September 20 - October 10, 2026 
If some of you read this diary and are not a wine customer of ours you can take advantage of a new notification of mine. We will start sometime next week an email to you letting you know I have made a new diary entry, like this one. If interested please just let me know with an email to david@coffaro.com. Thanks, Dave
The past few days Salvador and Jose have been pressing the last of our grapes harvested a week or so ago and fermented for a week. Those consisted of Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot and Syrah. Let me tell you again what we do at harvest and fermentation and pressing, that preserves the fruit in our wines that you love.
Let me first tell you about Catarino. Catarino knows every section of the vineyard and can predict tonnage and sugar on every variety in the vineyard (he says he has a computer in his head). He and I start taking sugar tests when we think we are getting close to harvest. Catarino is real close at predicting the sugar. He, Martha and Daniel go out in a section and walk every ten vines and take a sample of whole bunches from the top, middle and bottom of the vine and they do not look as they pick which bunches to take. They come back and use their hands to crunch up every berry and then they use a refractometer to show the sugar. These instruments can show the sugar and even correct it whether the sample is cold or hot.
Once we have the sugar percentage we want, we send about 6 wonderful Mexicans out to pick and I mean pick. They have sharp blades shaped like a hook and they pick off the bunches at the stems and the bunches fall in the 40 pound bin. They carry the bin on top of their head and then through it in a half ton bin. next time I will have more to say about what happens next.
Monday September 28, 2026
Finally Pat and I are heading to Santa Cruz for a few days to escape on our Anniversary. Celebration for our anniversary are rare since we are always still harvesting. Also finally Jose is ready to bottle our 2025 sparkling wine, but that means it is not ready. We are putting a little sugar and yeast and cap it tight and wait for bubbles to form SO that will take several months!
Saturday October 3, 2026
Pat and I are back and we were in the fog in Aptos and return to 106 at 4:30 today. And the forcast is 100+ for the next several days. Global Warming is here!
Pat, Catalina and I are thinking of having a blending party. Gee, we have been brain storming for it for days. We found out it is very complicated to set up and run. Also if you are local or not, don't forget our End of Harvest Party October 10, this Saturday!
Wednesday October 7, 2026
If you are reading this diary and was expecting reminders when I post a new entry, I apologize! The response has been much more than I expected and to finish the operation involved work from Brad first, to figure out how it happens through Orderport and then it has involved me. I have had to copy all your information to Brad so he could implement everything. I must say there has been a lot of work involved from me to get ready for the party this weekend and also I had two medical appointments this week, one to set up my 3 dental implants and also my needed nice 3 day getaway to Aptos last week for our anniversary. OK, I am close to finishing and then it is up to Brad.
Dave
For any comments or questions I encourage any of you to e-mail.....david@coffaro.com
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