Do you want to see grown men cry. Come to the Napa and Sonoma Valleys to see the frost damage on the vineyards. It’s not very pretty. The Cafaro Family Vineyard got hit on April 21st in two varieties Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon about three acres total. That works out to about 375 cases of each varietal gone.












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As a framer there is something very special about every spring. It can be called in many ways – a fresh start, a new beginning, a rebirth. However one looks at spring, to a farmer, its a very exciting time. Mustard covers the valley floor like a yellow carpet. On a sunny day the yellow mustard reflects the suns rays and its hard to look at directly. Pruning is complete or almost complete and we are all waiting for the buds to swell and break. The anticipation of a new vintage of grapes and wines fills the air. Sure there is a great many jobs that need to be done before the heat of summer, but it sure is pretty in the valley this time of the year. We may have no idea what the next few months will bring in the vineyard or what the wines will be like from this vintage but it sure is great to see spring again.

The 2007 wines have finally settled down to begin the tasting and evaluation of the vintage. I went thru the wines yesterday to get a sense of color/density, structure and length of each variety. Here is short over view of each variety. Remember the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are used for blending and not bottled as varietals.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon – Very dark, vibrant and dense color; good acid; good balanced structure; blackberry, cinnamon, cherry aromas; and youthful long finish.

2007 Merlot – Very dark, vibrant and dense color; good acid; good balanced structure; cinnamon, allspice and clove aromas; and good finish.

2007 Cabernet Franc – Dark, vibrant and dense color; good acid; good balanced and mouth feel; floral perfume aromas; and good finish.

2007 Petit Verdot – Extremely dark and dense color; good acid; good balance and mouth feel; black pepper and spice aromas; and good finish.

2007 is a wonderful vintage with many varietal characters and aromas that make our wines so good with food. Give me a call to set up a visit to taste the new wines and make your own evaluation.

I know, I know, everyone is asking the same question about the ’07 vintage – How was the vintage? Well, the answer is, “I have no idea.” Not until the malo-latic fermentations finish and the wines have time to settle down from the primary fermentation can much be said about the quality of the wines. About all winemakers or winery owners can say for sure is that it was a smaller than normal crop and vineyards took some time to get the ripeness we look for in the grapes. Fortunately, grapes from the Cafaro Family Vineyard ripens early and therefore we are able to pick early with all the ripeness and flavor I like in our wines.

We finished picking on Thursday, October 4th with the Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon was picked on September 29th. Both varietals have begun fermenting and both smell beautiful. Picking analysis was right on target. Its very hard to predict how wines will turn out just by the Brix, acid, and the smell of the fermentation. If it were, this is going to be a great vintage. Smelling wine fermentations is one of the real pleasures of making wine. Its a combination of yeast, berry, spice aromas very exotic. Of course, it can go all wrong very easily. I check fermentations twice a day.
I am very lucky with the Cafaro Family Vineyard, not only is the view spectacular but the grapes ripen early every year. In either cool or warm year this is a distinct advantage, picking at the desired ripeness and flavor for each variety is much easier. When you come to the Napa Valley, be sure to ask about visiting the vineyard.

With the return of the sun the grapes are again on their way to ripening. Flavors, brix and acid are good in the Cabernet Franc so we will pick tomorrow. The southern half of the Cabernet Sauvignon is getting close may pick that on Saturday, I’ll check it again on Thursday.

I have gone for an extended fermentation on the Merlot this year. This sort of fermentation brings out more complexity but is hard to do logistically because it ties up a tank for 20 days. The cool weather slowed the ripening of the Cabernet Sauvignon but gave time to make the Merlot an even better wine. I have been tasting the 2007 Merlot almost every day in the fermentor – good stuff.

How can that be – harvest started off fast and furious in late August, continued warm in early September but then came the cools in mid September which slowed and even halted ripening. Don’t get too concerned this happens every few years. Weather like this just drives those uninitiated into spasmodic worry. There is even a little rain last night. Again not to worry, unlike my Burgandy varietal brothers and sisters, Bordeaux varietals can and do handle rain almost as well as Gene Kelly. So like a donut, this is the harvest with a hole in it. Just be patient and the grapes will come around with lush wines because of long hang time.

We picked the 2007 Merlot from Cafaro Family Vineyard on Thursday. The fruit looked and tasted ripe and lush. Brix was 25.8 with an acid of .52, pretty good balance. Yeast was the next morning after the first pump over – color looks great. I love the harvest its very exciting with energy and anticipation. If you get a chance to visit any wine growing area this time of the year its the best time.

Its always flattering to get mentioned (in a good way) in the paper. Check out the Jon Bonne article in the Friday Sept 7th San Francisco Chronicle. Napa off the Map link I think the article captured the passion and love of what we all do in small family or sole owned wineries. Let me know what you think about small wineries and the larger corporate wineries.

Just got back from a short trip to Hawaii (for both fun and work – some great restaurants in Hawaii) and began checking our Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Merlot at 23.8 Brix is on its way. Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon will ripen later. The last two weeks have been warm and the grapes are ripening very nicely. There were a few hot days but that’s not unusual for this time of year. Though the crop is larger than the last few years its evenly distributed over the entire vine. Both the vines and the fruit look in good shape and happy. Happy vines make good grapes and good wines, we’ll see once its in the barrel.

Yes, some new exciting things are happening at Cafaro Cellars. We have just completed a much needed update of our web site. I think this new version is much easier to navigate and with the pictures give a sense of our corner of Napa Valley as you enjoy our wines. I am very proud to say that my son John Cafaro took all of the photos. You might have noticed the link to his web site on the first page photo. You will see more of his creative eye in future updates and releases.

We are also releasing our 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2003 vintage was outstanding from the Cafaro Family Vineyard. With each vintage our vineyard matures and develops lusher aromas and denser characters. Please read the tasting notes on the Wines page.

Also I want to start a new news section to our web site, a blog. From time to time I will make comments and observations about what is happening at Cafaro Cellars and the Cafaro Family Vineyard. Hopefully it will be interesting reading and also give you a good picture of vineyard and winery operations. Also please send your comments, questions or concerns along to my email joe@cafaro.com. I will try to reply as soon as possible or you may see your question or comment on the blog.