Harvest is over. All of the grapes have been brought in and crushed, and the whites have been through fermentation. Chardonel for our reserve bottling is in French oak barrels, and we are in the process of bâtonnage, which means stirring the barrels once a week for the whole time the wine is in barrel. Bâtonnage is part of the sur lie process. After fermentation, the spent yeast cells drop to the bottom of the barrel, and the cellulose in the yeast cell walls starts to degrade. Through this process a number of polyphenols are released, many of which are flavor components, while others account for that wonderful creaminess that you experience with our Reserve Chardonel, yielding this wine’s multi-layer complexity.

Our quantity this year was slightly less than we anticipated, and I believe it is because we allowed the white grapes to hang on the vine a little longer, allowing the subtleties of flavor to develop. The reason that accounts for a slightly smaller crop, is the birds seem to also enjoy the enhanced flavors. The aroma of fermenting wine now fills the winery with that wonderful sweet bouquet, and some of that actually makes it upstairs to the office. It’s a great time of year! In the vineyard, we have been irrigating. The hanging clusters act as a nutrition sink, and so when they are gone, the plant is able to store its complete production of nutrients in the roots for use in the spring. Most of the leaves in the vineyard have now fallen, and the vineyards have taken on their winter look.

Now is the time that we can devote our efforts to those many projects that we have had less time to address during the growing period. We are preparing trellises, guy lines and anchors; replacing broken wires, (though thankfully not many this year,) and completing our soil enrichment project. Our field crew has begun to put away the many things that need to go inside for winter.

We have made the decision to remove some of the experimental vines that we’ve had in the ground since the late 1990’s. We imported these vines from eastern Europe, hoping to find a new cultivar suitable for our climate. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The six varieties that we will remove did not pan out. The wine chemistry from the grapes was totally different from what we look for in both the red and white varieties, thus we have completed this particular experimental effort. We will replant the seven rows with either Vignoles or Norton, a decision which has yet to be determined. We will propagate vines for this site this winter in one of our greenhouses, and we will produce our own vines rather than buying them elsewhere. This allows us to take cuttings from the best, strongest vines that we can identify. This is a form of varietal selection.

We are near completion of the rehab of the original farmhouse on property that we refer to as the Thebeau House. About two-thirds of the house will be finished as a two bedroom apartment. The other third will be divided into three bedrooms, a bath and a small kitchen for use by employees who commute to Chaumette from St. Louis.

In other news, we are thrilled to be featured in Missouri Department of Tourism’s latest full page campaigns in Country Living Magazine, Missouri Life Magazine, Rural Missouri, and Show-Me Missouri magazines! Also, it was a pleasure to host a brief stay from New York Times writer Kim Severson when she interviewed our friend Veronica Baetje of Baetje Farms about her world class cheeses. Ms. Seversen included our Exec Chef Rob Beasley’s recipe for Roasted Grape Bruschetta in the article, as well, and here is a link to the article.

Though we are winding down our harvest season, we have some great events coming up! Please “save the date” for our Annual Winemaker’s Dinner, Saturday December 5th, and thank you for joining us last Saturday for our Annual Fun Walk for P.R.I.S.M.S., a non-profit that supports families of children with Smith Magenis Syndrome. Hope to see you soon!

Cheers!

Hank