Photo: 2007 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

2008 Harvest Report: Sauvignon Blanc: The first grape to harvest was from the cool Russian River. The cool spring had left a medium light crop with very low pH. The strategy became to wait and allow the grapes to get above 3.2 pH, with a sugar below 24° brix. This was achieved and a post harvest juice panel profile was done.
Napa's Oak Knoll S.B. carried a greatly reduced crop. A combination of vineyard factors allowed these grapes to pass to perfect maturity balanced and flavorful. Both grapes were clean and not sulphited. Do not add SO2 until the end of sugar fermentation.

-For a dry wine ferment slowly, usually requiring temperature in the 50's. Do not do malolactic fermentation. Use up to 500 ppm of lysozyme to retard malolactic. You may age with light lees and stir every week or so. Maintain a good level of free SO2 once fermentation is completed, this is important. W/o m.l. the wine is not stable. Fining with bentonite before bottling, to eliminate protein, is recommended. This fining eliminates the killing ways of lysozyme. Bottle the wine very clean. 0.45 micron filtration and relatively high levels of SO2 will discourage/reduce malolactic occurrences.

-For an ice wine the RR Sauvignon Blanc has great potential. Separate the ice from the concentrated juice and make sure you capture the cream of tarter on the bottom of the pail. Starting with 33° to 35° should provide an incredible desert wine. An earlier vintage from these grapes is now being served at the 'French Laundry' as a desert wine.

Recommended Yeast: (dry) SVG; BA11; R2; (sweet) Epernay II; V1116(K1);