CUSTOMER APPRECIATION WEEKEND
December 8 and 9
We can't believe it's that time of year already. Every December we set aside a couple a weekend to thank you, our loyal customers. We have Chef Ben working overtime, creating some tasty morsels, each to be paired with one of the Pinnacle Ridge wines. We would love to see you at the winery from noon to 5 p.m. on December 8 and 9 to check out our food and wine pairings and also our new releases and old favorites.
JOIN PINNACLE RIDGE TO CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS
The holidays are nearly here. Are you ready? We can help! We have more than wine. Check out our gift cards, wine baskets, gourmet food items, fine stemware, a huge selection of colorful gift bags for this wonderful time of year. Create a custom basket by picking out your favorite items and we'll put it together for you. In regards to our wine, inventory is getting low on several varieties so stop by before they disappear for good.
2012 HARVEST UPDATE
After a couple of extreme years, 2010 being exceptionally hot and dry and 2011 being exceptionally wet, we had a "normal" year in 2012. Notice that "normal" is in quotes. The reality is that no two vintages are the same; there are always twists and turns that are unique to each vintage and 2012 was no exception.
March and April were exceptionally warm leading to a record early bud break. Early bud break is wonderful from the standpoint that it usually leads to an early harvest (resulting in riper fruit and a better chance of harvest beating the fall hurricanes). The downside of the early bud break is that there is risk of frost damage. The general rule of thumb is that May 15 is the last day of frost in our area.
The estate vineyard escaped frosts but our friends at Round Ridge Farms were not so lucky and had significant frost damage to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Merlot in late April. May and June were fairly normal with regard to rain. Temperatures started rising at the end of June and early July to record levels with over a week straight over 90 degrees. It got to the point that after 22 years of living in a home without air conditioning I finally called a contractor to install air conditioning. At this point we were thinking that we had another 2010 on our hands with the exception that we had more rain in 2012 than in 2010.
July and August provided continued warm temperatures and also normal rainfalls. The generally warm conditions throughout the summer coupled with the early bud break did result in a record early harvest for us. We commenced harvest with our Cayuga for our Blanc de Blanc and Pinot Noir for our Brut Rose on August 31. September brought cloudy weather for the first week and normal rainfall and temperatures. We avoided hurricane weather but it wasn't exceptionally dry. October continued the same trend with normal temperatures and rainfall. We missed an exceptional vintage due to normal rainfall in August and September but we did end up with a "normal" vintage!
Watch for the first 2012's to start coming out in February.
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