Trucking from Santa Maria

So here I am, into my 8th hour of driving after a very long day trucking from San Fran down to Santa Maria and back. Sunset over the Santa Lucia mountains with the rain pelting the highway. The trip was long and tiring, more so because of the 4 hour delays in the fruit showing up from the vineyard, and our surprise at being told to hand-transfer the fruit from one bin to the next. Yields down at Alta Mesa were half of what was expected, which sucks for us because the production will be half as well, but will be great for our customers as this low yield means concentrated fruits and complex flavors.

We finished with crush at midnight, 18 hours after starting the day. On the way we stopped at Paso to visit Martin Weyrich and Eberle vineyards and see how things were doing. Scattered rains continue to run through the valleys, with clouds that keep the temperature cold. Luckily we got our Alta Mesa harvested last week, as the outlook is for continued cold in the coming days. I expect harvests continuing deep into November ...