Harvest 09 - All good things must come to an end

It is that time of year. The birds are heading south, stopping on their way to snack on our grapes. Bring in the cannons (no shooting, just a loud bang to scare them away). The rainy week at the start of October gave way to lovely sunshine and cool nights. Fruit came in from Walla Walla (think big reds), as we crossed our fingers for a clear forecast. Then all (fill in the blank) broke loose! The full moon was followed by a predicted 6 days of sun, followed by showers, rain, rain showers with sunny breaks, you get the idea. Time to bring in the fruit!

Starting on Wednesday (10/7) through today (10/12), we have been working long, sticky days and have been pulling in some beautiful grapes! Our winery is full of fermenters, filled to the brim with grapes well on their way to becoming the 09 vintage. We have weighed, sorted, pressed, power washed and mostly avoided getting stung by bees. The clusters are large and tasty. The fruit came in looking good and yields are up!

Harvest is a time to celebrate the bounty of the valley and to appreciate the good fortune to be able to share it with those near and far. It is filled with anxiety and relief but mostly satisfaction at the end of each hard day of work. Now the fun begins!

Harvest 09 - let the craziness begin

Harvest is here! We have been working for weeks to get ready, including our littlest helper in the vineyard! It is a family affair indeed!

The fruit is looking great and the recent heat is helping to finish it off. We are hoping for warm days and cool nights to last into next week and then to start picking! We have already brought in fruit from some of our Columbia Valley growers. Beautiful Sangiovese from Ciel du Chaval and lots of Viognier for our dessert wine (and maybe a bit more dry too). More warm fruit expected this week!

August was busy

We had a great month of events in August at the winery and close-by in Forest Grove. It always great to connect with our neighbors out in this beautiful part of Oregon.

Chef In My Garden Series: We partnered with chef Adam Sappington on a glorious August evening at a local homestead to support Growing Gardens. This local non-profit addresses hunger relief through education. They work in the community to plant gardens and teach school children and low income families how to create sustaining vegetable gardens.

More information can be found at: www.growing-gardens.org

Art in the Vineyard: Local artist Bob Schlegel spent time with us outside our Tasting Room. He spent the weekend painting the vineyard landscapes and images and meeting with visitors. It was a chance for us to feature his works as well.

Plate & Pitchfork Winemaker Dinner: This event is truly one of our favorites. We partnered with Forest Grove's Sun Gold Farms, chefs Jason from Clyde Common and Ben from Beaker & Flask, and the great team of organizers and volunteers from Plate & Pitchfork for a wonderful dinner on the farm, under the stars (by the end of the evening). The menu and the wine pairings were spectacular! Be sure to get on their mailing list, so you can join in the fun next summer!

www.plateandpitchfork.com

Italy in the Valley

August is packed with events and summer in general. Seems like there is always so much to do and plenty of fun to be had!

We are excited about a brand new event put together by some local producers. It is called "Italy in the Valley" and it features all-Italian varietals produced by winemakers from Oregon. There are 12 in all pouring their wines at Cana's Feast in Carlton next Sunday, August 23rd. This will be a chance to not only sample the wines, but meet the makers. There will be Italian panini (sandwiches) available as well. The event is from 1-5 PM and is only $10 per person.

Alfredo will be there and is looking forward to sampling the wines from other producers. Stop by, say "hello" and enjoy a bit of Italy in Oregon!

Here is the list of who will be pouring:

Apolloni Vineyards - Barking Frog Winery - Cana’s Feast Winery - Duck Pond Cellars - Hip Chicks Do Wine Marchesi Vineyards - Mystic Wine - Natalie’s Estate Winery - Ponzi Wines - Remy Wines Terra Vina Wines

Three Angels Wine - Viento Wines

Dinner at the Winery

Join us for our last dinner out at our winery for the summer. This will be a great evening with fun for all! We are really excited about the menu and wine pairings - yum! Grab some friends and sign up soon because this is a pretty small dinner and the seats won't last. Reservations required.

Oswego Wine & Food Festival Sunday

We are battling the pending hot weather by spending Sunday outside in Lake Oswego, tasting and selling wine! There will be lots of food and music and, of course, wine. Not just ours, but other local producers. We will have a lovely tent and mucho ice to chill down our favorite summer whites. It starts at noon and goes into the evening (8 PM). What a great way to spend a summer afternoon! Stop by and say, "Hey!" We will also have delicious peaches which have been soaking in our dessert Viognier - very, very tasty treats!

The festival is in Millennium Park, downtown L.O. It is free with a suggested $5 donation - the proceeds to go local charities.

Sunny Summer Weather

The beautiful warm and sunny weather is making for happy grapes in the vineyard! July has been filled with sunshine and dry conditions, which equal near perfect growing conditions. The clusters are full and green and growing steadily!

First Blog

Well here it is! Apolloni Vineyards has a blog. We're totally in the 21st century. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Apolloni-Vineyards/198556490182?ref=ts

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