The 2008 harvest was one of those years when everything ripened so gently and all the flavors in the vineyard wrapped into focus. Picture yourself walking amongst the vines nestled all across the county. Taking berry samples at sunset. Dropping off the picking bins in the middle of the night. Tracing out the vineyard block on a piece of paper after you just marked the rows that were ripe under the moon light sky. Feeling your way down the hill and wandering up to the back of the house to talk with the vineyard owner as to why the west facing block ripened quite nicely but the rows to the south still need to hang for at least another week. He flips his steak in the pan, eyes glazed over, too tired to cook any vegetables, he looks at me with a half smile seeing that I finally understand the nuances of his vineyard. It took four months for this cluster of vines on this rugged west face to finally reveal itself to me. It is only at he end of it all when you are walking through the vineyard the night before you are going to pick, running on vapor, tasting berries as you roll along, thinking to yourself “this is why I do this.” Sampling those berries on the eve of the pick and tasting those intense flavors. Who will taste this wine as it is poured out of a bottle three years from now…. and find their way back to this moment. Will they taste the flavors of these berries as I do? Will they feel the rays of the moonlight uncover all of the nuances between the valley and the hills? Can they feel that cold autumn breeze settle in? That kind of cold dry air that accentuates every detail under the midnight sky. I know you will find this is too special a moment not to be shared.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Smith, Winemaker