Winemaker's Journal

May

May dew brings promise for the coming vintage.

May is a beautiful month of dewy-eyed promise for the coming vintage. As this month begins, the shoots are bright green, about half a foot long and glowing with health and vitality. By the end of the month, the vine canopies will be well established and the delicate perfume of grape flowers will be evident. Our challenge in 2008 will be managing the aftermath of the worst frost season in 30 years. Most of our vineyards emerged unscathed, but we have a few areas that will have to be flagged so that we sample and pick them separately. They will probably be three weeks behind the rest of the vineyard at harvest. Whatever the challenges, May is always a time of great optimism.

Now that most of the 2007 vintage is in barrel, the Geyserville winery is filled with the rhythmic music of bottling. We will be running all month as we complete the production cycle of the 2005 Alexander Valley and Napa Valley wines. It is a time when attention to the finest details of sanitation, cork moisture, label placement, and a myriad of other measurements become almost an obsession for the production staff. Our cork quality standards are some of the toughest around and I think that we sometimes drive our suppliers to distraction. It is all worth it to know that we are providing the best finish possible to the years of work that go into each bottle that bears the Silver Oak name.