August 2 - September 19, 2026 
Global Warming!! It looks like we will be harvesting Pinot Noir tomorrow, the earliest ever. We just did a sugar test and the North section was 25.8% and South was 30.2%. Right now we are checking Block One and Block 3 Zinfandel. We know the Zin is not ready but we need pickers to harvest the real small bunches of Pinot so if we hire them, we want to make sure we can keep them busy working on things around here until the whites or Zin come in.
Impossible? Zin Block One 26.5%, Block 3 South, 27.5%. There are less raisins but no red berries so maybe the swell up will not be high, Because usually, Zinfandel sugar goes up after a day of soaking the raisins. We will give Zin until next Monday, but some of the whites are ready.......
Tuesday August 4, 2026
This is a very historic day. We decided to pick one ton of old Vine Zinfandel to see what the sugar is. The earliest record before was on August 19 in 2022. Before that there were many other times when we harvested Zinfandel in the last week of August, but the first week in August is quite a change. Over all my 48 harvests the average date for Old Vine Zinfandel has been the first week in September. That means we are 4 weeks early!
We also harvested 1+ tons of all our Pinot Noir, another record. I don't think Pinot for red wine has ever been harvested in August in Russian River Valley. We are not supposed to make Pinot Noir for red wine here in Northern Dry Creek Valley, but I am not a traditionalist. Record high temperatures in Europe has made predictions of Sangiovese to be harvested in a week or two and in Bordeaux Merlot is projected to start in the first week of September, weeks ahead of time. So will the Republicans finally admit to Global Warming? My guess is never.
On another non traditional idea, Pat and I have decided to make a Rose out of Souzão a Portuguese grape. Souzao has dark juice when destemmed known as teinurier. We are thinking of calling it vinho rosado.
We just checked the sugar on the Old Vine Zinfandel and here are the first pictures
We hope there will soon be a video.
Wednesday August 5, 2026
Here is what we are picking today. Below are pictures of Gewurztraminer and Old Vine Zinfandel at perfect sugar. See the Zinfandel, why it is so hard to make, you see large berries and raisins so what is the total sugar. We will not know until we start fermenting and the raisins start soaking up. Now look at the Gewurztraminer how beautiful the color is with golden yellow and amber. It is so much fun at Harvest!
Wednesday August 6, 2026
We have now harvested 3 tons of Old Vine Zinfandel and yesterday the Zin came in at 27% sugar Remember if I say Brix or % it is the same thing. I like to say percent so if anyone reading this diary for the first time may understand % better.
So the big development is we picked a half ton in 3rd North and it came in at 26% sugar and that section is usually less sugar than 3rd South which we have picked 2.5 tons so far. That means we are picked the rest of 3rd North and pick one bin (half ton) of 4th Block South. 4th Block North is where we harvest our Block 4 Field Blend and we will start there next week. We are giving everyone off the next 3 days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Monday we will resume harvesting in Block 4 South. These decisions were made this morning when Jose said the sugar yesterday was 27. We were originally going to harvest on Saturday but now we need to get the Zin in, even if it is a little less sugar. Also a big concern is the predicted high temperature on Saturday and Sunday will be 100 and 101.
Also what we have done is to stop the water in Block 3 and Block 4 which has accelerated the ripening. I checked the drainage on our vineyard in the past and I found out there is no water down 4 feet after 4 days when we stop our irrigation on our drip tubing. We are watering Block 5 and 6 right now where most of our other varieties are grown. Next we will have to check sugars in the Grenache and Lagrein. There is a lot of information I need before we harvest more, including acids which have come in perfect so far in the Zin.
Sunday August 16, 2026
On with the harvest. We have taken off the last several days because the high temps have been in the low eighties and even high seventies last Thursday and Friday. The good news we got all our old vine zin in and have Block 4 half done. We also harvested our Gewurztraminer, and half our Viognier. It is so early, and sugars are already higher than any other year, but the acids are real high. We can lower them with Potassium Carbonate to where we want them. BUT we have an interesting one! Our Barbera is ready at 27 Brix but the acid is extremely high. Barbera acids are always high but this time they are so high our instruments can not calculate them so we have to send the sample out to the lab in town. We will have to pick the Barbera tomorrow or Tuesday since the bunches are drying out. AI, is great, we have many ideas now of what to do. That is the problem with AI, it comes up with many options! But of course I am smart enough to pick the right option😉. Tomorrow Is Another Day!
5pm....Labs are in, more accurate, makes since AND it is 91 degrees right now SO we are harvesting tomorrow!....Fun, Fun, Fun
Tuesday August 18, 2026
Barbera is IN, but lower sugar than we thought, 25.6%. We applied Potassium Carbonate enough to lower the TA to around 10 which is still real high, we want around 7. So we will induce it through M/L and we suspect the PH will rise to around 3.5 to 4 which is still high acid but not for Barbera. Then after the M/L culture has a chance to take affect, later today we will add the yeast.
Jig Saw Puzzle! Today, we were going to pick the rest of Block 4 about 2.5 tons, and then we were not going to pick the Block 4, then we were and then, finally we decided not when the weather man predicted the sun would not come out until noon SO we are picking Riesling and Suv Blanc to go in Luminaire, because whites can be picked in cool weather. Then we are picking the Grenache, OH, but the sun is out now at 9:30, too late to change plans today. Here North in Dry Creek Valley, the weather Man is not always right But sure a lot better than when I first got here in 1979. We hope to harvest Block 4 tomorrow???
Monday August 24, 2026
We had 100 degrees here Saturday and 99 yesterday. Before that earlier in the week we had high 80's or barely in the 90's. We need some hot weather to ripen the rest of the crop, but gee, it is still August and September sometimes is hotter than August. We can still get many days in the hundreds. Last week we finished all our Block 4 with perfect sugar, 26 brix. Then we harvested our Block 6 Zin younger vines and Malbec. Salvador and Jose were busy pressing Friday but everyone else took Friday off. We were happy to see the hot weekend so now we are doing sugar tests to see if the sugars went up in our Cab, Sagrantino, Merlot, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Lagrein, a busy morning.
Thursday August 27, 2026
The heat has finally come! 98 yesterday and it may be 100 today. Because of the heat we had to stop the picking today after harvesting Chardonnay at perfect sugar 25.5 may be about 14.7 alcohol. This week we have harvested all the Sagrantino, Viognier and then we found out the second crop was ready so we have been picking a lot of that for my Dave's Cuvee. Yesterday we had been checking Sangiovese and all the possible Cab sections and found out they needed another day or two and we finally checked the Lagrein today and were shocked! 29 brix so 29% sugar a possible 18% Alcohol so we need water. Of course that causes problems for tomorrow and also we will need to pick Saturday. So what to do?
This was a hard one. I sat here scratching my head and took a break to get a beer. I came back and figured it out in 15 minutes. We have some lower sugar grapes out there that go with Lagrein. Lagrein goes in Super Tuscan, Escuro and Italiano. So cab goes into Super Tuscan also so we have some low sugar Cab, that is great but the section is not ready yet at 22% sugar SO mixing 22 and 29 sugar is perfect at 25.5%. Then we have some Alvarelhao that's not quite ready so that can be mixed with Lagrein to go into Escuro.
On Saturday we have Sangiovese and Montepulsiano that can go with Lagrein for Italiano. It is so much fun to figure out all the blends before fermenting. It happens every year when we can harvest some grapes that are the right sugar and mix them together but it is rare when we mix grapes that are low in sugar with higher sugar. Fun, fun fun.....
Friday August 28, 2026
It is August, it is hard to believe by the end of this month we will be done with over half of the harvest. After 100 degrees yesterday, it has been only 75 so far today at 3pm So great for picking grapes! We have harvested the Lagrein, about 28+ sugar and we mixed it with 23% sugar Cab. With more ripe Lagrein we did blend the late ripening Montepulciano at 24 sugar. We finished the day with Alvarelhao and Tannat to go into Escuro.
Saturday August 29, 2026
Complications, it was 48 degrees this morning but we still started harvesting at 7am. I figured we could pick some warmer fruit later. So we harvested a ton of our older best Cab and half a ton of Aglianico. We finished at 9am and I wondered what to pick next. Then Catarino mentioned we still had 2nd crop left in Block One. I was surprised that he and the warriors harvested 3/4 of a box. Then Martha mentioned there was some really ripe Zin in the Carignan, third block so we topped off the bin with more Zin. Then I racked my mind for awhile by looking at my spread sheet of facts about the sugar samples we took and found some Petite Sirah sample at 24 sugar. Now I know the Zin we just picked would be at least 28 sugar so we have a blend of about 26 sugar perfect for Estate Cuvee which has Zin and some Petite Sirah in the wine. Now they are out harvesting another ton of our best Cab to blend with the morning ton. The temperature now is 81. We also are finishing the day with a bin of warm Aglianico to blend with the cold morning Aglianico to make a ton. We always aim for a ton to fill our stainless fermenters. This was another fun complicated day!
Sunday August 30, 2026
Today is Souzao! Souzao is a Portuguese grape. It is unique, the juice is deep red or dark violet. It is so interesting. Gee Cabernet Sauvignon grape juice is clear or pale green and it is one of the darkest wines. Cab color comes from the skins. Souzao is a dark wine but nothing as dark as Cab. So we are trying a Rose and calling it Vinho Rosada! The grapes went straight to the press. We suspect it will come out lighter after it is fermented. It will be fun to see. Here's a beautiful picture of our Vinho Rosada juice coming out of the press:
See more pictures of our great crew picking and processing our grapes in this year's "Harvest Gallery".
Later today we will harvest some Merlot. Then Cabernet fermented with Sangiovese will go in our Super Tuscan. Tomorrow will probably be more Cabernet or Petite Verdot or Merlot or Cab Franc, I am thinking......and we may need more sugar tests. On Tuesday and Wednesday the weather is supposed to be cool so we are taking off two days. After all, after working 7 days straight and Saturday and Sunday our Warriors need some rest!
It was cloudy, fog in the morning yesterday. We were hoping the sun would come out so we could harvest yesterday. Finally the sun came out at 11:30 so for three hours we harvested Merlot and Cab so we could bring the grapes in at an average temperature of 68 or higher so our m/l goes through before the fermentation starts. Malolactic Fermentation (m/l). We are one of only a few wineries that starts M/L in the first day before fermentation. M/L eliminates malic acid and leaves lactic which is smoother tasting in red wines. Almost all wineries start M/L after the wine is dry. By finishing M/L before fermentation we can add So2 right after the wine goes dry to help preserve the wine. You have all heard of sulfates that some people are allergic to, well that is the by product of Surfer dioxide ( SO2). Al wineries add it and the industry has still not found a way to eliminate it. I have no problem the small amount we add, the sulfate smell dissipates in a few months after bottling.
Yesterday the harvest was not smooth like most days. We went back and forth questioning what section of Cabernet to pick. We have several sections we have budded young vines of Zinfandel to Cabernet Sauvignon. Then we have the long row which has the smallest berries but there is not much of it so it is hard to estimate the amount after picking. The bunches are so small it takes a long time to harvest and by starting at 11:30 we wanted to finish by 3 since the workers started the day at 6:30. But I love the way it looks and with small berries in the long row I always have hope it could make the best Cab. So it took awhile for the long row and then we had some of our older Cab left. We also have some newly budded over 3 years ago on the Pomo Indian site with the loose well drained soil that also should make great wine. In the end we needed two bins so we only got 3/4 of a bin of the long row and a whole bin of The Pomo Knoll. We needed a quarter more but Catarino Picked a young Cab section and left the small amount of the best Cab we have for another day. That is fine since the Cab left can be blended into either Petit Verdot or Cab Franc which are still not picked can be blended in our Aca Modot wine.
Today it is cloudy with some moisture on the grapes so we will not be harvesting today. Then it is supposed the rain some tomorrow and Thursday. We are fortunate to have very well drained soil in all sections so I am not worried about the rain. We only have 13 tons to harvest, 4 days of picking. We will take off Thursday through Monday, Labor Day and come back to do some sugar tests on Tuesday September 8.
Thursday September 10, 2026
We got back in action this Tuesday, the 8th as planned. We did do a lot of sugar tests but we also decided to pick the last of our older and best Cad along with some Cab Franc, all to go into Aca Modot. The sugar tests blew our minds:
| Carignane | 27.5 | |
| Peloursin | 26.7 | |
| Syrah | 24.1 | |
| Aglianico | Red leaf | 24.5 |
| Aglianico | Regular | 26.5 |
| Cab Franc | 22.4 | |
| PV | 26.1 | |
| Mourvedre | 26.5 | |
| Cab Geyserville | Front | 29.0 |
| Cab Geyserville | Heavy | 27+ |
We expected much lower since the last time checked they were much lower, before the cool days. Yesterday we then picked Carignan and got 28 sugar at the destemmer. Today we picked Petit Verdot, the last of the Carignan and last of the Aglianico. After the shock of the sugar test of the Geyserville Cab, we will harvest that tomorrow with some Peloursin and my Nebbiolo. We are also harvesting on Saturday and will be finished next week with Mourvedre and Syrah. On Tuesday it was 99 high, yesterday 102 and right now it is 104!
Friday September 11, 2026
I am so excited, my Nebbiolo came in today at 27+% sugar so maybe 15.5% alcohol and one barrel so only 24 cases. We will lose a few gallons after racking two times so I may top with Sangiovese. Oh gee, Sangiovese is blended with Cab and Sagrantino to go into Super Tuscan so I will have to find something else to top Nebbiolo. We have such a light year so hopefully next year we will have more Nebbiolo since we will have grapes from our new budded over vines. I sure have been enjoying my 2022 Sangiovese and I also have 2023 Sangiovese and 2023 Nebbiolo. Those wines are the most intense upfront wines I make. The most balanced and intense all through the palate are all my Cabernet based wines, like Aca Modot, Cabernet and Super Tuscan. I most say I love all my wines!
Tuesday September 15, 2026
We ended Harvest yesterday with Syrah and the rest of the Petit Verdot. Strange how much Global Warming has changed things in this vineyard. On this date, September 15th, 1979 we started our first Harvest with 6 tons of Zinfandel to Gallo. Yes Gallo has a big facility right down the road from here, 5 miles. In 1978 that Gallo facility,Frei Ranch, crushed 40% of all the grapes in Sonoma County. I was told then that Frei Ranch had verbal contracts with almost all of Dry Creek Valley. Everyone I knew was selling to Frei Ranch, Gallo. One time I even saw Julio Gallo jump right up on my gondola and ask me how things were going, and I said " Grapes are drying up". He said OK and jumped back down. He was king, God. He would fly up in his helicopter and touch down right on the ranch. I was told he could just look at the grapes and send a farmer back out of the lane. Yes there were times when we were all lined up about one thousand feet all the way back to Dry Creek Road. There was a Sugar Shack half way up to that road where we had to see a tube stuck down into 6 tons of our gondola, pulled out and put into a little crusher and checked for sugar. I had an idea of the sugar but never knew for sure. That reading could make a difference of 20% pay. One year they wanted 26% and another they paid less for 26. For several years the price of my Zinfandel Grapes went from $600 a ton to $400. Pat and I were barely getting by, we had a big debt to pay and two little children born in 1985 and 1987.
Then in 1987 and 1988 the price of Zinfandel went from $400 a ton to $1000 and in another 15 years it zoomed to $2500 a ton. Gallo got caught in the white Zinfandel Boom. Farmers started selling zinfandel to Sutter Home at 18-19% sugar in stead of 24 to 26%. Gallo saw a shortage of good quality Red Zinfandel grapes. That saved Pat and I. We finally had some money for our growing family.
Then in 1994 I started my Winery. I did not know a single person who would buy my wine. I was saved by two things. I won a gold for my first Estate Cuvee and the internet was starting and young people were discovering wine in forums all over the country.
I may mention more of the past but the next thing in th future will be my blending of the 2026 wines. Jose will send me a list of all the barrels he and Salvador have filled. I then use the info to decide which barrel will go into each of our wines. It is the most fun I do.
Saturday September 19, 2026
Salvador and Jose are still pressing. I think they may have two more days left. Yesterday right on time they pressed my Nebbiolo. The fermentation took one week as usual. Since we only harvested 661 pounds we were short of the 60 gallons by 10. We pressed the Aglianico today so we took the approximate 10 gallons from Aglianico to top off Nebbiolo. That means the Nebbiolo blend so far contains about 15% Aglianico. Since our Aglianico is very intense it should be great with Nebbiolo. Now in December when we rack, I will be short about 3 gallons from all the sediment at the bottom of the barrel. Eventually, the Nebbiolo label will show 25% of something else. I may use more Aglianico or maybe Sagrantino or Sangiovese. I am sure the Nebbiolo will be very intense, especially upfront on the palate. I hope next year I will have enough Nebbiolo to make a whole barrel. Remember we just budded over 370 older vines to Nebbiolo which in two years will give us 40% more. I should have half a crop of the new vines next year so that should give us enough for a barrel. As you can tell I love Nebbiolo!
Dave
For any comments or questions I encourage any of you to e-mail.....david@coffaro.com
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