Author: Judi Scherrer

Instead of following these new and shiny things, over the years I have tried to streamline our winemaking process. Rather than simply introducing more steps, additives, manipulations, etc. to ‘improve’ only one aspect at a time, I have tried to stand back and focus on as much of the whole picture as I am capable of to refine the process.

I talk about balance [in wine] a lot. My favorite definition is that opposing forces are present in equivalent prominence. I consider the fundamental axis of balance in wine as ‘angles and rounds.’ ‘Angles’ are the harsh, pointy things like acidity and tannins. ‘Rounds’ are the softer, plush, sweet and/or textural parts such as Glycerol (a polyol formed in proportion to alcohol) and sugar if present in the wine style [not mine]

The devastating wild fires in the north coast these past two weeks has affected everyone in the area more than any event I have seen. In the early aftermath, we find some things to be grateful for, personally. First off, our family is safe. The long-time family house where my parents and sister live is[…]

Myself, I like puzzles. Spatial puzzles are the easiest. Rubik’s cube, I didn’t dig so much after staying up most of a night thinking I was so close to solving it (I wasn’t). Some puzzles are easily solved and others are long-term projects that require years to see the consequences of choices made. This is why winemaking suits my personality: I like some things to move slowly so I can ponder them.

It is interesting that in the English language our term for producing wine implies a very active role on the part of the people involved. I remember when studying French in college, I was frustrated by the lack of literal translation of the English word ‘winemaker.’ There were French terms that translated to ‘manager’, ‘cellar[…]

Each year when I write this particular newsletter, we are either still buried under a pile of grapes or as in this case, mostly finished with the heavy work load. It is a great time to reflect upon what the vintage has given us and how we responded to it.

I feel very lucky to have ancestors who purchased agricultural land well over a century ago, to have a family whose successive generations commit to living and working with the land. It’s not an easy path. But it is the one I have chosen and have tried to honor the efforts of those that have toiled before.

The most recent trend of the popular style inching toward higher alcohol/higher ripeness beginning in the 1990’s led to a natural and expected reaction of favoring lower alcohol/lower ripeness wines in certain quarters. However, rather than the pendulum gently swinging back thru the happy & balanced middle where we have been, it looks like a quantum leap from one extreme to the other.