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Hectic Harvest! Only three and a half weeks into harvest and the grapes are arriving at NASCAR speeds. As of September 3rd Cline Cellars has crushed 1388 tons of grapes. The last ten days, the winery on average has been crushing 100 tons a day with a record day of 171 tons on September 2nd.
Zinfandel grapes dumped into the hopper.
Stay tuned for Cline Cellars' continuous coverage of Harvest 2001!
Question of the Month? What do you mean when a wine is going to be "pressed off"? Pressing of wine is a process in which grapes or grape pomace is squeezed to release juice or wine from the solid parts. The piece of equipment to perform this process is called a wine press. This machine separates grape juice or wine from the solids - seeds, skins and stems. When the grapes are received at harvest the white wines are pressed immediately, prior to fermentation process.The reds are usually pressed after fermentation because during fermentation the extraction of color, tannins and flavors take place for red wine. Wine Question? E-mail epcline@sonic.net
Pressed wine from the wine press. |
other News...
Hot Wines From the Wine Spectator on-line wine reviews... "Here are a pair of distinctive wines that offer exceptional quality and value, from a winery that appreciates the relationship between the two..." 90 points- 1999 Syrah Los Carneros & 1999 Mourvèdre Small Berry Vineyard "The latest releases include the intense Syrah Los Carneros 1999, with rich black cherry, game meat, mineral, leather and earth flavors. The Cline Mourvèdre Contra Costa County Small Berry Veneered 1999 is remarkably harmonious with its chewy tannins and focused notes of eucalyptus, bay leaf, spice and blueberry. Run don't walk, to secure these two striking wines."
Visit our Cline Cellars Calendar Page for upcoming winery events.
Come visit CLINE CELLARS' beautiful winery, located in the Carneros District in Sonoma Valley.Tours everyday at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m..Call our Tasting Room for a reservation 800/546-2070 or 707/935-4310.Cline Cellars 24737 Hwy. 121, Sonoma, CA Visit Cline Cellars' Distributors Websites Bacchus Importers Ltd.
- Maryland and Washington D.C. |
"I'm getting crushed (no pun intended)",
stated Dawne Sacchetti, Enologist at Cline Cellars. The steady pace is keeping the cellar crew working 12-14 hour
days, 7 days a week. The fun is just beginning says wine maker Matt Cline. "Crushing grapes is easy, the true
challenge and wine making starts now". Matt needs to decide with his wine making team if wines will be kept
separate or blended, what tanks to receive incoming fruit, what wines are to be pressed... just to name a few tasks.
Not to mention any crisis that was not planned for.
Speaking
of crisis, late Friday afternoon before the Labor Day weekend, Cline experienced a problem with their cooling system.
The cooling system regulates the temperature on the stainless steel tanks, if too hot the wine will ferment quickly,
diminishing wine quality. One would expect panic but the crew took it all in stride. Luckily for Cline it was late
in the day and the outside temperature was in the mid-80's keeping inside temperature at bay. The system was up
and running smoothly by Sunday.
