Apolloni Vineyards

2011-10-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

Harvest is getting closer and things are really starting to shape up. Look at those beautiful 777 Pinot Noir clusters.

The dryer weather has really helped and the flavors and numbers are coming into line. Pommard Clone Pinot Noir on our winery site was at 22.5 brix Thursday with a pH of 3.35 and TA of 8.6. The flavors are there and we could definitely make solid wines right here. We will do a small test pick Monday with our daughter's 6th grade class. This should be a great experience for all. The harvest is the culmination of a year of farming work and I'm delighted they can participate.

Later in the week we will have some of our custom crush fruit coming in and the plan is to bring in all the rest of the Washington warm weather varietals Friday. Harvest will begin in earnest on our sites next Friday and run through the weekend and into the following week. We're hoping to pick up another 0.5-1 bric over the week and a small amount of acid conversion. Amazingly this could actually result in an outstanding vintage! Cross your fingers for us and enjoy the sunshine.

Come out and visit it us next weekend if you want to check in on the full blown harvest activities.

2011-10-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to put up a couple of pictures of our Pinot Blanc. You can see the spots of Botrytis on the clusters. My estimate is that 5-10% are currently affected with low to moderate severity. You can see it as a browning of the skins as they lose their integrity split and slip off easily. Also if you look carefully in the first picture you can see our cleanup crew, ants and wasps, hard at work. We do strive to maintain bio diversity in our LIVE certified sustainably farmed vineyards. Beneficial and predatory insects can help reduce the impact of vineyard pests and pathogens. We did manage to put on our OxiDate organic eriadicant today and will be working hard to keep this under control.

The Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir currently appear less affected. Grape vines have a complex systems of response to pathogen attack that include skin pigments and the antioxidant resveratrol, which help reduce their susceptibility to Botrytis; both are present in dark colored varietals.

On a positive note the overall weather picture seems to be improving with less rain and a number of sunny days in the mix. This last shot of fall sunshine will help us with skin pigment, tannin and flavor development.

2011-10-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

We're starting to see some botrytis showing up in our Pinot Blanc. I'm not sure its all bad but we're going to try to keep it under control. Moderately botrytized Blanc can produce characteristic spice, but we have a ways to go before harvest so we can't let it go crazy yet.

Even the best vineyard practices can't keep the mold at bay in this rainy year. We are going to try an organic curative spray called OxiDate which is basically hydrogen peroxide. I've heard mixed reviews on the effectiveness of material and it is quite costly per acre so we'll be evaluating it pretty closely.

So far the other varietals seem to be fairing a little better. The flavors in the grapes are developing and the seeds are browning up. There is no doubt that we aren't going to see the sugars we'd like to this vintage if 23-24 brix are the optimum; most of the Willamette valley will be harvesting in 19-21 range this year. This doesn't mean we can't produce some great wines it just will take a lot more "wine-making" to do it. After all we saw some excellent wines in 2007 from a similarly cool wet harvest.

We're just hoping to hold on now till the sunny weather next week!

2011-10-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

We had a few people out at the winery this weekend to help us with some of our first fruit. Merlot came in from Washington for our Soleggio Super Tuscan blend. We sorted just over 1.5 tons of fruit and ran it through the destemmer into a small fermenter. The first step on its way to a one week cold soak prior to fermentation. Chuck one of our assistant wine makers discussed the importance of cold soaks and punchdowns over a Sangiovese fermenter and then everyone had a turn with the punchdown tool.

This year we have had to make some major grape sourcing substitutions for our Washington veriatals. The vineyard where we have sourced our Cabernet and Merlot for many years, Pepper Bridge was devestated by an early freeze last November. This happend before the vines had become dormant and the vines where killed down to the ground. They will have no crop from Pepper Bridge in 2011; fortunately the vines in Walla Walla are own rooted as the phyloxera soil pest does not seem to thrive in their sandy soils. Because they are own rooted they will be able to grow new vines from the surviving root system.

What can I say its farming and is fraught with challenges. We are having our own challenging vintage in Oregon with cool weather and rain this year.

2011-10-07T22:24:00.003-07:00

It was a very productive day in the vineyard and winery today.

We contined to cold soak our first fermenter of Sangiovese; picture at left. The cold soak extends the amount of time that juice is in contact with the skins helping to extract every bit of flavor and color into the wines. This is especially important with thin skinned varietals like Pinot Noir but helps to build bold deep flavors in all red wines.

We also kicked off the fermentation of our second frementer Sangiovese; with one of our favorite yeasts isolated by the Consorsio del Brunello in Siena. The perfect yeast for this VCR 6, Brunello clone Sangiovese. Yeast can have a huge impact on wine character and in this case it brings out the varietally typical flavors of berry and cherry with very full mouth feel.

At the end of our day our 4 bins of frozen viognier from Seven Hills vineyard came in and went straight into the press for our Dolce Vino Ice Wine you can see the white frost on the berries. The freezing concentrates all of the flavor and sugar and the juice we use to make this wine is typically at about 36 brix .

This is almost double the sugar level of most of our dry white wine musts.

Finally we received 4 bins of Merlot from Le Mirage vineyard in Washington. We will be processing this tomorrow morning with some help from the Harvest Trail participants. I’ll include some pictures of them sorting tomorrow; all in all a full day and good start to the vintage.

2011-10-05T20:32:00.001-07:00

A little more rain in the vineyard today our total so far is about 0.5” over the past few days. It’s definitely shaping up to be a challenging Pinot Noir vintage. Fortunately we have pretty solid cover crop over about 90% of the vineyard and all of those plants will help sponge up a good portion of the water so it doesn’t all end up in the vines.

Look at those nice tight small Pinot clusters in the picture. We've been blessed at our site with consistently small clusters even in our Pommard clones. Our average cluster weight is around 115 grams this vintage. I have seen some massive clusters at many other vineyards with average weights of 200 grams or more. Pinot means small and since most of the flavor is in the skins you really want the smallest berries possible. This is especially important in thin skinned varietals like Pinot Noir. So I’m very happy to see we don’t have the monster clusters that are showing up elsewhere.

You can also see the bird netting we’ve put up on all of the Pinot so we won’t experience the heavy losses we had last year. We lost over $10,000 in fruit last year to the birds and that really helped justify the netting investment. It truly is the only effective means of controlling bird damage and I hope this investment pays off this year.

Harvest is going to be late this year and I don’t expect to start picking anything on our site before October the 20^th. The real challenge this year will be botrytis. Even the cleanest most meticulously managed fruit zone will develop mold with enough rain. So far we are looking good but I’ve been hearing about mold already showing in vineyards and with more than two weeks and a chunk of rain to go it is going to be dicey.

2011-10-04T21:56:00.001-07:00

Not much news from the vineyard or winery today. I spent the day in Seattle meeting distributors hoping to find someone to take over representing our wines in Washington. After all even great wines do need someone to sell them. It was a productive day and I think we've found a great representative for us in A&B Imports. They were very excited about our wines quality and value.

Rain in the vineyard today; we're seeing some berries splitting out there. So far just a few and no botrytis yet. But I'm really still hoping for a couple of weeks of 75 degrees and sunny to get us a great vintage.

Merlot should be coming in on the weekend or early next week and we'll be kicking off our Sangiovese frementers Friday, and more pictures to come soon.

2011-10-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Processed our first grapes of the season Viognier went in the press first and was pressed off in a couple of hours.

We had the whole Apolloni family on the sourting table, sorting the Ciel de Cheval Sangiovese. We had a lot of leaves to pull out with quite a few very tiny berries and two full fermenters when we were all finished. The Sangiovese came in at 24.5 brix, .65 TA and 3.31 pH. Right on the numbers this should be another great one.

Out to Walla Walla and Red Mountain

2011-10-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

The 2011 harvest has officially begun at Apolloni Vineyards! Laura and I had a great trip out east to collect the first of our warm weather varietals. It must not only be the grape harvest we saw truck after truck of onions and apples.

First stop Seven Hills vineyard in Walla Walla. We picked up our golden colored Viogner for our Dolce Vino ice wine. The grapes were beautiful with the flavor of honey. The Viognier came in heavier than we expected and we ended up with 6 bins; we were only expecting 3 or 4. I wouldn't be able to haul all of these and our Sangiovese from Ciel de Cheval. Panicked calls were made to anyone in Oregon we know who might be getting grapes today but no luck on sharing trucking. So we had to make an emergency detour to the fruit freezer in Richland. We left four of our six bins there to be frozen. We'll pick them up next week when our Merlot is ready and they should be perfect for our ice wine pressing after the 4 hour drive back.

Then we headed up towards Red Mountain. We made a quick stop along the way to drop bins and check in on the Sangiovese at Candy Mountain just south of Red Mountain. Laura did the sampling and was wondering where the mountain of candy was. I told her the grapes are as sweet as candy and she agreed. The sangio was at 22 brix so it'll be another 10-14 days before we pick.

We finally made it up to Ciel at 4pm to pickup our VCR 6 Brunello clone Sangiovese. It was still busy at there as they were furiously picking to get ahead of next week's rains. We left Red Mountain with 9 bins of beautiful small berry Sangiovese. The grapes reminded me of 2009; another vintage which generated low yields and small berries. That vintage made some of the most structured deeply flavored Sangiovese I've ever seen. I can't wait to see what these wines yield.

First grapes coming Sunday

2011-09-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

The first grapes of 2011 are coming into the winery this weekend!!! Saturday we will be picking Sangiovese from Ciel de Cheval and Viognier at Seven Hills. First crush will be Sunday morning.

Pasta & Pinot Dinners - next up Lincoln

2010-02-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

Pasta & Pinot - what a great combination! We have been busy working on a new dinner series featuring Apolloni wines! We are partnering with guest chefs and local restaurants for small, casual and affordable dinners. Here's the format - come to a dinner and have an appetizer, two pasta courses and dessert. Each course will be paired with one of our wines, which we will be pouring and telling you all about. In addition, we will offer special discounts on wines served a the dinner. You will be able to take home your favorites at great prices!

Our first dinner was at the end of January in our hometown of Forest Grove! It was a great evening, hosted by local coffee shop/caterer Maggie's Buns. Thanks for all the FG love, the dinner seats were sold out in 2 days!

NEXT UP: Lincoln Restaurant in Portland, Wednesday, February 24th @ 6:30 PM
Cost: $50 per person, plus gratuity. Chef Jenn Louis and her husband, David Welch, have a wonderful restaurant in N. Portland (just off the Fremont Bridge for you westside types. They are putting out fabulous food and we can't wait to see what's in store for the evening! We are working on the menu and will post it soon! Call Lincoln for reservations - 503.228.6200 now!

www.lincolnpdx.com

If you can't make it, there will be a dinner in March coming soon!

Welcome 2010

2010-01-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since our last post and we have much to share, so here goes! January is a time of review and planning.

Looking Back - '09

2009 was challenging for everyone - regardless of where you were local or elsewhere. We want to give a big shout out to our loyal Apolloni customers. Our tasting room sales were way up and we have many new Cellar Club members in the fold! Thanks to you all for spreading the word about what we are doing! Small, family-owned, sustainably farmed hand-crafted Oregon wine is what we are all about! It is a pleasure to share it and drink it, of course! The growing season was a good one and our harvest yielded some of the most lovely, large clusters we have seen to date! There will be plenty to share when these wines are released (whites in the summer, Pinots and big Reds to come in '11).

Looking Ahead - '10

We are in the midst of planning everything from events to pruning schedules to bottling dates. This is an excellent time to work and plant in the vineyard. The ground is soft and, lately, the days have been warm enough to make it even pleasant for ourselves and our crew out on the hills. Our winery is full of fermenting barrels and we are excited about how the '08 Pinot, in particular, is progressing!

We are about to launch a brand new dinner series called "Pasta & Pinot." We will partner with local chefs and restaurants to offer casual, affordable and intimate dinners - appetizer, two pasta dishes and dessert - paired with Apolloni wines. When we are able, we will offer special discounting for purchase of wines at the events. Additionally, we will try to keep the price around $50 (including gratuity). We are very excited about planning these and will offer a schedule soon! Look for us at other events throughout the year. We were part of a great "Cooking for Kids" dinner last week at Commercial/Lincoln Restaurant. All the proceeds went to Morrison Family Services - a great local organization.

Our tasting room is open Friday - Sunday, Noon - 5 PM. Come out for a visit if you are local. We would love to see you!

More news about upcoming events, tasting room schedules and winemaking coming soon!

Harvest 09 - All good things must come to an end

2009-10-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T04:56:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-08T10:35:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-28T11:52:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

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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