We know it’s short notice, but after walking the vines and checking the fruit with the winemakers from Lost Oak Winery we’ve decided to harvest the remaining Sauvignon Blanc tomorrow (Wed Aug 5).
We’ll start at 7:00 am, if we have lots of folks here it will go faster and we will hopefully finish by noon.
We’ll have the usual supplies on hand: harvest shears, sunscreen, bug spray, water, Gatorade, and snacks. The food will be individually wrapped for an extra measure of safety.
If you’re going a little stir crazy and need to get out of the house come join us!
We tested this morning and the grapes have spoken: they are not quite ready. We’ll keep a close eye on them and get the word out when the time is right.
Time has flown and harvest season is right around the corner!
I’ve listed our tentative harvest dates below. As always please remember that we estimate the dates based on bud break and bloom but the grapes don’t always follow the exact path each season. We’ll do our best to let you know the actual dates as soon as we know. Unfortunately our email group is experiencing technical difficulties, hopefully we can get it working quickly.
Due to health concerns with COVID-19 things will be a little different this season. You can still pick alongside those in your household group, but we ask that you maintain distance from others – fortunately there’s plenty of space out here. As much as it kills me to not have tasty treats for everyone we’ll have to forego that for now so please plan to bring your own drinks and snacks.
We look forward to seeing everyone soon (even from 12 feet away)!
Sauvignon Blanc: July 25 (may be bumped, we’ll know more by Thursday)
Spring was wonderful but it looks like summer is here to stay. We’ve had just enough rain to keep the vines growing steadily but not too exuberantly. We had good weather for bloom and fruit set and it looks like we’ll have an abundant crop. Almost all the shoots have grown past the top wire and have been wrapped (see the post from last season about palissage). From here on out we’ll be seeking the perfect balance of water and nutrition needs/supply as we head into veraison and then on to harvest. We’ll also continue to monitor canopy density and make sure the clusters have adequate sunlight and air circulation to promote ripening and prevent disease, as well as keeping an eye on the 900+ new vines we planted this spring.
Harvest season will begin late July to early August and finish up (hopefully) by mid September. We’ll have more precise dates as we get closer. Stay cool, stay healthy, and we’ll see you soon!
Cabernet Franc vines planted in AprilCabernet Franc wrapped and leaves pulled Syrah
While spring in Texas can be a very short season we are blessed with unlimited opportunity to enjoy its every nuance now that the grapevines are awake. There’s nothing like strolling in the vineyard when final pruning has been completed, seeing the tidy rows of trunks and cordons and reveling in the feeling of accomplishment and the sense of order. Then before we know it bud break begins and I still find it amazing that they can transform almost overnight from what appear to be gnarled stumps of wood to vibrant green canopies. They are deceptively beautiful in this early stage, with the promise of fruit to come and little hint of the disorder that their exuberant growth will create without vigilant management. There are glorious hours to be spent in the field thinning shoots and moving catch-wires, whether it be warm and sunny or cool and cloudy.
We received news from Lost Oak Winery that the 2017 Cabernet Franc has won a Double Gold Medal at the 2019 San Francisco International Wine Competition. We’re over the moon!!
The results won’t be posted on the SFIWC site until December 16, but we couldn’t wait to share the good news. The wines are tasted by a panel of judges. Those wines that receive a Gold Medal from all judges on the panel earn a Double Gold medal. These wines are described as “among the finest wines in the world” and we’re honored that our partnership with Lost Oak Winery has reached this pinnacle.
You can read more about the judging process on the SFIWC website (see the link below).
Don’t forget that the 2018 Cabernet Franc was just released for sale this week. This is also a quality vintage (the fruit was the best we’ve harvested yet) so you can get some to enjoy now and keep some for future enjoyment.
Lost Oak Winery has
announced a Wine Release and Live Music event on November 20 from 5:00 pm to
7:00 pm which will include the 2018 Cabernet Franc. Here’s the link to
the announcement:
This is one of the best
vintages yet so if you like Cabernet Franc you’ll want to get some as soon as
possible since it tends to sell out pretty quickly. If we may be so bold,
we would recommend getting a few extra bottles to hang onto for future
enjoyment since the wine will settle down after being bottled and get even
better over time. However that doesn’t mean that you can’t pop the cork
on a bottle right away so you’ll have a ‘control’ experience for comparison 🙂
For those who don’t live nearby, Lost Oak does ship within Texas and also to selected states outside of Texas. Here’s the link to the Lost Oak Winery online store for shipping:
I don’t know how soon
after the Release on November 20 the Cabernet Franc will show up online for
purchase, usually it takes a few days but you may have to keep checking or else
call them directly (817-426-6625).
There are currently two other wines for sale with fruit from Burning Daylight Vineyards:
2018 Quartet – a white
blend which includes our Malvasia Bianca (31%) and Vermentino (3%)
2017 Meritage – a red blend which includes our Malbec (14%) and Cabernet Franc (14%). If you like Bordeaux blends give this one a try, it’s very good.
The 2018 Sauvignon Blanc
is sold out. We’ll let you know when the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc becomes
available.
I’m off to find my sweater, the cold front blew in with gusts over 20 mph and dropped us down to 36°F with lows expected in the 20’s tonight. Stay warm no matter where you are :0
One of the most difficult decisions when beginning our vineyard adventure in 2012 was deciding which varieties to plant. We gathered as much information as possible, sought expert advice, and ordered vines accordingly. In April of 2013 we planted 1325 vines in 5 zones and left room for future expansion of up to 5 more zones. After 7 seasons the vines and wines have spoken: Cabernet Franc is a clear winner! The vines grow well on our site and Lost Oak Winery has produced award-winning wines from every vintage.
We’re pleased to report that in 2020 we’ll be planting 725 Cabernet Franc vines. A few will replace vines in the existing zones/blocks that were lost to disease over the past seasons but the majority will be to increase our overall production. One new zone of 5 rows will be added, and one existing zone (7 rows) of Cabernet Sauvignon will be replaced with Cabernet Franc. After several years of struggling to control the size of the Cabernet Sauvignon vines and bring the fruit to full maturity before the fall rains we have decided to remove them and replace them with Cabernet Franc.
We still have room for one more zone for a future expansion which will most likely be in 2022. Our test vines of Syrah performed well this season and if the trend continues in 2020 they will be the winners for our final frontier.
Spreading compost on the new rowsGoodbye Cabernet Sauvignon
With the last of the fruit safely off the vines we have a moment to catch our breath and say thank you to all of you who made it such a great season!
Overall we had excellent yields and good quality, and the scarcity of late summer rains meant that there was little risk of rot while the fruit was ripening.
This season we had our first harvest of the Syrah test vines that were planted in 2018 and we’re happy to report that they reached 24.5° Brix by August 27. We’ll see how they do next season but so far they are definitely a contender for our next expansion!
To make it a true Labor Day we’ll be harvesting the Malbec for Pemberton Cellars on Monday. We’ll start at first light (7 am) and will hopefully finish by noon depending on how many folks are here picking. We provide water and Gatorade, food/snacks, sunscreen, bug spray, and harvest shears (see previous posts for more details).
