Sonoma after the grape harvest

Sonoma after the grape harvest

What happens in Sonoma when the harvest is done?

The very last tank of grapes has finished fermenting. The tank is drained of wine and placed in barrels (that liquid is called the “free run”). Then the remaining fermented grapes in the tank are moved into the press and gently squeezed (and the result is called the “press fraction”). And what’s removed from the press after pressing (called the “pomace”) is either sold as animal feed or recycled into green waste or sent to our distiller and turned into Grappa, Brandy, and Cognac; and the seeds are further pressed into grapeseed oil. And that really marks the end of the harvest season.

Pomace - Sonoma after the grape harvest

This is what 2 tons of dense Syrah grape pomace looks like when it comes out of the press. It’s dark purple and bone dry. The very last cuveé of wine has been barreled.

There still remain some chores to manage over the winter: the newly filled wine barrels will be carefully monitored as the secondary Malo-Lactic fermentation is monitored and managed (and where the tart Malic acid, think green apple, is slowly fermented into Lactic acid, with potential health benefits including improved gut health, immune system support, and antioxidant effects). Barrels must be topped off due to evaporation. And as the wine settles we need to taste every wine to assure things are coming along to our liking. And, we start thinking about which of the older wines need to be prepared for bottling this spring. Last, now is the time for the winery to be thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom. And only then will it be time for everyone to have a much needed rest.

A brief note about the 2022 season: It started off with a really hard freeze right as many grape varieties were just budding out. There was some damage to some vineyards resulting in crop loss as much as 50%. Then after a normal but very dry summer, the record heat wave struck, 5 days over 100F and 5 nights in the 80F’s putting extreme stress on ripening fruit. And then adding insult to injury, 2 inches of rain. It was one of the most confounding and complicated growing seasons ever. More on that when the 2022’s are ready for release in 2024.

Halloween

Halloween is usually the first sign that the wonderful long slog that is harvest and winemaking is about to wrap up. When bright orange pumpkins start appearing all over town, we know the harvest season is almost over.

Chickens

As the cold weather settles in at the Hydeout, the chicken egg production starts to fall off as the chickens shift their energy from egg production to winter feather production. And in our case, they also start flying the coop and hiding their eggs in hilarious hard-to-find places.

Final garden harvest

As is the tradition in the Fall, it’s time to harvest the last of the garden produce, clean it up, and pickle it all in bell jars.

Wood slab table – restarting an old project

In 2020, St Helena in Napa Valley was surrounded by the Glass fire. Acres of gorgeous oak forest was lost. With help from friends, I located and set aside one of the fallen oaks and had one of the fire department crews mill it into oak slabs for me. The new table from this project will go into the new winery barn here at the Hydeout.

Oak slabs - Sonoma after the grape harvest

Two oak slabs, about 10 feet long and 18 inches wide, will be joined along the inside edges to form a new table. The outer live-edges still show the burn scars from the fire. It is a stark reminder of how the fires damaged lives and property.

Margaritas

By the time of the Thanksgiving holiday in late November, winemaking has truly concluded, and our Prickly Pear Cactus flowers are ripe. And that means it’s time for the whole family to get involved in producing our Prickly Pear Agave Nectar. And our tart, sweet, smoky, mezcal Margaritas!

Recipe: Click here!

Living art at the Hydeout

Dear friend, character, bon vivant, and Sonoma artist Jock McDonald, with assistance from his wife Sherry McDowell, set up a photo shoot for a new project Jock is developing called “TRASH.” I can’t say any more at this time as the final form of this new work is on its way to Art Basel in Miami, Florida right now! These are preliminary images only and in no way depict the final art form that Jock has developed. To learn more, click here.

FAMILY

This is the time of year we all gather as family and enjoy another wonderful year of life, trials, tribulations, health and happiness. Here is the entire Hydeout team:

Family - Sonoma after the grape harvest

Happy holidays from the entire Wornick family – Ken, Dennis, Sophia, Cynthia, Harry, with Elyse, Jessica, and Tony the dog

50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Passing the 1,000 blog readers mark, and with my thanks to you all, here are 50+ images from this, my 23rd vintage. – Ken Wornick

Blending trials for bottling aged reds prior to harvest

blending trials - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Faith and I needed to plan the bottling of the remaining 2020 client red wines that were still aging in barrels. To get ready, we conducted blending trials for some of our client wines here at the Hydeout Sonoma kitchen table.

Note the grouped samples as source wines, the pipettes and beakers, and so on. We start with the base wines, tasting notes, and lab chemistry in hand. Then we try to imagine what actions will give lift, depth, and longevity to each wine. Blending is a fun process because after spending a year growing the fruit and another year producing and yet another year aging the wines, it is really nice to sit in a warm quiet well-lit place and taste each wine one last time with focus and concentration. And then somehow with a bit of alchemy, create delicious artistry from all of the components.

Bottling

While the 2021 vintage continues to age in barrels, and the 2022 harvest approaches, emptying barrels of perfectly-aged and blended 2020 red wine for bottling also creates needed space in the winery for the incoming 2022 vintage.

One of the best days for what we do is delivering a completed bottled vintage to our clients, sometimes 26 months of waiting! Here are 3 recent examples:

4:00am start on an early morning in August, 2022

Harvest 2022 started for us in mid-August with some client hillside fruit on Arrowhead Mountain in southern Sonoma. What a moment it is every year when we shift from farming, which started way back in January, and finally seven to nine months later the fruit is ripe and we’re ready to harvest.

Fog 3 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

A cool dense layer of fog sits on the valley floor below this vineyard block, as the slowly approaching tractor lights glow in the background

Fog 1 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

A slight breeze and the fog suddenly shifts as the sun almost rises (note the 3 house lights down below no longer in fog)

Fruit picking - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

But it’s still dark inside this vine canopy as fruit fills the 1/2 ton bins of Zin

Fruit Loading - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

A bobcat grabs more empty bins and rushes them into the field

Fruit Loading 2 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

And minutes later returns with full bins of fruit. These bins are then rushed to the winery; we want that fruit to be ice-cold when it arrives.

Click here to watch a video of a night harvest

Fruit and Acorns - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

My next stop is to check out a client’s Eastside Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir vineyard scheduled to pick in the following few days. Note the dark tight-fisted bunches as is the nature of Pinot Noir.

I can never resist picking up oak acorns. Every year, I start another crop of oak seedlings from acorns, for planting around the Hydeout ranch. Some of the most impressive oak trees and their falling acorns surround vineyards in Sonoma. And those majestic beauties produce some amazing acorns that one day will themselves be majestic oak trees.

Tacho - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Another harvest a few days later. Ready to drive a load of Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon to the winery.

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We start in the early morning hours and we look up and suddenly we realize the sun is out and it’s warm outside. Here, a moment of pause to celebrate the process of harvested grapes with Hydeout Sonoma partner and winemaker Faith Armstrong.

Processing fruit in the winery

Growing and harvesting great fruit is only half the battle. Next up is the winemaking. Every load of fruit is very carefully weighed, by law, so that each client’s property can be carefully tracked all the way into bottle; every single drop.

Ken in Winery - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

The first few bins of Pinot Noir from another early morning harvest go onto the scale

Faith and Ken in Winery - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Moving into September, the long slow harvest continues to roll along as tank after tank fills with fermenting fruit. Here, happy winemakers about to get started on some pristine Zinfandel

Fruit to tank rotated - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

In early October, processing some Syrah from Kenwood into a 7-ton tank. The fruit from this vineyard is just across the street from Landmark Winery in Kenwood.

Muscat rotated - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Muscat Canelli is not a very well known wine, but we love it. There are so many beautiful and under-appreciated grape varieties across the globe. This Muscat, from the Carneros Appellation in the Hyde-Burndale neighborhood, is packed full of tropical fruit and incredible peach aromatics.

IMG 5222 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Irrigating a tank a of Grenache, a process where the fermenting juice is pumped from the bottom of the tank and “irrigated” (and oxygenated) over the top of the “cap” (the fruit floating to the top and pushed there by the expanding CO2 gas), thus encouraging the yeast to thrive and to keep the cap wet (because if it dries out, bad things can happen like the formation of vinegar).

Click here to watch a quick video of “irrigating” the cap

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Now mid-October, and we’re still at it. Here, clean de-stemmed fruit accumulating in a bin, headed to a fermentation tank in a moment

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The stems accumulate after the fruit has been removed for winemaking

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After the fruit is moved to a fermentation tank, and lab reports have been studied, we re-confirm our goals for the wine. Carefully selected yeast is added to get the fermentation rolling. In this case, a yeast from the Rhone region is specially selected for Syrah and Grenache which are Rhone varieties.

IMG 5245 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

The yeast is very carefully rehydrated, and then slowly small amounts of cool raw grape juice is added and the yeast cells adjust to the temperature and awaken.

IMG 1728 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Lots of oak barrels must be prepped because soon enough, all these tanks of wine will complete fermentation and, one by one, those wines must be quickly moved into barrels where the long aging cycle begins. (footnote: T-shirt was a gift from Chewy, my Desert Caballero ace cowboy buddy)

Pizza party at the Winery, at about the halfway point, 6 weeks in and about 6 weeks to go…

Exhausted but happy, a moment of pause for some local Mary’s Pizza with the awesome winery team. Pacifico (yellow cans) was the beer of choice for all on this day – except of course for one of the guys who always wisely choses a Coors Light…see the empty seat…yup…I made the right choice!

Harvest pizza - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

The team at Arcana Custom Crush Winery on 8th street east in Sonoma, the management and cellar crew, from left to right: Sebastian, Kate, Mat, Bill, Landon (Maverick), Miguel, Jose, Jesus

Maverick - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Our winery mascot, Kate’s son Landon, welcomes another load of fruit by crushing it with his own feet. I like to call him “Maverick” because he looks like Tom Cruise from Top Gun, and moves around the winery at the same speed. If you’re a mom and it’s harvest time, the kids go to the “office” too and become part of the action.

Mid-October, yet another harvest, and this time breakfast is included!
IMG 5250 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Starting in on a some short rows as the sun rises

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The tractor leads the way pulling bins quickly filling with fruit

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This is what really pristine Sonoma Valley cabernet sauvignon looks like

IMG 5265 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

After this harvest, our wonderful client offers everyone a delicious meal. Last year was tacos and tostadas, this year was an amazing Pozole soup made of pork and hominy (the word “pozole” is thought to come from Nahuatl, the Uto-Aztecan language spoken in various forms during pre-Hispanic times).

IMG 5267 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Vibrant “thin-leafed sunflower”, always blooming around Sonoma at harvest time

Jack London State Historic Park – and the Park Partners – there is always time in Sonoma for another gala non-profit fundraiser!

Jack London Park Partners emerged during a budgetary crisis in 2012 which shuttered many state parks. It was the first non-profit organization to take up management of a state park on behalf of the people of California and it has been successfully running Jack London State Historic Park ever since. If you haven’t been, please do schedule a visit. It’s very scenic and historic too.

JLP 2 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

Park Partners hosted a sold-out entertaining outdoor gala event on Sept 24th.

JLP 1 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

The staged event theme, as seen here, was “Once upon a time in a not so distant forest lived an ancient redwood tree who silently presided over her forested sanctuary.” Adults and kids, dressed up as tree and forest creatures, was totally entertaining. A real hoot!

Final Harvest of 2022 – the last fruit to ripen and the final harvest of the year – our very own Sonocaia estate Sagrantino from here at the Hydeout Ranch
Sag 2022 1 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

These Hydeout half-ton bins are cleaned, loaded on the skid trailer, and waiting to be filled.

Sag 2022 2 - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

It was a very cool damp night so we waited until the sun was up and dew was off the fruit before picking, but still it was just 40F outside.

Sag 2022 3 rotated - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

The first of several bins begins to fill, and the fruit will be on its way to the winery in moments.

Vintage 2022, you started off so perfectly, with a terrific mid-winter atmospheric river and a lovely mild spring and summer, but then you turned on us and cooked us to a crisp for five days at +110F, and then you rained more than inch on us, and then it turned cold. Just another hah hah season in wine country.

Half ton syrah - 50 images of the Sonoma Valley Grape Harvest 2022

The final lug of 2022 grapes, our inky tight-bunch Sagrantino…ahhh! We’ll start pruning all the vines in February and the process repeats yet again.

If you are still reading?…

Late into October 2022, and the first of our client’s harvested grapes (from late August harvests) have completed fermentation. We’ve pressed the wines off, settled in tank, and now it’s time to barrel them down and put these wines to bed for the winter:

A final acknowledgement – Nunez Vineyard Management:

I first met Mike Nunez and his family, of Nunez Vineyard Management, going all the way back to when we opened La Honda Winery in Redwood City more than 20 years ago. A client of Mike’s who owned a vineyard in Sonoma sent his fruit down to us to process. That year, the fruit was harvested late and we ended up making a beautiful port wine. Mike drove the fruit down himself. I met him at our loading dock. We’ve been friends and colleagues ever since.

The Nunez family has deep roots in both Sonoma and Napa. We partner with them on many client projects, and our combined knowledge and experience creates a great outcome for everyone.

And, everyone involved in the growing of grapes and making of wine is publicly acknowledged at this Nunez Vineyard Management harvest party. A class act!

Next year, I think it will be fun to post a blog looking back over my 23 vintages. For now, here is a sneak peek looking back to the year 2000, and the founding of La Honda Winery, in Redwood City:

Sonoma – wine tasting, film, food, horses, chickens, and fun

Sonoma – wine tasting, film, food, horses, chickens, and fun

This is where I try to convince you to be entertained for a few minutes with little bits of fun from Sonoma –

 

Blind Tasting: 2013 Napa Valley Cabernets and 2020 Sauvignon Blancs from 5 Countries

Many thanks to friend and colleague, Keith Casale, who helped launch this inaugural tasting event at the Hydeout Sonoma. Also, thanks to Lisa Lavagetto for the delicious catering effort.

Sonoma Int’l Film Festival – 25th Anniversary

SIFF opening night - Sonoma - wine tasting, film, food, horses, chickens, and fun

Opening night of the 25th anniversary of the Sonoma International Film Festival. Here, in Sonoma’s art deco Sebastiani theatre, artistic director Kevin McNeely interviews the “Lost City” film’s directors, brothers Adam and Aaron Nee. This was the film’s premiere, featuring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum (with a hilarious cameo by Brad Pitt) and the audience were roaring in their seats. One of the very best events in wine country, the festival runs over 5 days, 7 venues, dozens of fantastic films, and endless food and wine.

SIFF leadership - Sonoma - wine tasting, film, food, horses, chickens, and fun

The new leadership of the Sonoma Int’l Film Festival for the 26th year: L to R, Kevin McNeely (Artistic Director), Bob Berg (Chair of the Board) Jon Curry (Immediately. Past Chair of the Board), Ken Wornick (Vice-Chair of the Board)

Sonoma grapevine bud break – 2022

What a cliché – bud break in wine country. And yet it is truly the annual renewal of life after a welcome and much needed cold rainy winter.

Chickens

Chicks - Sonoma - wine tasting, film, food, horses, chickens, and fun

New arrivals – over 30 new chicks who will grow up to be egg producers of the team of Dysfunctional Family Chickens

Video – Hydeout Sonoma welcomes a new batch of very cute Dysfunctional Family Chickens

Horses
Horses panoramic - Sonoma - wine tasting, film, food, horses, chickens, and fun

Five of us from Sonoma rode in the 75th anniversary of the Desert Caballeros horseback ride in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. 100 miles in 5 days, sleeping under the stars at night.

Video: check out this video of 160 horses riding into the Sonoran Desert

Weather
weather 1 - Sonoma - wine tasting, film, food, horses, chickens, and fun

Rain! After two atmospheric rivers in late Fall, it seemed the rain would never return. But in early April, a series of storms rolled through Sonoma. Here, the Hydeout weather station was so shocked by it all, it displayed 10.24 inches rain in an hour. Repairs are in order. But still, rain in any amount is welcome.

Learn about and order our wines here: Dysfunctional Family Winery – rosé and red blends

Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

For Hydeout Sonoma and Dysfunctional Family Winery, it’s another wine harvest in the books. Vintage number twenty-three for me.

Here is a quick pictorial essay of the entire 2021 season.

pile of vine cuttings - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

On a bright blue day in February, pruning of the dormant vines is the first order of business (here we severely pruned an old vine Zinfandel block and piled up these cuttings for a local artist’s wood project)

old vine Zin Sonoma Valley - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

The vines after pruning, a bit of rain falls, and the mustard cover crop starts to push

Frog Creek Ken cuttting the mustard 1 - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

Soon the mustard is towering over the vines (here I am in a drone-shot in a newly planted Cabernet block)

Offset disc 1 - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

It will be time soon to begin actively farming for the season, and so we start prepping the equipment for the next few months of heavy use.

Estate Sagrantino bud break - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

The mustard cover crop is mowed down, the soil warms, the vines wake up, and bud break is under way (but rainfall totals end up well below average in 2021, and the season ending with just 11 inches of rainfall versus a normal of 32 inches, severely taxing the water table as we watch our deep aquifer wells dry up)

Gehricke - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

But grapevines are hardy and soon the vine shoots are elongated, and deep inside the canopy the fruit begins to flower and set.

Tomatoes - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

And our garden at the Hydeout responds to the summer heat with a bountiful harvest

raw fruit 1024x768 1 - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

And the next thing you know, like magic, tons of fruit is ripening quickly.

Drive out 4am - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

The first morning of harvest, and I am headed out at 4:00am, the car still a comfy 71F from being in the garage, but it’s a chilly 48F outside.

Harvest in the dark - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

I arrive to find the crew well underway with harvest, as the first few vines get picked.

Fruit inspection 5am - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

And after a long season of work, the half-ton bins begin to fill with ripe dark inky fruit

Almost done - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

The sun rises and last few rows of this block get harvested.

Half ton syrah - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

And soon many tons of perfectly ripe fruit are ready for delivery to the winery

Harevst wrapped up - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

And eight long weeks later, the last bin of fruit is picked and is headed for the flatbed truck, and the team takes a big sigh of relief.

Tank 20 - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

And now the work moves to the winery, here tank #20 is cleaned and prepped for some ripe Syrah from Kenwood

Yeast - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

The yeast selection for this cuveé has been made, and this particular selection is a powerful one that will reliably finish fermentation in high-alcohol super-ripe red wines

New York City guests - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

Excited clients, family, and friends stop by the winery to celebrate a year’s worth of effort safely in tank

barrels 2 - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

And once fermentation is complete a few weeks later, the wines are “barreled down” and the season is put to bed!

Click on these live-action videos to get the real feel of the moment:

Picking fruit by hand on a steep hillside

Filling a half-ton bin from the forty pound lug boxes

At the winery, raw fruit from the field is processed in the destemmer

Wine from the 80s and 90s - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

After the harvest, some wine-loving friends gather to share ten special old bottles from our cellars:

  1. Botte Frères Vin D’Alsace Gerwertztraminer, 1990, Cuvee Exceptional
  2. Gundlach Bundshu, Sonoma Valley, 1990, Cabernet Sauvignon
  3. Clos Fourtet, 1st Grand Cru Classé, Saint Emilion, 2005
  4. Grand Vin De La Chateau Latour, Paula, 1990
  5. Haywood, Spaghetti Red, Sonoma Valley, 1983
  6. Silver Oak, Alexander Valley, 2003, Cabernet Sauvignon
  7. Hansen, Limited Release, Paso Robles, 2009, Cabernet Sauvignon
  8. Dalla Valle Vineyards, Napa Valley, 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon
  9. Dalla Valle Vineyards, Napa Valley, 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon
  10. Senots Yendick, Napa Valley, 1999, Cabernet Sauvignon
Huichica at GunBun - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

As the harvest winds down, look no further than just north across the street from the Hydeout Sonoma and Dysfunctional Family Winery to the Gundlach Bundschu Winery and the Huichica Music Festival. This is a photo from opening night on Friday, 10/15/21

Ken on horseback - Harvest in Sonoma Valley, from Vineyard to Winery, the 2021 season

And there’s just enough time before winter arrives for this winemaker to head off to Ennis, Montana for some fresh air

Legacy of Zinfandel – a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani’s home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Legacy of Zinfandel – a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani’s home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Legacy of Zinfandel in California – the Sawyer/Casale tasting panel

Generously hosted by Don Sebastiani in his home cellar, and curated by 3Badge/Gehricke CFO Keith Casale and well known Sonoma Sommelier Christopher Sawyer, we tasted our way through ten carefully aged 20-30 year-old California Zinfandels. The panel participants spanned across Sonoma grape growers, winemakers, and wine industry and media experts. The entire tasting was blind which inevitably lead to informed and wild guesses about appellation, vintage, producer, style, and so on. Click HERE to see the list of wines and vintages in the lineup. 

Sawyer Casale 2 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Carefully and quietly tasting each wine, taking time to reflect and make careful notes. On the left side of the table, front to back – Wilfred Wong (Wine.com), Keith Casale (CFO, 3Badge, Gehricke), Rebecca Robinson (Executive Director of ZAP), Mark Dommen (Chef – One Market Restaurant), Dan Berger (Vintage Experiences). On the right side of the table, front to back – Jeff Cohn (Cohn Cellars), Gillian Balace (Treasury Wine Estates), Chris Morisoli (Morisoli Vineyard), Tres Goetting (Biale Vineyards), Mike Hendry (Hendry Vineyard), Dr. Liz Thach (Master of Wine). Don Sebastiani (at the head of the table).

Sawyer Casale 3 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Sommelier Chris Sawyer reveals the names, vintages, and histories of each of the ten wines. Fascinating discussion followed. These old Zins mostly showed to be very long lived and is a testament to the skill of the winemakers back in the 1990’s. Most of the wines really held up despite their age, showing soft tannins, crisp acidity, and surprisingly fresh fruit; these traits are perhaps the hallmark of long-lived Zinfandel, California’s most “native” variety. Christopher will be collating the tasting notes and will be publishing the results soon.

Click HERE to see the list of wines and vintages in the lineup. 

Sawyer Casale 4 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

After the tasting, Chef Keith Filipello of Wild Thyme Catering served lunch to the tasting panel, on the patio of Don’s home just above of the wine cellar.

SummerFest at Sonoma International Film Festival Aug 5th – 8th, 2021

A not-to-be-missed event in Sonoma, the SummerFest film festival is loaded with great films, wine, food, music, and fun. Tickets to this party are going fast. Click here to buy tickets and join the party

SIFF SUMMERFEST 2 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

The SummerFest mini-festival is not to be missed. The event features 40 narratives, documentaries and short films from 15 countries screening in person at Sebastiani Theatre and Andrews Hall (at the Sonoma Community Center) all weekend, two outdoor winery screenings with live music, and SIFF Screen & Cuisine, a dinner, live music and film special events.

SIFF Kevin breakfast - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Sonoma Int’l Film Festival Artistic Director Kevin McNeely serves a very bountiful breakfast at his hillside home above Sonoma town to his new SIFF board V.P. (that would be me). Kevin is the man behind the curtain at the festival and a wonderful leader who expertly guides the festival staff and cheerfully greets all festival guests.

Jack London State Park – a gala donation dinner event

Another Sonoma treasure, Jack London State Park is packed with history, hiking and biking and horse trails, and historic buildings. In early June, a small group of friends gathered for a private dinner hosted by park staff. In luxury SUV’s, our group of ten was ushered to near the top of the park, just short of the summit 4.5 miles from the parking lot at 2,464 feet. We hiked the hilariously easy last 100 yards (seen here) to the top and enjoyed bubbles, rosé, and views of the Sonoma Valley. Then we walked back down to the cars where we found tables set up for a very thoughtfully prepared meal. After a couple of hours of food and fun, we drove half way back down the hill to a clearing and watched a stunning moon rise. And all for a good cause. Next up – click here for tickets to the upcoming Jack London State Park gala.

Jack London 2 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

A group of Jack London Sate Park supporters arrives at the top of Sonoma Mountain after an exhausting 100 yard walk to the top.

Jack London 1 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

In the wee hours well after dinner, the group settles in to watch the full moon rise from a clearing in the park. This photo was taken in complete pitch-blackness with an old iPhone and the photographer disavows any responsibility for the appearance of the participants.

A local Sonoma men’s group affectionally known as the “Choir” enjoyed a night of ‘practice’ with a tequila tasting generously hosted by one of our winemaker members. 123 Spirits founder David Ravandi presented the tequila lineup. The tasting took place in an old “Turkey Barn” just across the street from the world-wide headquarters of Dysfunctional Family Winery.

Tequilla 1 2 3 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Left to right, Blanco (1), Reposado (2) , Añejo (3) – part of the 123 Spirits tequila lineup. Behind the bottles, yours truly Ken Wornick on the left (with maybe a bit too much sun), and David with the hat.

123 Spirits founder David Rivandi - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

123 Spirits founder David Ravandi explaining how he manages his farming and agave fermentations.

123 Spirits tasting panel - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

As is standard protocol, the faces of “Choir Practice” members have been blurred to maintain an air of confidentially. The group placed a lot of orders and nearly drained his current inventory.

Tacos - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

These delicious homemade tacos were supplied by Dani Luzzati from Bella Lu Catering.

More wine country news from Sonoma – barrel tasting, interviews, new oak barrels, etc…
Keatings - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

In front of a stack of Hydeout Sonoma and Dysfunctional Family Winery barrels, we are barrel sampling the inaugural 2020 vintage of the Keating Family “Quail Run” Cabernet Sauvignon, scheduled for release in September 2022.

Jan Keating - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Jan Keating, artist and art educator, taking notes in discussion for the family’s “Quail Run” estate Cabernet

wine barrels for harvest 2021 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Preparing for the 2021 harvest, in front of +/- a hundred Hydeout Sonoma and Dysfunctional Family Winery barrels full of client wines sits a dozen new French oak barrels from Tonnellerie Bel Air.

ADA73545 44E9 4022 99DB 9F2DB9052761 - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

The entire Wornick family for my dad’s 89th birthday and mom’s 85th birthday – mom and dad front center, with brothers, wives and kids; celebrated on the Bay and at the Ballpark, this group represents the completely unsuspecting inaugural members of the original dysfunctional family.

Ken in grapes rotated - Legacy of Zinfandel - a wine tasting at Don Sebastiani's home cellar, and other Sonoma Valley events

Thank you for reading another installment of the Dysfunctional Family Winery blog, sincerely, Ken

Fun topics from Sonoma’s Dysfunctional Family Winery

Fun topics from Sonoma’s Dysfunctional Family Winery

Customers support our on-line launch…

Quick shop link: Dysfunctional wine Discount code at check out: “Hydeout”

Sonoma International Film Festival captures a Methuselah

Memories of a motorcycle adventure to Patagonia, Argentina

Tasting panel at the winery

Reader’s ask: “What part of the wine business is actually fun?” The wine business can be a complicated industry to navigate. Many wineries employ a team of professionals to help plan their way through branding, pricing, packaging, target demographics, the logistics of inventory planning and distribution, etc. Building distribution channels and tracking sales metrics requires expertise and data. And the wine industry, like many, is now an environment where “big data” rules the day. Careful dissection of customer acquisition costs, customer purchasing habits, and distribution channel metrics now takes place in dark rooms pouring over carefully accumulated data. And frequently the wines need to be similar from one vintage to the next – in order to meet and keep meeting a customer’s expectations.
I am not fascinated with that part of the business. For me as a smaller operator, I much prefer focussing all of my attention on growing grapes and making wines. And rely somewhat on creativity and luck to obtain customers. We produce wines which are rarely similar from one vintage to the next, as the quirky labels testify, often reflecting the individual vineyard sites as they change from one season to the next, experimenting with various techniques and blends and barrels in the winery, and offering wines to our customers who enjoy getting away somewhat from the ‘expert scores’ and ‘safe’ cookie-cutter profiles. It takes a certain degree of confidence to sell wines like this. And it definitely takes a certain degree of risk for customers to try our wines. For those who have tried us out, we sure appreciate your courage!
DYS bottle - Fun topics from Sonoma's Dysfunctional Family Winery

There’s still time to order wine with a “blog subscriber discount” using the code word “Hydeout” – just enter the word “Hydeout” when you check out from the on-line shopping portal found here: https://www.sonocaia.com/shop/

Pruning our ‘Estate Reserve’ Sagrantino vineyard in the winter of 2021. 

 

Sonoma vineyard client - Fun topics from Sonoma's Dysfunctional Family Winery

View of one of Hydeout Sonoma’s client vineyards, this spectacular property is just above the small town of Sonoma. Looking north, old head-pruned zin in the foreground, on the above-left is a lavender field and above that is a new Petite Sirah vineyard on a very steep side-slope, and in the background-right is a new Cabernet block planted just last year. These were already open fields, the drainage corridor has been carefully preserved (see center of image), and no trees were taken down.

 

UTV - Fun topics from Sonoma's Dysfunctional Family Winery

L-R, Cynthia, daughter Sophia, and me – on a chilly morning out in the vineyards on the reliable Polaris UTV reviewing recent pruning. We thank you all for the continued support of our new Dysfunctional brand launch.