We are excited to bring out our next vintage of one of the best delta classic red wines: The 2018 Grand Island Vineyards Petite Sirah.

This vintage of Petite Sirah is notable from the very long skin contact during fermentation. Petite Sirah is a richly pigmented and tannic red grape that normally does not lend itself well to heavy extraction. However, this vintage had nearly perfect ratios of skin tannin, seed tannin, and color, which allowed us to give the wine a long extraction period. The result is a dense wine with more earth and floral flavors in addition to the classic ripe fruit of Petite Sirah. This elegant Petite Sirah can be served alongside smoky BBQ, with a nice steak, or alongside some Parmigiano-Reggiano.

This wine pours an intense purple color that coats the glass. The initial aromas are of pluot, lavender, and cacao. As the wine opens with a few swirls the bouquet begins to evolve with fleeting wisps of vanilla, smoky oak, loam, and dried cherry bringing nuance to this wine. The mouthfeel is luxurious with weighty presence and fine tannins that slide into a clean finish with hints of granite dust, cedar, and ripe blackberry.

David and I are just now back in the cellar getting ready for our first bottling of the year.

The very first step of our process is to lay down all of the barrels of wine that are up for bottling so we can taste through each and every barrel and assign them a grade.

After we've assessed all of the barrels we're able to designate where each would best fit, and can then begin blending trials to create what will ultimately end up in bottle.

It's a long, slow process, but hand picking which barrels go into every wine we make is a very important step to ensure we're making high quality wines that we're proud to serve you.

The weekends have been oh so gorgeous out here at GIV. We know it’s been a bummer that we haven’t been indoors for almost a year but we are very grateful that the weather has been cooperating with us for the most part. I have worn shorts every month this year! I hope I can keep that up.

It’s the first of the month...and you know what that means? Choose your own weekend! Make a reservation on March 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th for a tasting of your choice. Choose any eight of our twenty three wines to sip and enjoy on the patio.

As I start to see the plum trees bloom around here, I know it's time for us to give our pruning of the grapes that last, final push.

At this point, we have about 85 acres left to prune, out of around 450 total. Mostly Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Petite Sirah and Cabs. Now the sap flow is outward and protects any pruning wounds on these vines. Hopefully we will be done later this month and I'm sure we will see some growth on Chardonnay by the next newsletter as well.

As our crew makes their way through the last vineyards, it gives me time to start planning for the upcoming growing season. I talked about the reflection of past years and then compiling that data with current data. One thing I do on an annual basis that gives me current data is to collect soil samples and send them into the lab for testing.

Consistently working on the quality of soil is crucial in farming and can be the difference between a vineyard that just grows grapes and one that produces amazing wines. Besides looking at the specific nutrients in the soil, looking at organic matter and the resultant soil microbes is key to a soil working for you, rather than a money pit you just throw a bunch of fertilizer money at.

Using this probe below I typically sample the top 6" of soil and take numerous plugs throughout a vineyard block. The lab I work with tracks these vineyards over time and I can compare this data with yields and past treatments to make a pretty good plan for this growing season.

It's not all long walks in the vineyard while sipping Bubbles!