New Toy...

John testing out the new SWASH steamer

Call us old fashioned, but we aren't much for shiny farm/winery toys, i.e. a 1956 Massey Ferguson tractor and a press that hails from the same decade...need I say more? Don't get me wrong, our antiquated equipment are built like tanks and have done perfectly well by any standards. But from time to time, you just need that shiny toy. A couple days ago was that time. We got the all new SWASH steamer delivered! Now we can sanitize equipment, tanks and barrels without the need for potent cleaning chemicals. It feels like Christmas.

Late night presses...

The 'trusty ole press' in all its midnight glory

John speaking to the press nicely

Myself, enjoying a nice midnight "crush"

Nectar of the gods

I was covered in grape juice, sticky, wet, it was zero degrees out, midnight and I knew that we were still at least two hours away from finishing our last press and John hollers at me, "romantic, isn't it?". Sure is John, I respond as I drip with scathing sarcasm. We both laugh it off. Truth is, we love it. Ok, yes, we would rather be in the house, warm and drinking a beer, but its terribly (and I mean terribly) rewarding. We have spent our days cleaning equipment and hand picking grapes and our nights crushing and pressing. Our trusty old press is a pneumatic bladder press with an approx. 1 ton capacity. It gently presses the grapes, maxing out at barely 10 PSI, which means we only extract the best juice. But the press is small and likes to take its sweet time, each load taking 1 to 2 hours. As impatient as we may get, we don't forget to talk to the old press nicely. It's been good to us. The juice this year tastes delicious. This will all soon be forgotten when one day we break open these amazing 2011 vintage wines!

Movember Throwdown here at Orofino

OK. Its official. The news broke this morning on www.ScoutMagazine.ca The battle is on between Aaron Godard, cellarhand and wannabe man about Cawston and myself for the title of best moustache for the month of Movember. What is about to ensue is a friendly little competition between us to help raise awareness about prostate health. Not only can you follow along and place side wagers as you see fit but you can help support the fight against prostate cancer by donating directly on the official Movember website www.movember.com. (under donate heading :Orofino winery team).

We are also doing our part by donating $1.00 for every bottle purchased through our winery throughout the month of Movember. Buy some delicious Orofino wine AND help raise money at the same time.

Stay tuned for updates and details about our month end Movember party at Tavola Restaurant on Denman Street in Vancouver. It will be be deliciously fun!

Thanksgiving Update

Jay pouring the 2000 Dom Perignon

2000 vintage Dom Perignon

2009 Domaine Jean Foillard Morgan "Cote du Py"

After a busy week harvesting and pressing most of our whites, I finally have a minute to give a quick update on our fantastic thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is a time for good friends and family and plenty of belt loosening. This year was no exception. Our good friend Jay Whiteley graced us with his presence (4th thanksgiving in a row, how could he miss it) and started the night off on a high note by bringing a bottle of the 2000 vintage Dom Perignon. Bless his soul. It was fresh, bright, and all the while decadently creamy. We sat back and soaked up some late afternoon sunshine, and of course some Dom, while we waited for John to finish fire-roasting the beautiful, local turkey breasts he purchased and brined earlier. As the sun set we moved the party inside for dinner... mashed potatoes, green beans, roasted squash, and a fennel, apple and Italian sausage stuffing for the sides, but of course the star of the night was the smoky, crispy and very succulent Turkey breasts. Though the Dom Perignon is in a class of its own, we did enjoy many other delicious wines throughout the night. The highlight red was a 2009 Beaujolais, the Domaine Jean Foillard Morgan Cote du Py. I read that the soil of the Morgon vineyards has the same schist composition that is found throughout the nine other crus, but is older and more weathered. This gives the wines a deeper, earthier character and a richer, fleshier palate. The 2009 is rich and earthy, but still has lots of minerality and freshness. Very well balanced, and an excellent pairing with the smoky turkey. We finished the night with silky pumpkin pie and shots of espresso from Virginia's new espresso machine. All in all, a great thanksgiving with our new "family".

Chardonnay et al. in the Tank!



Aaron stomping stems

Wednesday was the official start of crush 2011 as Aaron and I spent a full 18 hours on the crushpad destemming and pressing all of our chardonnay, two-thirds of our pinot gris and 1.4 tons of some delicious Sauvignon Blanc. The day started with a destemming of pinot gris from Scout and Blind Creek Vineyards into bins for a 10 hour soak on the skins. Up next was the sauvignon blanc gently pressed and now settling into a 1000 litre tank. (Where will that end up???). Then we moved onto the tasty chardonnay. We are very excited about this crop as it is equal to the excellent (sold-out) 2010 chardonnay. That juice is destined to be split between tank and barrel ferments again. Updates on chosen yeasts to come. Finally we moved back to the Pinot Gris and ran it into the press. I have a pump to move must but prefer to treat it gently so the destemmer was rigged to act as a sieve. Tricky and nerveracking but at 1am were were ready to try anything. It worked out great and we got the juice to go where it was supposed too.

by the light of a full moon

Very few decisions need to be made on the crush pad when pressing whites. My old press does a great job squeezing the good stuff and it is also my check if I want to squeeze too hard to increase quantity. It just won't let me. That 30 year-old press is very slow but we love it and speak only kind words to it.
The juice now settles for a couple of days, then we rack it off of the settled solids into a clean tank and innoculate with yeast.

The early report on the grapes is that the flavours are intense and delicious but with some unusual numbers. We are finding that the sugars are lower than normal AND the acid is lower too. Usually we have low sugars correspond to high acid but this year the acids have dropped early. ( All of the sun in August and September?) The result is some phenolically ripe grapes that will make lower alcohol, balanced ripe wines. IDEAL! 

Gamay and Pinot Noir up next! 

Running Numbers and Picking Grapes

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone! Hope it was full of great food, wine and company. Ours was terrific as we enjoyed a wonderful sold out winemaker's dinner at Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos, and some wood-fired oven turkey food with friends the next day. Of course there was lots of good wine...
But the weekend was also a busy one in the wineshop and in the vineyard as we were busy running numbers and evaluating grape flavours. Despite the cool weather, we are getting some tasty juice and some sauvignon blanc and pinot gris are getting picked as I write this. It will be busy this week as we will also bring in chardonnay, our first pick of Pint Noir clone 828 (1st crop!!!) and maybe some gamay. As promised here are some numbers:

Scout Pinot Gris 22brix, 7.5 TA, 3.34 pH (pick)

Blind Creek Gris 24 brix, 9.15 TA, 3.21 pH (pick)

Hendsbee Gris 21 brix, 12.3 TA, 3.04 pH (wait)

Blind Creek Chard 23.2 Brix, 8.85 TA, 3.2 pH (pick Wednesday)
clone 828 Pinot Noir 23 brix, 7.5 TA, 3.33ph (Nice!!)
Orofino Merlot 22 brix, 6.9 TA, 3.34 (wait)

I will keep you updated with some pics as we get sticky over the next couple of days. Weather is cool but pleasant and there is a threat of frost on Thursday morning. I'm thinkin about using up all of my karma points to put that off....

Orofino in the Globe and Mail!!

Woke up this morning and saw a nice review of our Red Bridge Merlot 2009 by Kasey Wilson in the Globe and Mail.
Here is the link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/orofino-red-bridge-merlot-a-perfect-choice-for-thanksgiving/article2195289/

Award Winning 2010 Chardonnay Sold Out!

Our award winning 2010 Chardonnay sold out yesterday!

Picking and Harvesting Muscat

Aaron picking the first grapes of the season... Muscat

John pressing off the Muscat in our old but faithful bladder press

PSI Gauge

Juice temporarily turns brown when pressed, as it comes in contact with oxygen

Harvest has Begun!

The 2011 harvest has begun here at Orofino with the pick of our Muscat grapes. A small amount of muscat from our 22 year old vines and the very first crop from the Hendsbee Vineyard's muscat vines were both picked and pressed today for a total of 500 litres. The juice is super tasty! We are so happy that the crush equipment worked well and we are tuned up for a great harvest ahead.
The past week has been busy here as we have been busy prepping for the crush season and hosting many visitors at our wineshop. We participated in the Oliver Festival of the Grape event (and quickly sold out of all of the wine we brought to it!) and we were at the People's Choice Awards last Friday in Kelowna where our 2010 Chardonnay won second place.

Up next is the pinot gris from 3 different vineyards in our neighbourhood and the chardonnay from Blind Creek. We have also spoken for a ton of Sauvignon Blanc to add to our portfolio. We'll see what happens to that. I have some ideas.... Gamay and Pinot noir will follow soon. Things look great. We just need some more frost-free days!