Bruliam Wines 2021 Post Harvest Wrap Up

The end of harvest is always bittersweet for me. 

This year especially, I am grateful to have completed harvest without drama, hail, drenching rains, or natural disasters.  But I also suffer from end-of-harvest blues, craving the collective effervescence of a busy winery, surrounded by our crew, my friends, and colleagues. 

Some years, I try Brian’s patience by picking up something extra & unexpected, like, “Wow, I just found this extra pinot noir, waiting to be picked…by me.” Luckily for my exacting CF(n)O, yields were low across the board, so most

Sonoma fruit already secured a winery home. In fact, my 2021 late harvest sauvignon blanc hopes were dashed when the vineyard came up so short for yields that no fruit could be left hanging for my dessert project.  Sigh.

First and foremost, wine is about sharing joy.

So let’s celebrate everything good about harvest 2021 since there is much to discuss. 

Yes, yields were low; this is not a secret. Sure, low yields are not so good for commercial operations selling for high tonnage. But low yields are exceptional for focused, boutique operations like mine.  Low yields make for high-quality grapes with an intense concentration of flavors and aromas. The 2021’s will not disappoint. 

Of course, you won’t be seeing these wines in your cellars or on your dinner table for a good, long while…except the 2021 rose of pinot noir. And happily, rose yields are great. To forestall the inevitable “sold out” gloom, I bought some extra pinot noir juice from a (famous but I can’t-tell-you) colleague to keep us in pink year-round. 

Let me just say, the source is a phenomenal, fancy-pants, Wine Spectator cover producer.  Please don’t your set calendar alert to the 2022 spring release just yet.  I PROMISE there will be ample rose for all.  I doubled down from 2021.

Where are we now? 

All the reds have completed both primary alcoholic fermentation and secondary fermentation (aka malolactic fermentation).  Reds are topped up in barrels, back in the cold room, sleeping. 

The rose is dry in the tank.  I plan to get the rose heat-stable early and barreled into neutral oak for a January bottling.  Lastly, the Heintz Vineyard chardonnay is still fermenting in barrels in the cold room, although I plan to move the barrels into the cellar to finish up at ambient temperature.  Now we wait.  And you know how I feel about waiting.

To stay busy, I am hitting the road for sales for my first market work since COVID.  I will be in Atlanta the week of October 25.  In addition, I am still actively hosting 3-5 tastings per week and hope you’ll schedule a hello if you’re in the Sonoma neighborhood. 

With our lower COVID case count and the bulk of harvest complete, I am happy to offer production tours once more.  Woohoo.  You can find a link to schedule your private tasting on our website.

 Finally, as always, thank you.  My job is nothing with you.  Cheers to a bountiful, cozy, and delicious autumn season ahead.