Never a dull moment at O Vineyards! Our Wonderful Muse has her Apron on to carry the clips, helping Joe to lift the wires in the Merlot…
The wires in the Syrah are lifted…and some Cabernet remains to be done!
It’s very hot…so let’s start as early in the morning as possible so we can stop before the 36°arrives!
This video shows how lifting the wires helps the grapes get more exposure to the sun which will help them reach full maturity by harvest time … delivering our yummy O’Vineyards 2017 wines!
Time just runs so fast! Tremendous growth within the past couple of weeks! Next thing you know we will be harvesting…Meanwhile there is still so much work to do in the field during the next six to eight weeks that we barely have time to eat and drink. ( OK I might exaggerate from time to time !! )
Can’t wait to taste our O’Vineyards 2017 wines: Omg, Trah Lah Lah, Stranger Stranger, Sipster, Les Américains, Proprietor’s Reserve! all made with passion!
The O’Vineyards wine tour starts in the vines with a detailed explanation of our pruning methods.
During the growing season, this virtual tour will vary with the progression of the vines. Even when the vines are dormant you can clearly understand the practice.
After the pruning discussion, it’s off to the winery where you will discover most of the equipment used during harvest and wine making.
You will then taste directly from the tanks containing our most recent vintage while being educated about our wine making process.
The tour finale is tasting from a barrel in our adjacent cellar before returning to the decks for even more wine from bottles.
OMG we had Eugenie Bondurant aka Tigris from Hunger Games, and her husband Paul Wilborn from St Petersburg, Florida!
They joined us for a couple of our dinners, and loved our wines and Liz’s cooking. Eugenie’s favorites are Trah Lah Lah, and Les Americans. Paul can’t get enough of the O’Syrah and Proprietor’s Reserve.
On their last night, Joe broke out a surprise wine – Liz’s Vintage – a limited series Joe bottled in 2005 but kept for private enjoyment. What a wonderful treat!
They are leaving tomorrow, but we are packing some special wine for them to take home.
Soutirage of our 2016 wines: Another natural step of the Wine Making process at O’Vineyards.
Soutirage is when we move the wine from one tank to another to separate the wine from the sediment. The English term for this procedure is racking the wine off the lees. We do this numerous times to avoid filtering leaving in the wines the healthy antioxydants. We like to consider our wine as something beneficial to your health… when consumed in moderation…
Cheers!
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For the first time since we arrived here and produced our first vintage in 2005, we have ripped up some of our vines. It had little to do with the age of the vines or the quality of the wines, but more about the number of vines that were missing from these areas due to various reasons.
When up to 40% of the vines are no longer producing in a certain area, it’s time for a change.
The previous vines were all Cabernet Sauvignon. Now the question becomes what do we replace it with in the coming year?
Meanwhile, we have planted a type of grass that will enrich the soil for the following season. The parcel of land that will be re-planted falls under the City of Carcassonne Appellation so that leaves us a wide variety of varietals to choose from. We are leaning towards Cabernet Franc because it has always been one of our favorites, and it blends well with the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
However, we can’t resist the challenge of trying to see what we can do with a bit of Pinot Noir . It is said that pinot is not the right choice for this area but we are ready to test that theory . Allegedly the Chasan was not doing well here either … we all know how our O’Chasan turned out.
The elevation here is approximately 250 meters and lends itself to significantly cooler nights following our generally warm sunny days. Coupled with a clay soil that holds moisture well we should have the right ” Terroir ” for our Pinot Noir!
Our production will be limited and available only at the winery and to our Sipster Club members . If we plant this coming fall we should be enjoying the ” fruits of our labor ” by 2020 . Hopefully we will be sharing some with you in the coming years . CHEERS!
O’Vineyards has existed for over twelve years now, and we have met many people who fit the description of a SIPSTER!
The upcoming season will be far fewer Celebration meals for the general public as Dinners will be scheduled around the bookings of the Sipster Club Members.
The Sipster Club is for Men & Women of all ages that value independent thinking and drinking good wines. Therefore there is always an open bottle at the Carcassonne O’Vineyards Winery for the Sipsters who pop in.
Looking forward to a great season 2017 and hope to see you all soon.
Stay tuned for futur Sipster Club posts.
Joe, the O’Sipster-Winemaker
Joe’s defintion of “Sipters”: Men & Women of all ages who value independent thinking and drinking good wine!
Thanks to all who attended and Happy Holidays!