By Owner Lena Varner

Seriously? Another enthusiastic, heartfelt recap of 2015 harvest? I am unable to express anything but sincere anticipation for the 2015 vintage wines that will be handcrafted from the never ending summer this year’s fruit experienced. To appreciate the continued increase in quality each vintage has afforded Ledger David & perhaps, the culmination of three Ledger David “monumental” birthdays add a bit of poignancy to this year’s harvest story. David’s 50th, Hudson Jo’s 1st, and Ledger’s “Golden” 6th birthday all fell during the 2015 harvest. In addition, the warm weather allowed Hudson and me to enjoy mother daughter time in the vineyard every morning of harvest, something not likely to happen again in the future as she begins to walk about.

As expected, the bears were back. David crossed paths with momma bear next to our barn one evening and made haste returning to the house. Again, they were polite and fed on Viognier and Chenin Blanc grapes (exceptional palates?) then left the vines intact and the red fruit alone for harvest. The bobcat kitten occasionally surprised the family arriving at the vineyard on harvest mornings.

Now for the nitty gritty stats. A total of 15 days of harvest, beginning September 11th and ending October 20th. Nearly 60 tons of estate fruit from our vineyard in Talent. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc were first to come off the vine, while the higher elevation plantings including Malbec and Tempranillo Duero experienced extended hang-time (and we love hang-time and complex flavor development!).

To celebrate the 2015 harvest, videographer Marc Salvatore from avcreate captured some footage of the last few days of harvest (note the soft clouds resulting in perfect harvest temperatures). Marc seized some of the harvest energy with a focus on the late harvest white fruit (to be blended into our first signature white wine blend) and the Tempranillo.

And now we wait, while the fate of the fruit lies in the hands of talented winemakers Rob Folin (Folin Cellars) and Kent Barthman (Roxy Ann Winery). Perhaps 2015 will become a benchmark harvest to set the standard for Ledger David wines moving forward. Fortuitous for David to celebrate his 50th during one of the best Ledger David harvest years – would he be so lucky?