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Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
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A Tale of Two Harvests: Harvest Report 2007
If you ask Winemaker Nicki Pruss or Vineyard Manager Kirk Grace about the 2007 harvest, they might ask you “which one?” That’s because they both see 2007 as having two very distinct phases: before and after the intense heat spike of late August - early September. Kirk calls it the “two full moons harvest,” because both phases were clustered around full moons that occurred in late August and late September.
Canopy Mangement: Farming for Flavor
The old saying that “wine is made in the vineyard” is perhaps never more accurate than when it comes to managing the canopy — or green foliage — of a grapevine. Canopy management, a series of viticultural practices that occur between budbreak (in early spring) and veraison (mid-summer), is one of the winegrowers’ most powerful tools. By precisely controlling the amount of air and light that circulates and surrounds a grapevine, growers can affect photosynthesis, vine vigor, fruit development, and ripening, which in turn profoundly influence the character of a wine.
Farming The Soil
Although harvest is one of the most exciting times of the year in the vineyard—signaling the culmination of a growing season and the anticipation of new wines— what happens on the ground after harvest is equally important. It sets the stage not only for the coming growing season, but for the health of the vineyard itself, and ultimately, the quality of future wines. "At harvest we’re farming the vine; immediately after harvest, as the vines enter dormancy, we farm the soil," says Vineyard Manager Kirk Grace.
Vintage 2006: The Beginning
Coming after last year’s unusual growing season with its abundance of spring rain and a very large crop size, we have for 2006 what is already shaping up as another atypical year for the Napa Valley.
Sculpting the Vine: To Build Great Wine
Each January, our vineyard crew returns from their holidays anticipating the pruning season. Marcos Guzman, Salvador Solario, and Jesus Valdez stand in the leafless vineyard, arms folded, breath steaming in the cold air. As the men look out over the bare vines, each wearing his pruning shears in a sheath, the importance of their job is on their minds. Soon, they will begin pruning and shaping the vines to restrict vigor and create balance, setting the stage for ideal growing conditions.
Community
“I just wanted to share with you how much a bottle of your wine meant to my family today. About 18 years ago my late husband bought a bottle of 1990 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars "Cask 23" Cabernet Sauvignon. It was signed "to Danny on your 21st birthday." Well today was my sons 21st birthday so we opened, drank, and enjoyed that bottle of wine. It was so special that my son could enjoy a gift from his father even though he is no longer with us. So thank you for producing an amazing bottle of wine that can be enjoyed 21 years later.”
“I visited your winery last year on a trip with friends to Napa Valley and found it very enjoyable. Yesterday a bunch of us did a mini re-enactment of the Paris 1976 wine tasting, with four chardonnays and two cabs. In a blind tasting, we put the '07 Stag's Leap SLV cab up against the French Chateau Montrose (which had scored a 122 vs. Stag's Leap's 127.5 In 1976). The crowd cheered when the Stag's Leap '07 was pulled out of the bag as the winner, having scored 213 points to Montrose's 175. Every person at the tasting picked yours as the better wine. Just wanted you to know that 35 years later you're still beating the French in blind wine tastings!”
Auctions
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Auction Lot Sold for $86,100 At the 19th Annual High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction
- March 30, 2011
The Stag's Leap Wine Cellars live auction lot (Lot 38) sold for an incredible $130,000 at Auction Napa Valley
- Napa Valley, CA - June 3, 2011
Sun Valley Center Wine Auction
- Sun Valley, ID - July 21, 2011