tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13574201923968400242024-03-05T16:36:46.605-08:00Foursight Wines Inc.The story of moving back home to small-town California, starting a winery with family, and learning to love country life again.Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.comBlogger324125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-61632397378461381052022-09-09T13:21:00.005-07:002022-09-09T13:21:57.882-07:00What's in a harvest? <div><span style="font-family: arial;">Harvest is always the most exciting time of the year at any winery. It's when the fruit of the entire year's labor, literally, is turned into the product that coaxed us all into this business in the first place. But what happens during harvest and crush? Here is a peek into the stages at our family winery:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">SAMPLING</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Aou8-WNK77GFkHWoULL-OTjq34QuRH0JezCa5TSJgUv3InRGghPKP0NDRB9bRMzkfU1vh0DRVTVBm-NHvWfYcZ_RjcgOie-1pxRFS6h3r7VKTKSRcRKCLmuq9qumel4IzvWptgkIaQti22bNdJ5TC2SJe8svxJ25Dg2h9wTiT-Xlc6jaQs95pqmoIg/s3024/8BBC5091-FABE-432C-A60A-62EF6830D497.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Winemaker Joe tests berries" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Aou8-WNK77GFkHWoULL-OTjq34QuRH0JezCa5TSJgUv3InRGghPKP0NDRB9bRMzkfU1vh0DRVTVBm-NHvWfYcZ_RjcgOie-1pxRFS6h3r7VKTKSRcRKCLmuq9qumel4IzvWptgkIaQti22bNdJ5TC2SJe8svxJ25Dg2h9wTiT-Xlc6jaQs95pqmoIg/w286-h286/8BBC5091-FABE-432C-A60A-62EF6830D497.jpeg" title="Winemaker Joe tests berries" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winemaker Joe tests berries for sugar and acidity</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">We need to know when the grapes will be ripe, so we "sample" each block - picking either 100 berries (approx.) or a number of whole clusters. We then test sugar, total acidity and pH.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of these things we test in-house, and some we send out to a winery lab to test for us. We also taste berries for flavor, taste stems (yes, taste) for tannin -- an important structural component in wines -- and watch the weather. All of these items will help inform us when to pick.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">We believe </span><span style="font-family: arial;">we have an advantage that we only work with one vineyard. This allows us the time and focus to pinpoint the best day to harvest our estate-grown grapes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">PICKING</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Because we only source from our Charles vineyard, when our fruit is ripe it tends to come in rapidly, starting with our Vin Gris (rosé) and ending with our Semillon.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">We work with local crews to bring everything in quickly and in good condition. Yes, we have picked blocks ourselves as a family, but we will give credit where credit is due -- the crews are faster and better!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Harvests are early morning until the crews start working night shifts, and then we are the latest possible pick during their "day" - Boonville is at its coldest right before daybreak, which is when we want our fruit.</span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_vYf3L_6WaLpt-tym5jhltUNurRc_nmSbYtzeB64a83dpROZxQzBtyynjT9wtXnxRcalUWIi51N6ZgDvoaGV2-AiKXnTxHTtD8v5rhYWwq9H_-9YSIzuyMQao48D06R1TyJNlLZiOUAKKH4IDJmt00CYc56gpySUz2sjuETQd7IRQcsBX8vE4cqSjw/s4032/IMG_8244.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Winemaker Joe sorts berries of Pinot Noir" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_vYf3L_6WaLpt-tym5jhltUNurRc_nmSbYtzeB64a83dpROZxQzBtyynjT9wtXnxRcalUWIi51N6ZgDvoaGV2-AiKXnTxHTtD8v5rhYWwq9H_-9YSIzuyMQao48D06R1TyJNlLZiOUAKKH4IDJmt00CYc56gpySUz2sjuETQd7IRQcsBX8vE4cqSjw/w222-h296/IMG_8244.jpeg" title="Winemaker Joe sorts berries of Pinot Noir" width="222" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winemaker Joe sorts berries of Pinot Noir</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">SORTING AND WHOLE CLUSTERS</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Because our grapes never travels on a truck, we have the time to hand-sort each cluster that the tractors deliver to the winery. Leaves, stems without berries, or under-or-overripe clusters are sorted out, and fed to our neighbor's cattle.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Our family sorts our fruit each year, carefully selecting the whole clusters, and then sorting the best bunches to go through the destemmer, until the fermentation bins are full and pushed into the winery for the next stage.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">On white wine day, the clusters are pressed and only the juice is used for fermentation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">FERMENTATION AND PUNCHDOWNS</span></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TTJuqfkdk_08nfQBAjkvpQBCqVq17ANfbAJCJvVdyzaQ5TpEwsUa-6K6EwpSDz5tjlG6Y3P-Z3BbPfwrqJdA7RLg6frZ6279V-HGc6HbTvHZUaeoD7wP9y1BbLw7h804yufYkx3a2xvDh1sE2pYptX65D5siS9xOCw5gAn0o9nVLpXZQPmu8idTN4A/s4032/IMG_8519.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="child does punchdowns on Pinot Noir" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TTJuqfkdk_08nfQBAjkvpQBCqVq17ANfbAJCJvVdyzaQ5TpEwsUa-6K6EwpSDz5tjlG6Y3P-Z3BbPfwrqJdA7RLg6frZ6279V-HGc6HbTvHZUaeoD7wP9y1BbLw7h804yufYkx3a2xvDh1sE2pYptX65D5siS9xOCw5gAn0o9nVLpXZQPmu8idTN4A/w240-h320/IMG_8519.jpeg" title="child does punchdowns on Pinot Noir" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our fifth generation does punchdowns</td></tr></tbody></table></div><span style="font-family: arial;">All our wines are fermented only with wild yeast, so once we sort and destem, the bins are pushed into the winery and we wait! Like magic, the bubbles start and fermentation begins.<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">To keep the fermentations oxygenated and healthy, we "punch down" by hand, one to three times per day, for 3-4 weeks (see photo). Yes, it's hard on the arms!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">This is peak winemaking time, and typically the vineyard is done being picked at this point. This means we can concentrate solely on making the best wine for the vintage.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">PRESSING</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">We press our Pinot Noirs in a traditional, wooden basket press made for Champagne (or cava as the press was manufactured in Spain).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIWiZdu9naIkC_IHERya028zjnnTpF3ho4s7APIJK6FdlJ-eIqT5uhrJmgPEnCrciaU4dbCNhqGH0niZJA6LWkmuaDkj39oJO3mJHD-VEqNLrkJQPU7eAVWma9XAL-SNId1a6EEkmND7NXUXpuTtfRSMmr1-x8fh0ttHIEOiFZ-nk_uZ9M9BhBoO7-w/s4032/IMG_8526.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="a basket wine press" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIWiZdu9naIkC_IHERya028zjnnTpF3ho4s7APIJK6FdlJ-eIqT5uhrJmgPEnCrciaU4dbCNhqGH0niZJA6LWkmuaDkj39oJO3mJHD-VEqNLrkJQPU7eAVWma9XAL-SNId1a6EEkmND7NXUXpuTtfRSMmr1-x8fh0ttHIEOiFZ-nk_uZ9M9BhBoO7-w/w240-h320/IMG_8526.jpeg" title="a basket wine press" width="240" /></a></div>This press is very gentle and allows our winemaker to taste the new wine as its being pressed, ending when his palate indicates the right balance has been achieved.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">From the press, the wines go into barrel or tank for nearly a year, until they're bottled in a mobile line that comes to our winery site.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">The next stop: after aging in bottle, they arrive at your glass!</span></div>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-53652569602705015322022-01-25T18:32:00.005-08:002022-01-25T18:32:51.340-08:00Pruning Season: Why this is one of the more important happenings each vintage<p>When harvest is over and the holidays loom, winegrowers are thinking about one thing: pruning! Pruning is an annual event at a vineyard; vines must be tidied up to produce the best fruit for the upcoming vintage.</p><p>What a vineyard looks like before pruning (child for decorative purposes only):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiG-7O08Uh1bhGAo0-D_qk3cadTKGPJC2RLshQzijpor2nYqRD6Mjq4-hV1RRLRCrdCmQBlX-DiB1uxjzajTFQ9EJ_ymlhkuVxRSCHckB6WCuplCGXI-qbbryaOBqxp0qAtqzkT6DHCSvolgf34Hnf3PnqplG02ADRGtETeqMqG_yX7AfNfxkmYdSkivQ=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiG-7O08Uh1bhGAo0-D_qk3cadTKGPJC2RLshQzijpor2nYqRD6Mjq4-hV1RRLRCrdCmQBlX-DiB1uxjzajTFQ9EJ_ymlhkuVxRSCHckB6WCuplCGXI-qbbryaOBqxp0qAtqzkT6DHCSvolgf34Hnf3PnqplG02ADRGtETeqMqG_yX7AfNfxkmYdSkivQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>What a vineyard looks like after pruning (child removed for sanitary purposes):</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8PRktShZ1lnSjqFeIgzln4kjbSyPRAOgLj_Vfy8Y6P99gqf7k-Ue-r6IzIn2z7x2nTtspBx3Nqyh2gbv46UALIvJmFL_Be-WX0p6LsM4cvHUggXhe3Rlgwd28nSz6iSkx9g3PFxJLCEWt3rgEStCm8E8KOtGYDv5p_UVK90Ozz-PzRNcmfD-0-cz7Yw=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8PRktShZ1lnSjqFeIgzln4kjbSyPRAOgLj_Vfy8Y6P99gqf7k-Ue-r6IzIn2z7x2nTtspBx3Nqyh2gbv46UALIvJmFL_Be-WX0p6LsM4cvHUggXhe3Rlgwd28nSz6iSkx9g3PFxJLCEWt3rgEStCm8E8KOtGYDv5p_UVK90Ozz-PzRNcmfD-0-cz7Yw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>You can see the difference. The canes (or stalks that grow upward in the trellis) are trimmed back to a couple of buds each (where the new leaves will emerge). Anything dead or too crowded is cut off.</p><p>Grapevines fruit on one-year old wood, so those few buds left will each sprout leaves in (in the early spring) and then a tiny shoot that eventually winds up into the trellis. Off of those, clusters of fruit will emerge in the early summer. Getting pruning right means the canes will be properly spaced, not crowded, and will grow in the right direction to fill the trellis wires as they're raised up and up throughout the year.</p><p>Grapes are fruit, and need to not be squished together, or completely shaded out by leaves. So pruning is the first, most important thing to be done correctly, each and every vintage. When done incorrectly, it makes the grapegrowers life a nightmare, as they try to untangle growth, bend shoots or clip off fruit growing to close together. Without proper airflow through the canopy, fungal diseases can take hold.</p><p>This year, our Charles Vineyard is looking nice and tidy. Big thanks to the crews who are so amazingly expert at their jobs (and to our winegrowers Bill & Nancy Charles who are always overseeing, tweaking, fixing and otherwise carefully tending to the vines).</p>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-85791324261910014542021-10-01T14:44:00.001-07:002021-11-19T15:43:56.046-08:00Crush 2021 - Excellent Quality, Low Quantity<p>The good of harvest 2021: quality looks excellent. Most of coastal Northern California was fire-free, and vintners are universally happy.</p><p>The bad of 2021: tonnage was down across California. At our Foursight Wines, we were down 40% from average. This is similar to 2020, which also yielded less fruit than average.</p><p>This year the wine industry experienced labor and supply chain issues, low yields and more. And yet the outlook is positive -- you can't fake quality, and 2021 should be a good year to stock up on!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQE1WrNYRIsHwCdic2l11q1kRJ9VxrRv690lbbVBLgCQTL_zI6SytwMgWCXOgW661PFfhjxDPrnPsH_VBvtLRskql4NmkkEmejvGkCN7Ru052UZyM1af_Jcc78_iU3mh1_vCiOU0nPKeWl/s2048/20210830_100025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQE1WrNYRIsHwCdic2l11q1kRJ9VxrRv690lbbVBLgCQTL_zI6SytwMgWCXOgW661PFfhjxDPrnPsH_VBvtLRskql4NmkkEmejvGkCN7Ru052UZyM1af_Jcc78_iU3mh1_vCiOU0nPKeWl/s320/20210830_100025.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEArcd-er-JE95UQLpW0Bm3ERvo0o0rb5rLwidTe192JAksQw8e1EkIJBfZXuw7o7yZfrMDXqUk63z1UHdL9ZqcPr5ZZvBOUW_gm4TBWeEc_8XlxpVikkpREa9NtKm_Pgympait81NBhR/s4032/IMG_8318.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEArcd-er-JE95UQLpW0Bm3ERvo0o0rb5rLwidTe192JAksQw8e1EkIJBfZXuw7o7yZfrMDXqUk63z1UHdL9ZqcPr5ZZvBOUW_gm4TBWeEc_8XlxpVikkpREa9NtKm_Pgympait81NBhR/s320/IMG_8318.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsdtgzEzkqEOxHsLwesYa-12k8xn0Qa4EHxSwdnbMXeLO4u1LnrencFXBcUda9p_ElQk_26W9uuARTfvlyPUc4bEQWVZWgfXEDjMxVF386-WiCFqFVH5l7mfUSwJgzaLsLuoATRwoHigm/s4032/IMG_8179.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsdtgzEzkqEOxHsLwesYa-12k8xn0Qa4EHxSwdnbMXeLO4u1LnrencFXBcUda9p_ElQk_26W9uuARTfvlyPUc4bEQWVZWgfXEDjMxVF386-WiCFqFVH5l7mfUSwJgzaLsLuoATRwoHigm/s320/IMG_8179.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSl6s194BQZ90TNMYO2c9vRquH5RaYZymCCkwARRHgx4vvYgQOVFSkNF3DL4QM4vowXAGNcrAjOX9yNRXNO1Ygju34vNWIYQqQZSkWCAYWQ8Ml5NOBYFBn1yrGeL0UB1KWCK3c-L2XyZT/s4032/IMG_8266.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSl6s194BQZ90TNMYO2c9vRquH5RaYZymCCkwARRHgx4vvYgQOVFSkNF3DL4QM4vowXAGNcrAjOX9yNRXNO1Ygju34vNWIYQqQZSkWCAYWQ8Ml5NOBYFBn1yrGeL0UB1KWCK3c-L2XyZT/s320/IMG_8266.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQuQebkLB_myRkMcY6s1h6Yi1xGhk76AeAfC4dpwVultINUCBGYHgbx01UyABgZlct5CSQMFaSYg8v7VCnyoG6Q5oZhIiWsYkP87YDEEONRbTmF-GBXnynx5rShNb4x7kUdcfGUm8Vf-C/s1440/30991AAB-69FA-493A-BDD6-ECA1091EF86D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQuQebkLB_myRkMcY6s1h6Yi1xGhk76AeAfC4dpwVultINUCBGYHgbx01UyABgZlct5CSQMFaSYg8v7VCnyoG6Q5oZhIiWsYkP87YDEEONRbTmF-GBXnynx5rShNb4x7kUdcfGUm8Vf-C/s320/30991AAB-69FA-493A-BDD6-ECA1091EF86D.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-34330172136771148732020-08-24T12:19:00.001-07:002020-08-24T12:19:02.538-07:00Harvest 2020 Has Commenced!<p>Vintage 2020 has begun, and we are thrilled. As fires rage in counties south, we are holding our breaths and sending love to our friends and neighbors while we forge ahead with the necessary work that crush demands. It feels gratifying to be able to dive in to harvest -- a little normalcy amidst the sheer craziness that 2020 has brought to all of us.<br /></p><p>Here in Anderson Valley the skies have been mostly clear, and our fruit looks beautiful. Clusters are small and not terribly numerous this year (likely due to low rainfall, at least in part). Vintage 2020 was mild and dry until mid-August, when a heat wave hit the West Coast, speeding up ripening.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLwFoN2FnWZCTzJF7wq7Pgs1wLvcaL69pM65A4kIza8jf6MoqMLHZnUVs2XItusIGBUqENxzm5_vo9Nn-HgZ9lbCNHBqzLjZ-YRmyNZvt8ueY3XnkyAZ6wmBMcZUJNTRejh2rfAEJkJiz/s2048/Grapes+on+vine+portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLwFoN2FnWZCTzJF7wq7Pgs1wLvcaL69pM65A4kIza8jf6MoqMLHZnUVs2XItusIGBUqENxzm5_vo9Nn-HgZ9lbCNHBqzLjZ-YRmyNZvt8ueY3XnkyAZ6wmBMcZUJNTRejh2rfAEJkJiz/w307-h410/Grapes+on+vine+portrait.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><p></p><p>We typically begin harvest in early September, but we are happy to be shepherding our fruit into the winery early this year, where we know it will be safely turned into stellar wine. Low quantity often means high quality -- it just hurts upon release, when we lack the inventory to sell!<br /></p><p>We commenced crush with a Vin Gris of Pinot Noir -- a rosé picked just for that purpose, instead of produced using the saignée method (a byproduct of red wine production - more on that <a href="https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/saignee-is-unlike-other-rose-wines/" target="_blank">here</a>). This means we are picking earlier than anything else in the vineyard to ensure we craft a wine with high acidity and lower alcohol (that crisp, fresh feeling you get when enjoying a true rosé).</p><p>Our "regular" Pinot Noirs come next, then the Sauvignon Blanc, and last (but not least) the Semillon.</p><p>Wish us luck!<br /></p>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-21124934624319511922020-05-18T15:07:00.002-07:002020-05-18T15:08:05.801-07:00Vintage 2020 UpdateDespite all the craziness in our human universe, Mother Nature moves forward in her annual cycle: spring rebirth, growth and renewal. Our vineyard is right on-track for the vintage, although it has started with a very frosty few months.<br />
<br />
Bill Charles has been up, trying to keep the cold weather from affecting this year's harvest. After all, as a family business using only 100% estate-grown grapes, what we are able to harvest from the land decides our final production, and thus wine sales and income for our family for an entire year.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-KAjzVrSWc2PPQT00d5E7EZjXrAYFIDQYrKM36tcx_2d82cTRpi3fMB6I9yp_YBkSdeJ9YzTfR1V5V6HQhZhkfB7g4VmhC4uw8uUpne3oRZvrtcHB0G65jbhG-u_00qNoOMzfyb8Ac86/s1600/IMG_2688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-KAjzVrSWc2PPQT00d5E7EZjXrAYFIDQYrKM36tcx_2d82cTRpi3fMB6I9yp_YBkSdeJ9YzTfR1V5V6HQhZhkfB7g4VmhC4uw8uUpne3oRZvrtcHB0G65jbhG-u_00qNoOMzfyb8Ac86/s320/IMG_2688.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vines after using sprinklers to protect from frost</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
This spring the frost fans, which mix typically warmer air found up
high (hot air rises) with the colder air below, have worked for most
nights, but on April 2nd the temperature dipped to 27.5 degrees F, and
there was no inversion air, or warmer air, to mix.<br />
<br />
One
of our neighbors, who farms remotely from the land of SoNapa, doesn't
have a vineyard manager on-site, and they used frost fans that come on
automatically. Instead of mixing warmer air, they simply jetted the cold
air amongst the vines all night. This, as you can imagine, is not
ideal. Without an inversion layer to mix, the fans simply make the
situation worse. The vineyard would have been better off without any
frost protection (in fact, one vineyard locally couldn't get the fans to
come on that night, and still fared better.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYjdLXf0oWDOXdWkXnqopOlcZEq7vLnY2wrUF_LfU4k8-WWDiSxLva2bkZaWZW6JrZBBPLIQoagyCSkjhEiyvUZGDCerdVADku_WkuS8Gn_CP7CWUBS7jYWd_cOdoncRzyWnaMafUuIK9/s1600/IMG_2690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYjdLXf0oWDOXdWkXnqopOlcZEq7vLnY2wrUF_LfU4k8-WWDiSxLva2bkZaWZW6JrZBBPLIQoagyCSkjhEiyvUZGDCerdVADku_WkuS8Gn_CP7CWUBS7jYWd_cOdoncRzyWnaMafUuIK9/s320/IMG_2690.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next morning (above): when frost protection measures work</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRtbAzeG9RJXlyZxAvd3vgqCzypLwgPyCCc7E_ukS4Vyd9aC5JVd2snzzcXgUnz3mYg1kjF4iB4aukvml-QWLhi4J7MTK-sxNzyMN_LpqqODrzEqiSvZVcgoC1yCrV1o2N6F9Y9sOiJZez/s1600/IMG_2727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRtbAzeG9RJXlyZxAvd3vgqCzypLwgPyCCc7E_ukS4Vyd9aC5JVd2snzzcXgUnz3mYg1kjF4iB4aukvml-QWLhi4J7MTK-sxNzyMN_LpqqODrzEqiSvZVcgoC1yCrV1o2N6F9Y9sOiJZez/s320/IMG_2727.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next morning: when frost protection measures do not work</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
How can we tell when it's appropriate to use the fans? Well, one of our local weather stations is located a few hundred feet higher than our vineyard, and we can check their readings to gauge the air temperature around the level of our fan (our vineyard will always read colder as the air settles further down onto the valley floor).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38aCFX7By_wr4b_lITc1s1se6bs2xjO2P6sLR0d7PEayWEbBH8p_9BeUj0E-z4MmfkRcbXN0I6Vi7SK_0Vr-2gUXj5Io3b32m49mMXndJI4GVF8xPzhYPqIFAZySWQQ44URrhlBVaktgT/s1600/Boonville+RAWS+4.22.20.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1136" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38aCFX7By_wr4b_lITc1s1se6bs2xjO2P6sLR0d7PEayWEbBH8p_9BeUj0E-z4MmfkRcbXN0I6Vi7SK_0Vr-2gUXj5Io3b32m49mMXndJI4GVF8xPzhYPqIFAZySWQQ44URrhlBVaktgT/s400/Boonville+RAWS+4.22.20.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humidity, temperature and wind all matter when it comes to frost protection. Notice the wet bulb dipping below freezing in the early morning hours -- not a good sign for frost or frost fans</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
On April 2nd, the reading from that local station's wet bulb was 31 at 5 a.m. Thirty-two or below means that you're not going to have much effectiveness from the fans - only sprinklers will help.<br />
<br />
Because our Semillon is planted along the outside edge of our vineyard, the sprinklers do not cover the area completely. We were able to protect most of the buds along the inner areas of the vineyard, but the Semillon is expected to have lost 50% of the crop just that one night. Other edges of the vineyard will likely also suffer, but those are more minor (crop estimates will come soon, when we count and average the clusters and made an estimate for the other blocks).<br />
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMlgPi4i-0GN6WhQOqxLtrkCaPjW-3f2acdCjaJoJrIjdcynsLwXjR-DW9lYGNk1wdZaW5k2cl1szd3M8BU6r3Ylv3tRaR20oVtwWdJZj8bU8V65XhjNfXhpn04f2Mv9MUVZNf9VE1DTN4/s1600/frost+stunted+shoot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMlgPi4i-0GN6WhQOqxLtrkCaPjW-3f2acdCjaJoJrIjdcynsLwXjR-DW9lYGNk1wdZaW5k2cl1szd3M8BU6r3Ylv3tRaR20oVtwWdJZj8bU8V65XhjNfXhpn04f2Mv9MUVZNf9VE1DTN4/s320/frost+stunted+shoot.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Short, bushy shoots are a hallmark of frost stunted vines</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiroF8433g8JuzPhrydc1fbhFxj1irhA05dlpt9RrRX-QaYPx7n-q9utyv_EaHCbhjwF-evFdDLZ0S3Y-hV-wjOzAkk-wHOH1KfQIjt5sw-ikK-Bnovi55aOcz8-knvjS-Xe0vCwnfqtlwc/s1600/with+laterals+removed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiroF8433g8JuzPhrydc1fbhFxj1irhA05dlpt9RrRX-QaYPx7n-q9utyv_EaHCbhjwF-evFdDLZ0S3Y-hV-wjOzAkk-wHOH1KfQIjt5sw-ikK-Bnovi55aOcz8-knvjS-Xe0vCwnfqtlwc/s320/with+laterals+removed.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same vine, with the laterals, or short shoots, removed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Farming is hard, whether it's cabbages or grapes, and frost is something
that growers have to contend with. Here in Anderson Valley, our climate
and narrow valley make farming difficult some springs, especially in
the Boonville area.<br />
<br />
<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-39944540017590453842019-09-23T15:54:00.000-07:002019-09-23T15:55:13.965-07:00Vintage 2019 is Here!We brought in the last grapes for Foursight Wines last week, and the back of the winery is full of fermentors, happily bubbling away on native yeast strains! After our Pinot Noir was short by 30% in 2018, we're ecstatic to have a good crop on the 2019 Pinot and -- bonus -- our Sauvignon Blanc. This means we produced a Vin Gris (rose') again! To be released sometime in between fall and winter 2020. Quality look great so far, but, of course, we'll truly start to see when the wines come together next spring.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, here's a quick little video we produced to show some of our harvest fun so far. We end with a little annual tradition: Evan tracing his hands on a barrel head. Looking at the years side-by-side makes my heart hurt just a little.<br />
<br />
Oh, and bonus: saw my first centipede in Boonville! Tons of millipedes, but never a centipede. Always something to be excited about in the country (eye roll).<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aVLizYz9W0A/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aVLizYz9W0A?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0Boonville, CA, USA39.0089749 -123.3671550999999938.9596209 -123.44783609999999 39.0583289 -123.28647409999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-2735575147113055762018-09-29T12:23:00.002-07:002018-09-29T12:29:25.014-07:00Harvest 2018 Will Be Incredible!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlsZ12MMl7b1-g_nua_mht8QMWX1Eat2ky8glD89AV4cA1Sku9scwCH7LVvOwUbZ6bGiV9wg5zy0S5APfhZFV50KDkK4_pAw5SejsvD_z1advFo3SBquK0Y9fzu0X3nlGEkpSlqV9DwAe/s1600/IMG_3946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlsZ12MMl7b1-g_nua_mht8QMWX1Eat2ky8glD89AV4cA1Sku9scwCH7LVvOwUbZ6bGiV9wg5zy0S5APfhZFV50KDkK4_pAw5SejsvD_z1advFo3SBquK0Y9fzu0X3nlGEkpSlqV9DwAe/s320/IMG_3946.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not all glamor on the crushpad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today, it's raining. And we are loving every minute!<br />
<br />
Last Friday, we wrapped up our final pick at our Charles Vineyard, when we harvested our Semillon. Normally, the Semillon hangs several weeks longer than the rest of our vineyard, but the crop was small this year, and we didn't have long to wait.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdAtLGIf80F4c5sENHcRw9fVREx31WkesqiEktvPsBCaDWfUJqjaDCniaERzrMpJj9FHqSzvQHuzlDhDBlCNm97j0ELIVNeHy2u3fOZEFhk2iv66nNwV9nvMQ4rbPMRcc7MFgT3b2Ap2y/s1600/FA471D4B-F30F-425D-A45E-99DC1329B0D4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdAtLGIf80F4c5sENHcRw9fVREx31WkesqiEktvPsBCaDWfUJqjaDCniaERzrMpJj9FHqSzvQHuzlDhDBlCNm97j0ELIVNeHy2u3fOZEFhk2iv66nNwV9nvMQ4rbPMRcc7MFgT3b2Ap2y/s320/FA471D4B-F30F-425D-A45E-99DC1329B0D4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next generation helps with punchdowns</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The verdict on the 2018 vintage in Anderson Valley: incredible. It was a long, cool, even season, with more nights below freezing than days above 90 degrees. We had zero, yes zero, days 100 degrees or above this year. It was a pleasant summer, with steady ripening leading to a harvest that wasn't rushed.<br />
With slow, even ripening comes the ability to really dial in sugar levels, and we're ecstatic about how all the fruit came in. The cooler vintage helped maintain good acidity levels, which is critical to a balanced wine. <br />
<br />
The only downside: the shorter crop on our estate Pinot Noir (approx. 20% down). And, of course, on our Semillon as well.<br />
<br />
Now the grapes are fermenting happily inside the winery, while the rain falls outside. We'll have another few weeks of punchdowns, then pressing, and into barrel.<br />
<br />
We look forward to sharing this vintage with you in a few years.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-80696580295418815682018-09-07T12:26:00.000-07:002018-09-07T12:34:51.229-07:00Harvest 2018 - Next Week Kicks it Off!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9fsginHRQiBNBZNCK6uOfwRnifjP0FHWV2hv69JREqeBflifsPEQ5YwlPK0r1P1PasnU2_Qa9Sumx3mQQ9knLOTY1r5y0GCzpvcbXwr0uz2LT6412vdbjmfzzF8slU46yZvZY-I13wq0/s1600/Sticky+Harvest+-+cropped+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="567" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9fsginHRQiBNBZNCK6uOfwRnifjP0FHWV2hv69JREqeBflifsPEQ5YwlPK0r1P1PasnU2_Qa9Sumx3mQQ9knLOTY1r5y0GCzpvcbXwr0uz2LT6412vdbjmfzzF8slU46yZvZY-I13wq0/s320/Sticky+Harvest+-+cropped+copy.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristy and Joe helping with one of the first harvests</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So far, the 2018 vintage has been cool and even, reminding us of days gone by, when Joe and I would make the trek up from San Luis Obispo or Santa Rosa to help my parents pick their grapes.<br />
<br />
We had no winemaking or winery on site yet, so post-harvest we would kick back with some good Pinot and enjoy a big, harvest lunch, maybe a nap. Nowadays, we're straight off to the crushpad afterward, to help Joe process the gorgeous fruit and turn it into our Foursight wines.<br />
<br />
Coming back to 2018, our weather data has been very interesting: we've had more days below freezing this year than above 90 degrees! And not a single day over 100 degrees!<br />
<br />
In fact, the hottest weather we experienced all summer was when we were in the Willamette Valley, pouring at IPNC (99-103 most days we were there).<br />
<br />
If you look at the table below, we were still getting lows in the 30's and 40's all summer, which is only unusual in the hottest part of the season. (The average day to night swing is about 50 degrees when it warms up here, every year.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5JkV_w-wZh6MeNmsbfvkbhhQegrsd0UgnK0M-Yw4etX_V4o272n-vVIIy5ZJ0ZKSKrs4jzdnACUwaLlxLozeOyf8B2OSlCp-sbWgLd3RoQMua2Fkvh1Sr3tcVuUBfcxOX2j2A0bkvXuMe/s1600/weather+station+data.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="710" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5JkV_w-wZh6MeNmsbfvkbhhQegrsd0UgnK0M-Yw4etX_V4o272n-vVIIy5ZJ0ZKSKrs4jzdnACUwaLlxLozeOyf8B2OSlCp-sbWgLd3RoQMua2Fkvh1Sr3tcVuUBfcxOX2j2A0bkvXuMe/s640/weather+station+data.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Crop load will be small on several of our Dijon-clone Pinot Noir blocks, which is tough on the farming side, but of course will mean excellent wine.<br />
<br />
And it all starts next Wednesday, when we start to bring in our first blocks. Wish us luck!<br />
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<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-32582165090733627652018-08-14T09:39:00.000-07:002018-08-15T10:54:20.562-07:00Knowing the Ingredients in My Wines: Why I Care, and Why We Disclose<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The following is just one woman's take on why I care about the ingredients in my wines.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i> </i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wine is food. But it’s not (well, not legally under the laws
in this country; we’re grouped in with firearms and tobacco). But really, it
is. You do ingest and digest it. It’s a product that goes into your body, just
like an organically grown apple or that box of McNuggets. It has calories and
some nutritional properties, just like food.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, me, I’m not a health nut. I could probably stand to lose
10 pounds, easily. Once a year I devour an entire bag of nacho cheese Doritos
all by myself. I drink coffee and too much red wine, and although I have
bounced around the dietary spectrum in my adult years, I still eat red meat and
the occasional refined sugar treat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, I also work in the wine business. And I live in
Northern California – real, rural Northern California, where most of your
neighbors farm something (and it's not all of the ganja variety).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
I know the rancher who raises and the hunter who hunts the
meat that I eat. I know the farmer who grows most of my vegetables. I grow my
own too.<br />
<br />
I have a three-year-old son. And, like most mommies, I read
ingredients on what I buy, and I try and buy only the best that I can afford
for my child.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also run a winery with my family. And I have worked for
enough wineries in my former life that I understand that wine is not just
grapes. Wine, like food products, requires some processing to get it into the
delicious, “I want to stick a straw in the top and sip on it while watching
Gray’s Anatomy” form that I love.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this is where it gets sticky, pun intended. Grapes require yeast and
sometimes bacteria to get them to that finished form. And that could
theoretically be the end of the story. But to produce wine how we most people like it now –
safe, transportable, ageable, and agreeable to the modern wine drinker – there
are usually more ingredients and inputs than grapes-yeast-bacteria.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here is where I start drawing distinctions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I do believe that all the branches that derive from this
point of grapes-yeast-bacteria are valid and have their place. To make super
affordable wines, producers generally have to take more licenses with where they
grow the grapes and hence how they process them. To make a product that will
appeal to the “mass market,” so to speak, and be shipped all over the world requires
a whole different perspective on how to make and get that wine into bottle (or
can, or container nowadays). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After all, I do eat Doritos, and when my son doesn’t finish
that Easter candy, well… But this is the thing: I KNOW those things have MSG, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sugar substitutes, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t pronounce in them (polyglycerol polyricinoleate??). I can read it right on
the back label, and I can make the decision to eat it anyway, because I feel
like it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With wine, I can’t do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And, most of the time, I can’t just call the winery and ask. There’s a
huge divide between production and tasting room and marketing staff. What’s
done in the cellar is often only partly passed along to brand and marketing managers.
Perhaps because they assume they won't be interested, or understand, or it won't fit the brand image they've cultivated. And the tasting room often only gets the few details
that help tell the winery’s story, or that helps inform the consumer about why
that wine tastes like X or Y.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, most wine ingredients are natural. But some aren’t.
Most are innocuous and serve the purpose of, for example, lemon juice and salt in the
final product – adding balance, increasing aging time and stability. You do
want wine, not vinegar. But some give me the heebie-geebies. But then again, so does
the fact that the FDA regulates the amount of mouse feces and bug legs in our
foods (hint, it’s not zero).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
And here’s the sad thing: other
producers in the wine business will say it’s disparaging just to mention there
are ingredients in wine, and to put an opinion like this out there. And that’s
fine. But, in the meantime, here’s what I’m doing, for my own knowledge, and
for my customers that care. And I hope the idea of "full-disclosure winemaking" catches on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<b>*Foursight wines are ingredients
labeled (since 2010), inspired by Bonny Doon’s bold move in 2007.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<b>
</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<b>*Foursight wines are vegan and
vegetarian friendly and we were the first in the U.S. to put this on our labels
(no fish swim bladder/isinglass, no egg whites/albumin,
no casein/milk products, no gelatin, etc.), inspired by our own dietary journeys and those of our customers (many headed
to a well-known vegan resort and restaurant on the Mendocino Coast).</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<b>
</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<b>*Foursight wines are gluten free
(lab tested spring 2018), inspired by a query from one of our customers, who has
celiac disease. We tested our wines so we could answer with confidence.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<b>
</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<b>*Foursight wines are glyphosate
free (lab tested April 2018, results=none detected), inspired by the recent
<a href="https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/glyphosate_contamination_in_wine" target="_blank"><span id="goog_1143014382"></span>Moms Across America<span id="goog_1143014383"></span></a> debate about Roundup and wine.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<b>
</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<b>*Foursight wines tested undetectable for histamines and are low methane – both naturally occurring compounds in small amounts in wine. This
was inspired by a Facebook winemaker debate about whether or not natural wines
are higher in things like histames. So we tested it.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
We’re a small, family run winery.
If our customers ask us a question about our wines, or how they’re made, we’re
here to answer. Or, it’s right on the bottle, for everyone to read. If you have
any questions, just reach out: you can contact us through
<a href="http://www.foursightwines.com/" target="_blank">www.foursightwines.com</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<i>This is not a new debate. Here are some articles from various sources, in just the past 5 years:</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<i>- Eric Asimov, The New York Times, 2013: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/dining/the-big-question-whats-in-wine.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/dining/the-big-question-whats-in-wine.html </a></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<i>- Eric Asimov, The New York Times, 2017: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/dining/wine-is-food.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/dining/wine-is-food.html</a> </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<i>- Ben Panko, Smithsonian, 2017: <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/science-behind-your-cheap-wine-180962783/" target="_blank">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/science-behind-your-cheap-wine-180962783/</a></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 312.0pt;">
<i>- Imogen Brennan, ABC News Australia, 2018: <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-01/the-growth-of-vegan-wine-has-exposed-a-problem-in-the-industry/9377544" target="_blank">http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-01/the-growth-of-vegan-wine-has-exposed-a-problem-in-the-industry/9377544 </a></i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-6866609398219474172018-07-15T11:18:00.000-07:002018-07-15T11:20:09.749-07:00New Food Page at Foursight Wines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxkOCB7tWDKkzRK_JV8xOI_m355F62ar0DNA5GexYECZfL-F2V83A5__ru_MRpEYD-PYgOSla1F0cAWIecpIk0ltW72sMdtMu5FewM0axojKP2tWbsgvkhNWN6MILVXxRyaF_dkeoqAsw/s1600/Lowquat+Relish+%2526+Goat+Cheese+with+SB+-+SQUARE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="665" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxkOCB7tWDKkzRK_JV8xOI_m355F62ar0DNA5GexYECZfL-F2V83A5__ru_MRpEYD-PYgOSla1F0cAWIecpIk0ltW72sMdtMu5FewM0axojKP2tWbsgvkhNWN6MILVXxRyaF_dkeoqAsw/s320/Lowquat+Relish+%2526+Goat+Cheese+with+SB+-+SQUARE.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We've just launched a <a href="http://www.foursightwines.com/food/Food/">food page</a> on our Web site! Online now are some of our favorite recipes -- often using fresh, local ingredients we find here in Anderson Valley.<br />
<br />
Preserved lemon recipes abound, and our favorite loquat salsa is live (very easy and great over goat cheese). There's also a short video of quick chicken and lamb skewers, using our wines in the marinade.<br />
<br />
Next we'll dive into the world of Foursight Winemaker Joe Webb's HCWT BBQ marinade (just released)!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foursightwines.com/food/Food/">Follow this link</a> to check them out.<br />
<br />
Happy Cooking!Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-79249204817766864712018-07-01T11:44:00.000-07:002018-07-16T13:56:52.577-07:00Feral Yeast or Wild Yeast? And Why?Wild yeast is a constant subject of debate in the wine business, even though wine's origins started with indigenous yeasts finding their way to grapes and fermenting them. We didn't even begin to identify or understand yeast until the late 1800s. In the California wine business, wild yeast fermentation seems to have gone out of style somewhere between the late 1970s and mid-1980s.<br />
<br />
The debate often is: wild or feral? And does it matter?<br />
<br />
We've never inoculated at Foursight's Boonville winery, just trusting past experience that our fermentations are vigorous and complete, and using yeast that are present in our vineyard and winery. But two years ago our curiosity finally became too much and we sent our first sample of an active fermentation off to ETS Labs -- one of the wine industry's largest laboratories. (A second sample from a different variety, at a different stage of fermentation, was submitted the next year.)<br />
<br />
The test is called DNA Yeast Fingerprinting. The process, simplified greatly, is: they plate the wine sample, select a random number of colonies, then extract DNA and try to identify the dominant strain.<br />
<br />
In our sample, they found that none of the strains were in their database of commercial yeasts. Focusing on the most populous and therefore vigorous strain, the report says: "..If it is a native strain, it is well suited for the conditions found in this fermentation, providing a competitive advantage over the other strains present in the fermentation." And the same strains found during active fermentation of our Pinot Noir were also found pre-fermentation in <u>the next year's</u> Sauvignon Blanc.<br />
<br />
Several articles have been published in the past few years, debating whether or not you can have a true "wild" yeast fermentation, pointing out what those of us in the business see as obvious: if you make wine in a facility where you've ever inoculated before, or if you're next door to a facility that does, you'll simply get their commercial yeast in your vats. (In one of these studies, they added 40 ppm of sulfur at the crushpad, which by itself will kill a ton of native yeasts and bacteria, thereby kind of assuring the results.)<br />
<br />
Studies have also indicated that different yeast combinations are often
found in fermentations with grapes from different vineyards, showing that there is diversity by site. (A few
articles follow at the bottom, in case you want to read further.)<br />
<br />
This is what we know about our fermentations at Foursight:<br />
<ul>
<li>One of the wine industry's largest laboratories can't match our yeast strains to anything in their commercial catalog</li>
<li>One of the DNA tests was conducted pre-fermentation, right after we pressed our Sauvignon Blanc, indicating that a number of the strains present should have come in on the grapes, from the vineyard</li>
<li>We have never inoculated for primary OR malolactic fermentations (yes, all our wines go through completely native ML fermentations, even the whites)</li>
<li>We use only estate-grown fruit, grown on the same site as our winery (no outside fruit has been on our property)</li>
<li>We started making wine in a brand new building (no prior winemaking or, well, anything) </li>
<li>Every used piece of equipment or barrel that entered this building was sterilized via ozone machine before entering</li>
</ul>
All this would indicate that nature found its own way to provide us with the yeasts and bacterias from our site to complete our fermentations. And the beautiful thing: the makeup of those yeasts and bacterias will be slightly different every year, due to variations in the vineyard and winery (weather, etc.), making our wines truly represent our site each and vintage -- without intervention or addition.<br />
<br />
There's a reason the French have the phrase <a href="https://www.winefrog.com/definition/430/gout-de-terroir" target="_blank">goût de terroir</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>Not-too-geeky articles to read:</i><br />
<a href="https://daily.sevenfifty.com/the-science-of-winemaking-yeasts/"><i>https://daily.sevenfifty.com/the-science-of-winemaking-yeasts/</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.alicefeiring.com/blog/2013/08/no-such-thing-as-wild-yeast-fermentation.html"><i>http://www.alicefeiring.com/blog/2013/08/no-such-thing-as-wild-yeast-fermentation.html</i></a><br />
<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces_cerevisiae"><i>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces_cerevisiae</i></a></i><br />
<br />
<i>Excellent, more geeky read:</i><br />
<a href="https://issuu.com/etslabs/docs/winemaker_s_quarterly_v2i3_issuu/16"><i>https://issuu.com/etslabs/docs/winemaker_s_quarterly_v2i3_issuu/16</i></a><a href="https://issuu.com/etslabs/docs/winemaker_s_quarterly_v2i3_issuu/16" target="_blank">https://issuu.com/etslabs/docs/winemaker_s_quarterly_v2i3_issuu/16</a><br />
<i><i> </i> </i>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-37678836385736624992017-08-20T14:07:00.001-07:002017-08-20T14:08:17.253-07:00Gearing up for Harvest 2017Mid-August in 2015 and 2016 found us preparing to bring in grapes near the end of the month. This year we are still several weeks away from our first pick date -- a more normal pace, starting in early-to-mid September -- but starting to make preparations all the same.<br />
<br />
Picking bins are being washed, last year's wines are mostly bottled, and supplies are emerging from storage. <br />
<br />
This is the calm before the storm for us. Veraison is progressing (where the berries turn purple on the Pinot Noir), and we'll be doing our first berry samples before the end of the month. We'll test the sample for sugar, pH and acidity and we'll be visually inspecting color, seed ripeness and more. It will provide that first data point -- a benchmark -- for the rest of the season, however far out it is.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlnyViWuAGAEAfwR9TIDxw2DmrccPE5Bl4s2te1XZ_rAEI0jRT4fP1raJSVZUxF_hsujimDsYxyJg9hIfnvdWU7yQOlGm1Vd7GHnNZ34uR16iHaN42zjJKeEiRwOjYAgwcmrpjpKTu5zj/s1600/IMG00212-20110816-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlnyViWuAGAEAfwR9TIDxw2DmrccPE5Bl4s2te1XZ_rAEI0jRT4fP1raJSVZUxF_hsujimDsYxyJg9hIfnvdWU7yQOlGm1Vd7GHnNZ34uR16iHaN42zjJKeEiRwOjYAgwcmrpjpKTu5zj/s320/IMG00212-20110816-2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pinot Noir berries turn purple at Charles Vineyard.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We are relatively lucky here at Foursight and we just have one vineyard to prepare to pick. Of course that does mean that all the fruit comes in, in a relatively short period of time (we only grow three varieties of grapes). So it's a bit crazy while it happens, and then it's over.<br />
<br />
This will be our 12th harvest for Foursight Wines, as unbelievable as that is. How life has changed. We went from an ambitious young couple who held down day jobs and launched this project during every moment of free time (nights, weekends, vacation time) to the parents of a 2.5-year-old boy entering our second decade as a winery. Wish us luck with a new vintage, and come taste it when it releases -- let's say 2019!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkg5WFts_O2Z0rFVbao9t1B9Ngf8M5aFyIj0DDRjao7FcodupGa3xgfqdLMdliY8u5e-AsFAy919C-wqRLbtc9nMV3AuBYITuCxb6WZhJlwv-XEM51w8WT1k1oxrjKdZhx4ROWsitDrb1/s1600/IMG_6062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkg5WFts_O2Z0rFVbao9t1B9Ngf8M5aFyIj0DDRjao7FcodupGa3xgfqdLMdliY8u5e-AsFAy919C-wqRLbtc9nMV3AuBYITuCxb6WZhJlwv-XEM51w8WT1k1oxrjKdZhx4ROWsitDrb1/s320/IMG_6062.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evan inspects the growing vines early this summer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-41802520376247579112017-01-01T12:16:00.000-08:002017-01-01T12:16:20.792-08:0010 Years of Lessons Learned in The Wine BusinessAs we wrap up our first decade as wine business owners, I've been thinking quite a lot about the lessons I've learned over the years. What would I distill and pass along from our first 10? In that spirit, here is a (slightly salty) musing -- the top 10 things I’ve learned from a decade of running our
own wine business. This could also be entitled: "The best advice I could give someone starting their own
brand."<br />
<br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Get a good lawyer. Get an even better accountant.
Love your label designer. Adore your customers. Know many others will just be
there to blow smoke up your … or sell you something. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>You’ll probably get a little fat. Because wine
is not calorie-free, and either is all the amazing food – and amazing friends
who cook – that come along with it. But it's okay; you're in good company.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>You will wear three to 10 hats each and every
day. Being in the wine business for yourself requires at least some knowledge
of many things, from botany to meteorology, to chemistry, to accounting, to
finance, to customer service, to food service… I could go on. If you enjoy
never quite knowing what you’ll be up to each and every day, this may be the
job for you.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Drink less of your own wine and more of others.
Too many winery owners only drink their own product. Because, well, it’s there,
and you can justify it because it’s your product, and because you like it (let’s
hope). But understanding what others are doing is paramount. Tastes change,
styles change, and “cellar palate” – where only your own wine tastes right – is
a real thing.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Don’t. Ever. Stop. Running your own business is
pushing the rock up the hill. Especially in the beginning. But just because
there are little plateaus that get easier, and because you keep getting
stronger and more adept at pushing, it doesn’t mean there’s ever a time you
should let go. Because that rock will, eventually, roll back downhill. Owning
your own business is deeply rewarding, but you have to push every day, until
you sell or quit. The thing I’ve heard the most, from all the entrepreneurs in
all the various businesses I’ve talked to over the years: you get out what you
put in. When you stop is when the trouble starts, so be relentless instead.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Do not underestimate the amount of time you’ll
spend doing paperwork. The wine business is romantic, yes, glitzy, sometimes,
down-and-dirty, often, but it’s also one of the most highly regulated
industries in the United States. Your county, your state and your federal
government all want their piece and those records that go along with it. And so
will all the other states where your product finds a home. And then there’s
inventory, payroll, bills, label approvals, supply ordering, and on and on.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Know that tax law is not on your side as a wine
business. Wineries are generally required to use the accrual method of
accounting. This means that, even though you incur the costs of manufacturing
your product as they happen, you can’t write those costs off until you sell the
product – often a year or more down the road.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Schedule your time off. Bake it into the cake,
as my husband says. Because if you follow #5 and never stop pushing, you’ll be
hard-pressed to take it. But also know that you’ll only take half of that
scheduled time off, because you like what you do, and you've got shit to do, you
know?!</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Make your business profitable. Because vanity or
lifestyle wine businesses don’t work unless you have multiple, multiple zeros
in your (or your family’s) bank account. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And even if you have a lot of zeros, you’ll
only want to lose money for so long. My best advice, for what it’s worth: work
a side job, build reasonably, get into DIY in a semi-masochistic way, and build
a business for the long term. Because it’s a hell of a lot cheaper to buy
someone else’s wine than to make your own just for kicks.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>You will lead a very rewarding life. Crafting a
product that people will enjoy, appreciate, wax on about, share with friends,
and use to console themselves, is pretty awesome. There’s an inherent
satisfaction in being behind a well-made product. This business will also keep
you grounded: close to the earth, close to the weather, close to what you can
see, smell, taste and explain. Close to your senses, and to family, and to all
these amazing parts of life. This is what makes #1-9 worth it. Because THAT
taste of THAT wine from THAT vintage causes amnesia in the best way, much like
the amnesia that happens after you have a child. The hardships of the first
years just slip away, among all the precious moments, like the trials of each
harvest fade, and you jump back in again the next fall. Having children and
making wine seem to be the same sort of happy insanity.</div>
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Happy New Year! Here's to an amazing 2017! </div>
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<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-74259051729613962016-09-25T14:46:00.000-07:002016-09-25T14:46:45.365-07:00Harvest 2016 Comes to an EndThis weekend we pressed the last lots of Pinot Noir off the skins and put them into barrel. In other words, we're done!!! As it has been the past few years, harvest came fast and furious with one estate, and we are done with time to spare in September, which is a bit unusual for us.<br />
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All in all, we're very happy with 2016. Quality looks to be great, and quantity was surprisingly good. I wrote earlier about the smaller cluster sizes and our expectation that the crop would be down for the Pinot Noir. As we neared harvest, we did more counts and weights, and, although some blocks were slightly down, some picked out slightly heavier than expected. Looking back, we seem to be pretty close to our long-term average on tonnage -- a fact we're happy about after a few down years.<br />
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The Sauvignon Blanc was our big winner this year, finally cropping a decent amount and filling several tanks in the winery (in 2015 it was down more than 50% due to inclement spring weather). We hope we'll finally be able to meet demand for this bottling when we release it next year.<br />
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Harvest was more challenging this year in some ways -- I spent more time playing mommy to our toddler and less time helping at the winery. This leaves Joe with more work on his own, but as luck would have it, we were connected with an amazing intern who was able to help us get everything done.<br />
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The winery was scrubbed, organized, and sanitized before any grapes came in, and then we started the process of picking, sorting, destemming or adding whole clusters to the fermentation bins (or pressing the whites off the skins), punchdowns, pressing the Pinots off the skins, and barreling down.<br />
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Evan, our son, LOVED harvest. The trucks, the tractors, the forklifts, the people, and most important, the grapes! They were all exciting, loud, and/or delicious. He took it upon himself to sample most of the bins that came in, just to make sure everything was "yummy."<br />
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Here are a few images from harvest 2016 at Foursight Wines:<br />
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<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-67294718712041131432016-08-20T12:36:00.002-07:002016-08-20T12:36:40.219-07:00Our First Pick Dates Are Scheduled! Harvest 2016Last week we started eyeing the vineyard suspiciously. With a few recent heat spikes and a smaller-than-average crop, ripening was moving along very quickly. And as I wrote in this blog just one week ago that we expected harvest in early September, we took our first berry samples for the year, testing acidity and sugar and tasting for flavor.<br />
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The verdict? We start harvesting estate grapes next week! A quick turnabout, but every vintage is unique, and I always tell our customers that a lot can happen in a vineyard in a very short amount of time! This year proves that.<br />
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In many of the blocks this year, clusters are tiny (see photo below, where the cluster is only as long as my fingers). Pinot Noir is known for small clusters, but this year they're very small, meaning less crop for the vine to ripen and a faster ripening pace. Once the vines started to get some summer heat, then off they went! Sugars are accumulating quickly and we should have all the grapes in the winery by the beginning of September.<br />
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Here we go! <br />
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<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-16639782719170119752016-08-13T12:21:00.000-07:002016-08-13T12:21:46.250-07:00August UpdateWith bottling behind us, harvest looms. Our winemaker spent his days off this week turning the cellar from a bottling space (with all the supplies and equipment involved filling the cellar) into a harvest and crush space.<br />
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Our fermentation bins now fill the back, and all the punchdown tools, containers, carboys, and miscellany are out of storage until late fall, when they are scrubbed, ozoned, and returned to their respective homes.<br />
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We're not quite ready for September's incoming grapes. All these supplies must be cleaned (same process as above) and the sorting table and basket press prepped (and cleaned), but we're getting closer.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evan on the crushpad for the Sauvignon Blanc pick, 2015</td></tr>
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This is one of the few times during the year that our barrels are stacked in the cellar. One of the ways we are able to achieve cleaner, unfiltered wines, is that we single-stack our barrels once they're filled, then try and leave them alone. If you shake up your unfiltered apple juice, what happens? It gets cloudy, right? Same principle applies with the lees (sediment) in the bottom of the barrels. We embrace some sediment, but there is a limit, so we try not to disturb the wines during the aging process, until we rack (remove some of the sediment) and blend to prepare for bottling later in the year.<br />
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One thing I'm particularly looking forward to this year is harvest with our toddler, Evan. It sounds a little crazy, because it will be given how active and curious he is, but he's beginning to understand broader concepts and can talk about what he sees now. During crush 2015 he was just 6-7 months old and trying to stuff grapes in his mouth. This year he'll be able to ride the forklift with dad and taste green versus red grapes, and generally enjoy the craziness and equipment involved with this exciting time of the year.<br />
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Plus, in 20 years he'll be able to say this is the first vintage he was truly able to help. Given how few zucchinis make it to maturity in our garden, he can at least pick a few grapes for the cause!Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-51936953262842204502016-07-30T13:18:00.002-07:002016-07-30T13:18:25.194-07:00Bottling the 2015's and a Harvest UpdateAs I type, we have already bottled our Foursight 2015 Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon from the estate, and in a few days our 2015 Pinot Noirs go into bottle, then off to the warehouse for a long rest before we release them to our <a href="http://www.foursightwines.com/wine-club/">wine club</a> (and an even longer rest before we release them to our tasting room). <br />
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We are feeling a bit lucky this year to have a more "normal" season -- harvest in September, not coinciding with a late-August bottling as it did last year. (Full disclosure, we also moved bottling a few weeks earlier this year, just in case!)<br />
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Our grapes are still in veraison (turning from green to purple), and we expect about a month of breathing room in between seeing off last year's wines and bringing in the first grapes of this year's harvest.<br />
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Our main worry this year, and there's always one with Mother Nature in charge, is the quantity of the crop yet again. Some of the blocks look down yet again (2015 was approx. 50% of normal). We have yet to do official cluster counts (where we actually count and weigh clusters on a number of vines, then use those calculations to form an estimated crop size), but that will give us a much more accurate look at the 2016 harvest.<br />
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As always, here's hoping for a great 2016 harvest!<br />
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<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-38030326865628237112016-07-12T15:42:00.000-07:002016-07-12T15:42:00.142-07:00Tasting Videos Now OnlineNew tasting note videos have been posted on our You Tube channel! Check it out for descriptions of all our current releases -- winemaking methods, flavor components and food pairings -- by Foursight Winemaker Joe Webb:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkyDiDNjJ7k99Q2TzNwBUKA">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkyDiDNjJ7k99Q2TzNwBUKA</a>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-67123115668782478852016-07-08T15:39:00.002-07:002016-07-08T15:39:18.258-07:00Life Before HarvestIn the Pinot business, July marks a slow slide toward harvest, usually beginning with bottling the prior year's wines.<br />
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Next week we begin to put our estate Pinot Noirs from the 2015 vintage into bottle. This is slightly earlier than our average bottling date because harvest has also been early the past two vintages. Just to hedge our bets, we moved bottling (because the general idea is to bottle BEFORE harvest so you have room in the cellar and empty barrels)!<br />
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Although winemakers typically despise bottling (so many logistics and something always goes awry), I love it. Seeing last year's wine make it safely into bottle and one step closer to being in the hands of our customers gives me a thrill that I often don't have the time, or sometimes brainpower, to appreciate during the busier moments of harvest and crush.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caught in action! Working the bottling line during Semillon bottling.</td></tr>
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July is also our last month to celebrate summer before we get really busy multi-tasking between the cellar, vineyard and tasting room. <b>On July 23-24 we'll be hosting our fourth annual Anderson Valley Barrel Tasting Weekend</b> with 21 wineries from Anderson Valley and the Yorkville Highlands appellation participating. It's a really fun (and reasonably priced) event -- $20 for two days of tasting and a glass. <a href="http://www.avwines.com/wsdevent/eventview/action/summary/frmCatID/148/?WSDSESSID=38ada3a06cf3d1422e9bf34cdd4e4864&/1/">Check it out here</a>.<br />
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We also have our first <b>Wine Bar Night on July 15th</b> at our Boonville tasting room. We'll be serving Pork Crostini with Onion Jam and Savory Mushroom Rolls to pair with our wines from Noon to 7 p.m. Tasting $5 and glasses and bottles available to purchase for the patio!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our fifth generation and grandpa, having a tractor lesson!</td></tr>
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We expect harvest to be in September this year -- more typical for our site, and will announce our harvest activities as we get closer.<br />
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<br />Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-76831306735584040572016-05-13T20:34:00.003-07:002016-05-13T20:34:53.543-07:00Pulling Samples of '15 Pinot Noir<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ioMOPyP-1lI" width="480"></iframe>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-65488467926490408742016-05-13T20:34:00.001-07:002016-05-13T20:34:08.761-07:00Racking 2015 Pinot Noir - Foursight Winemaker Joe Webb<br /><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nhQeBUi11Uo" width="480"></iframe>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-83083108997821265342016-02-08T11:30:00.001-08:002016-02-08T11:30:58.296-08:00El Nino Winter in Anderson ValleyAlthough we've been busy traveling on sales trips, rehabbing the tasting room for the New Year, and generally dealing with a business and a one-year-old, this is theoretically the quiet time at Foursight winery and Charles Vineyard. (I admit I'm beginning to think "slow time" or "quiet time" is a big joke!) Regardless, the vines are mostly pre-pruned, we just reopened in the tasting room after a three-week winter break (where we got snowed in on the East Coast by Jonas), and the wines are resting in barrel, with no imminently planned activity except topping.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New-release 2013 Pinot Noirs at our Boonville tasting room</td></tr>
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This is our first El Nino winter in years, and, to be honest, we didn't start to feel like it until the new year. Our rain year, which starts October 1, was almost identical to 2015 -- a drought year -- until the beginning of January. The last few years we had what skiers called "June-uary," which were sunny, warm and more Margarita weather than skiing weather. January 2016 was decidedly not.<br />
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It was wet enough last month that we were starting to get a little weary of our soggy, muddy state of living. And then, in true Mother Nature fashion, it changed. This weekend has been sunny and warm and gorgeous, which is a wonderful break as long as it starts raining again at some point! Our rain total for the water year is more than 26" right now via our weather station (a hand count of our manual rain gauges usually shows a little more).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkSIueiUpQ9hU_ovNWeVvWtg52E_xRL1uDLLsnZ1ZVoEe_ANVXGwjJjUeC7p8MCm5mVE3DomShDEyUV5EHt7BoCEihaL55qh7fVUO6eXRwlHPYtkhn3xZc283AHX7ZDAIRZQBz-KqyTv8/s1600/Evan+One.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkSIueiUpQ9hU_ovNWeVvWtg52E_xRL1uDLLsnZ1ZVoEe_ANVXGwjJjUeC7p8MCm5mVE3DomShDEyUV5EHt7BoCEihaL55qh7fVUO6eXRwlHPYtkhn3xZc283AHX7ZDAIRZQBz-KqyTv8/s320/Evan+One.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evan and his cupcake</td></tr>
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Today our capsules for 2016 summer bottling were delivered, which was a little reminder of the year, looking forward. We've had a busy tasting room, and we're starting to really plan our spring events. By April we won't take a breath until post-harvest, except to close one weekend in June when the enormous music festival comes to town.<br />
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We enjoyed our San Francisco Super Bowl 50 refugees this past weekend, and celebrated baby Evan's first birthday, so I guess he's toddler Evan now -- walking, talking and who-knows-what-else soon!<br />
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Until the next time!Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-83160296558943386862016-01-11T12:31:00.000-08:002016-01-11T12:31:39.033-08:00A Brief Slideshow of 2015Just a taste of the fun of the past year:<br />
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<span><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F115861891693974001823%2Falbumid%2F6238622352557921505%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCPjR9qj0pcmbQg%26hl%3Den_US" height="267" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"></embed></span>Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-22855058001427443182015-08-29T14:04:00.001-07:002015-08-29T14:14:12.319-07:00Harvest 2015: The End Draws NearAs we heard a slight drizzle on the roof last night, we were thankful that harvest is almost over for us at Charles Vineyard. As it seems to happen when the season is very cold or very warm, everything came in all at once. We started with Sauvignon Blanc on August 15, and brought in the last of the Pinto Noir for ourselves this past week. All we have hanging on the vine is Semillon (which tends to handle a little water like a champion).<br />
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As I have addressed in my two previous posts, it was an unusual year where warm weather and a lack of fruit came together to create the earliest harvest in California to-date. Quality looks good, but there just isn't much of it.<br />
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This vintage was unique for us not only because of the early start (we moved bottling back a few weeks and still managed to bottle and pick in the same week), but also because it's the first vintage with baby Evan. I've had to take a little bit (or a lot) of a back seat for the long days, instead having my own long days with our six-month-old. In the best possible way, of course. His fascination with everything that goes on here (tractors, forklift, people, delicious grapes) imbues us with a new sense of wonder at the business we've chosen (it's sheer insanity for a small amount of the time). The middle-of-the-night wakings also add to the harvest fog we normally have, even though we realize that this time will pass very soon.<br />
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Our only disappointment with harvest comes with the lack of fruit. We purchased a new tank and chiller for the express purpose of making more Sauvignon Blanc from our estate. Unfortunately, this will have to wait for another vintage. Our Pinot Noirs will also be more limited than usual for vintage 2015.<br />
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Right now we have fermenting Pinot Noir in the back, getting several punchdowns (by hand of course!) per day. This will increase and then decrease again until it's time to press the new wine off the skins and put it into barrel. By October we will be done with this process and with the official crush season.Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357420192396840024.post-44687309144907657432015-08-17T11:18:00.002-07:002015-08-17T11:19:31.631-07:00Harvest 2015 Has Started!It's here! This Saturday we picked our rows of Charles Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, kicking off vintage 2015 for Foursight Wines. It was also baby Evan's first harvest day; he had a sample of some grapes as they arrived at the crushpad (although he likes it a little sweeter)! <br />
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My previous post talks about some of the challenges with this particular vintage, but the one we're feeling particularly is the lack of fruit in most of the North Coast. We believe our estate is more than 50% down in tonnage for our Sauvignon Blanc, and 30-40% off in Pinot Noir. Gray, gloomy weather during the spring caused a bad set. Clusters are small, berries are small, and there's not much of them.<br />
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Unfortunately for us, that means less production for this vintage. We won't feel it until we release the wines in a few years, but knowing this will make us address the 2016 vintage differently (like producing additional quicker-to-release wines like our Vin Gris perhaps). We also won't be able to use our new tank, purchased for the express purpose of producing more Sauvignon Blanc this year as it keeps selling out too quickly! Murphy's law, right?<br />
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The Pinot starts coming in next Friday, after several days of bottling the 2014 Pinot Noirs. Given the small crop, we're planning to focus on our mainstays (Zero New Oak, Charles Vineyard, and Clone 05 Pommard Pinots) and, with the warmer year, perhaps some Paraboll. Wish us all luck!Kristy Charles, Foursight Wineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12651850175040386480noreply@blogger.com0