Summer is here, and the vineyard is vibrantly green. Veraison, when the red grape clusters begin to turn red, has just begun in the Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre, signaling the beginning of the ripening process throughout the vineyard. We have finished all of our leaf thinning, and currently doing some fruit thinning in a few particularly exuberant Viognier blocks. We'll do another pass at fruit thinning after all the varietals have undergone veraison. We're expecting harvest to begin around September 15, with the Viognier the first varietal to be ready.

After two months of traditionally high temperatures in the 90s and 100s, we were surprised by brief rain showers the last week of July, which refreshed and washed off the vines. Irrigation has been cut off everywhere in the vineyard, with the exception of blocks containing replanted and brand new vines. Compost tea sprays have kept mildew under control, and we're ready to release our third batch of 150,000 lacewings to combat leaf hoppers.

In June we replaced a portion of one of the rootstock fields with 800 head-pruned Grenache vines. Because the rootstock field is relatively flat, we chose to head-prune these vines, the way vines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape are grown. Head pruning allows us to cross cultivate for weed control, and the slightly deeper soils allow us to dry farm.



François Perrin was out at the vineyard in the middle of June to complete the blending for the 2002 reds. The 2002 whites were blended in April, but the reds still need a bit more time in barrel before we made final decisions on the blends. The reds are in foudre now, and we expect them to be fantastic.

The 2002 Rosé was released in May, and we've only got about 30 cases of it left. In September, we'll be releasing three new wines: the 2001 Côtes de Tablas, the 2002 Côtes de Tablas Blanc, and the 2002 Roussanne. We'll be holding a release party at the winery for these wines on September 6th.



Out in the nursery, hundreds of green-growing vines have been moved out of the greenhouses into the shadehouses to harden off in preparation for being picked up by the growers who have ordered them. We are also in the process of propagating the new clones we just received out of quarantine. The baby vines include new clones of Syrah and Grenache, among others.

The vines in our greenhouses are now sharing their space with poinsettias, which we grow annually and sell to non-profits for use in fund-raising events.

We are still producing grafted-to-order vines for vineyards, so let us know if you're interested in quantities over 500 vines. We produce both green-growing and dormant vines from a wide range of clones and rootstocks. Now is a great time to place your grafted vine and budwood orders for next year, while we have full availability of all our Truwood varietals.

For more information, contact our Nursery Manager Laura Wullf at 805-237-1231 or laura@tablascreek.com.