It has been a long hot summer all over the west and particularly in the LDV vineyard. Harvest is completed and most of the fermented juice is in barrels or tanks as they begin the journey to delicious LDV Winery wines. From August through September, life at the vineyard has been crazy. Days were long and hard with non-stop work in the vineyard and winery. As the days get shorter, vineyard life slows considerably. 

October we will be moving the last of the juice into barrels and doing an analysis of the 2020 harvest. This month we complete the process of positioning the vineyard for dormancy. Grapes that were left on the vines or dropped on the vineyard floor are removed and the rows are cleaned. The soils are tested and nutrients are added. The irrigation system is inspected and readied for winter. LDV Winery irrigates all winter because there is usually not enough natural rainfall.

In the winery, barrels are organized, harvest equipment is thoroughly cleaned and stored away until next year, and Curt begins the process of getting new wines ready for bottling. Usually in November we begin to test a variety of wine blends as we think about new wine releases.  The art of blending is the mastery of the winemaker. Did you know that much of the wine you drink is not 100% one grape variety without other wines blended into it? The winemaker uses blending to impact the flavor, aroma, color, and body to the finished wine.

Curt picks and chooses from different barrels of the same grape variety and/or blends of a different varietal to achieve or enhance desired characteristics. LDV ages most of the red wines over 30 months. Is blending artistry, chemistry, or magic? We are not certain. We just want to make wines that taste, smell, look, and feel good in your mouth every time, every sip.