We are looking forward to this upcoming growing season! This spring, we will be planting another 70 acres of vineyard. The plantings will consist of approximately 29 acres of Riesling, 25 acres of Pinot Gris, 12 acres of Tempranillo, and 1 acre of Roussane. The planting will push our total Pinot Gris to 125 acres, which could be the largest planting in the state. By the end of spring, we will also have a total of 20 acres of Tempranillo in the ground.
We started pruning our Vitis vinifera blocks on January 28th. It seemed like the appropriate time. However, Mother Nature decided to deposit several inches of snow on the floor of our vineyard the day before our scheduled start. The snow pack encumbered our effort, but we still managed to sludge thru the snow to ensure that we will have finished our job before bud swell in late March. Although the temperatures have been approximately 10 degrees colder than normal, so far, we have avoided the vine killing temperatures that we experienced in 1996, 2001, and 2004.
Snow pack in the Cascades looks more than adequate to provide next year’s water supply to the Yakima Valley. Although we suffered some damage last season as a result of spring frost, the vines rebounded nicely, leaving us plenty of pruning choices for our crews. This year, we should be able to produce to our normal cropping levels.
Last season, we were able to harvest some of our new varieties for the first time. Although the tonnages were low, we were very pleased with the flavors of the grapes and their resulting wines. Some of the emerging stars we are tasting in the cellar include Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Dolcetto, Viognier, Grenache and Malbec. Because of the small crop last year, a few of the new, low-yielding blocks were co-fermented, such as Petite Verdot, Counoise, Cinsault, Barbera, and Cabernet Franc.
Fortunately, we had a relatively mild fall. This allowed the young vines to harden properly as they went into winter dormancy. We expect all of these varieties to survive the winter quite nicely and be able to supply the needs of Airfield Estates, as well as offer some for sale to other boutique wineries. In addition, we will be picking Marsanne for the first this year. It will be blended with Roussane and Viognier.
There will be a new look at Airfield this year! Over the past year, we have been receiving feedback from customers on our labels. We loved how they spoke to our history; however, they did not seem to stand out on the shelf. In an attempt to address the issue we will be completely remodeling our look for the 2008 series of wines. We are very excited about the packaging and hope that you will be too.
In the cellar, we are currently preparing for our next bottling, which will be in late March. The product line will consist of Pinot Gris, White Riesling, an unoaked Chardonnay, our Foot-Stomped Syrah Rosé, our first “Thunderbolt” release (a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon), two 2006 Cabernet Sauvignons, the first aged primarily with American Oak and the second aged with French Oak, and finally a 2006 Merlot. Most of these products should be available to taste at our Pre-Spring Barrel event, which is exclusively for club members and will be held on Saturday, April 19th. At this event, we will also be barrel tasting some of those reds I referred to above. We are eagerly awaiting our new releases. We hope that you will share our enthusiasm for these wines as soon as you have an opportunity to taste them. We look forward to seeing each of you at the winery this year.
Finally, our web site will be completed soon, and we will be posting locations where you can purchase our wines, as well as providing you with an online store and an updated calendar of events.
I would like to invite you to celebrate Valentine’s weekend with us during the Yakima Valley Red Wine & Chocolate Event (February 16th & 17th). We are also hosting a Mardi Gras themed winemaker’s dinner held at Airfield Estates on the evening of Saturday, February 23rd. Special Airfield rates are available at The Inn at Horse Heaven (Best Western Hotel) just down the street from our facility. For those of you who may not be able to make our Pre-Spring Barrel event, we will also be providing VIP tastings for club members on your way to or from the Walla Walla spring event. Prior notification would be much appreciated.
In conclusion, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support, and we hope to see you at Airfield Estates soon!
Mike Miller
Owner of Airfield Estates