Just a quick update that Jason is picking the first bins of Merlot today. We’ll be starting the 2007 crush tomorrow morning bright and early. It feels like autumn has truly arrived! The skies are grey. The air is crisp. Ripe scents abound.
More on the crush coming soon…
-Robin
Hi folks, Robin here. I’m pitching in this season to bring you updates on the Domanico Cellars blog. The wine makers get awfully busy this time of year, so I’m hoping to bring you photos and updates of my experiences and observations of Domanico Cellars. Perhaps think of me as a librarian or historian and certainly feel free to get in touch with any of us at any time with questions. (Yes, I’m the photographer, so you won’t find me in many photographs.)
Saturday September 15th was a big day for Domanico Cellars. Jason & Bob spent much of the day getting bins ready & loaded on the truck to take out for Merlot harvest later this week. As well, they worked on getting the winery prepped for all of those grapes to come in. 
That meant cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. Arranging racks for equipment, moving new machinery into position for use and old machinery into position for cycling out of use. I did manage to get a snap of Jason taking a breather in front of the new crusher.
During the day we also worked on getting tasting sheets together to go with wines we donated to a tasting to raise funds for the Lifelong Aids Alliance. We donated a split case of 2004 Merlot and 2004 Red Wine for the tasting. Both met with rave reviews, and our wines disappeared quickly. It was a very informal tasting, so many at the party were enjoying big pours. Several attending wine enthusiasts signed up for our mailing lists & enjoyed talking with Jason, Bob, Jill and me about the winery and the wines. I really enjoyed noticing that most of the party tried all of the wines offered but ended up settling into Domanico Cellars as their wine of choice for the evening. By the time I left the event at around midnight, there wasn’t much Domanico Cellars left to taste. However, the other tables were still quite full.
Sunday Sept 9th Baker and I took a load of bins over to Snipes and then stopped by the vineyards. With the warm days and nights we have been experiencing it looks like the Merlot harvest will begin soon. Luckily I have been in contact with the Vineyard Managers so was not shocked with how sweet the fruit was at Snipes, we are about 2 weeks ahead of last year. Alder was very close as well. If the weather continues to hold like this we might end up picking next week. Cab Sav, Cab Franc, Petite and Riesling are all looking like Oct. harvests. For those interested in numbers here are some for Merlot. (Brix, PH, TA)
Snipes 24.2, 3.72, .51,
Alder Ridge 24.4, 3.28, .62
- Jason
It has been an incredibly busy year that has included what seems like and endless number of changes and improvements to Domanico Cellars. With the help of the crew at the Seattle Wine Loft (especially Jim) we upgraded our crush pad with new concrete and a new drain. Those of you who volunteered last year, that means no more gravel to deal with!!! There have also been a number of improvements to the production room that will help with cleanup, organization and well just made the place look better (some how we missed out on getting Robin’s Mom to paint a mural with DC in it, we will sneak her a few bottles of Merlot next year and see what she can do when she visits :). We also purchased a new destemer/crusher and must pump. The destemer we purchased is much more gentle than the one we used last year which will help with tannin management. The must pump, well for all you gear heads out there is 5.5hp, 3 inch Liverani head monster! It is made by Chunky and the name pretty much says it all.
We also made the decision to only use Saury for all of our new barrels (on average we use 50% new) and would like to thank Michael for the support and extra attention we received.
Finally we have added two new vineyards to the mix this year to go along with our current rock stars Alder Ridge and Snipes River Canyon:
Lewis Family Vineyards from just north of Prosser will be supplying 2 tons of Cabernet Sav. (Yes this is the same fruit that just got some pretty high scores in the latest Wine Advocate) and 2 tons of Riesling. The Lewis Family is one of the best growers in the state and just cannot seem do anything wrong when it comes to wine grapes! All it takes is a few minutes walking the vineyard with Ken jr. with him telling you he knows nothing about what he is doing to know that is about as far from the truth as you can get. I cannot wait to taste these wines!
and
Chris Camarda (Andrew Will) has offered us 2 tons of his extra Cabernet Franc from the Two Blondes Vineyard. (Yes of course we accepted!) This stuff is amazing and I am sure will end up in our top blend. Thanks to Chris and David for including us on this…WOW
As with last year the weekly visits to Eastern Washington have started so if you are interested in tagging along let us know…. The first load of merlot is not far away!
The crush team of 10 showed up at 9:00am and we were off. The fruit was in great shape with only a small amount a raisining but we hand sorted every bunch. This is going to make a very powerful wine as the fruit as well as the tannins are very powerful. Thanks to everyone who help make this a great day.
Friday morning I picked up our 3.75 tons of Alder Ridge Cab Sav. The broken record would be that once again we were one of the last wineries to pick. I must have walked these rows 20 times this year so knew every inch and every berry. As the team crushed, I could tell where in each row the bins came from. It was an exciting drive home but sad as well knowing I won’t be back in the vineyard until next spring.
Today we picked up 1110 pounds of Cab Franc from Alder Ridges Block 1. This is a hill top vineyard with a slight northern slope. The slight slope allows for long hang times which always cause a debate on when to harvest. This year I held off and the fruit is very ripe, 26.1 brix. I am very excited to see how this wine will turn out as the grapes show great complexity.
on the 16th we pressed the Snipes Merlot and on the 20th the Walluke Cab Sav. in to barrels. We pressed off 150 gallons of merlot and 140 gallons of Cab Sav. We are very excited about both.
The cap has dropped and primary fermentation has completed. We contemplated waiting a few more days to get a bit more maceration but after tasting the fruit the balance is there now. We gently pressed of 140 gallons of great merlot straight into barrels.
We looked long and hard for a little Cab Sav that we felt could live up to our Alder Ridge. After tasting a number of wines and fruit from the vineyard we called Jerry Bookwalter and worked out a small sample. The big debate was if we should pick this weekend or wait a week. After tasting the fruit, picking now was the right choice.
