Harvest 2017...done!

And just like that, the 2017 harvest is done.  The grapes brought in were lovingly turned in to some top notch juice, and are now nestled in to their barrels to rest for a bit.  We saw our first fruit of the season, Sauvignon Blanc and then Semillon, come in from Klipsun Vineyard just after Labor Day.  Reds started to come in just after that.  Mostly from the eastern facing Quintessence Vineyard, but we worked our way west with the sun, and finished up by picking our own Fidelitas Estate Vineyard in mid-October.  It is wonderful and challenging to have all of our fruit from the smallest, and warmest, AVA in the state.  Everything ripens at about the same time, all vying for space in the cellar.  Charlie and his crew worked around the clock to keep things moving along, and just took their first weekend off a few days ago.

A special shout out to Charlie, who just completed his 30th harvest in Washington state.  His first winemaking job, fresh out of UC Davis, was at the start of crush in 1988 at Langguth/Saddle Mountain, and he’s never looked back.  We have just a handful of winemakers in Washington nowadays who can claim three decades, and I’m proud to be working with one of them.  When I asked him about this 2017 harvest, here is what he said:

"This has the potential to be one of my top 5 vintages. Already, the wines are showing great promise, like those in 2009 or 2012. In 2017, we had cooler weather than recent vintages, and longer hang times which really led to the development of flavors. It was a lower crop overall, contributed to the high quality of fruit we brought in. Of course, we still need time to see how they age out, but everyone is blown away by it now." - Charlie Hoppes, Fidelitas Owner + Winemaker