey Tensley stomped the fruit in front of us, getting the juice out of the grapes so it could soak up some color for a few hours before pressing. The smell of crushed Pinot Noir is intoxicating in itself--juicy, fruity, complex. Picking such a tiny lot was a good warm-up for the madness that will ensue in a few weeks, when harvest really begins. Harvest is a time to re-evaluate what we learned from the growing year, to deliver the grapes that will make the 1999 Vintage, and to begin planning for next year's crops. We all hope the vines can be healthier, the wines will keep getting better, and the future will be bright for Santa Barbara County wine.

VISIT www.clospepe.com and LEARN WINE!!!

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