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| Anne Starr in the Grass Valley tasting room of Sierra Starr Vineyards |
Jackson Starr of Sierra Starr Vineyards, Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker, sends along this very informative 2014 Vintage Report. Sierra Starr Vineyards is located in Grass Valley, CA, and is part of the growing number of quality vineyards in Nevada County, CA. You can learn more about them on their website (click here)
SPRING
2014 was an exciting and extremely busy
vintage here at Sierra Starr Vineyards. The vintage
began nicely with warm and dry conditions in month of April.
Although we certainly would have liked to see more rain during the rainy
season, here in Grass Valley we did see 36+ inches of rain. The cool, wet
weather retreated to a warm dry spring and we saw bud break 7 days earlier than
normal (what ever normal is anymore) on April 14th with the Sauvignon
Blanc being the first variety to push.
Diligent canopy management began quickly after bud break to focus energy
and promote growth. Soil nutrient tests were conducted on different vineyard
blocks, pre bud break, to asses current soil nutrient attributes and
deficiencies. From these findings a very specific fertigation and
irrigation program was designed and implemented to maximizing vine
performance while still adhering to our gentle farming practices. We escaped late spring without any frost
incidents (knock, knock), and bloom began first in the Sauvingon Blanc on May
22, again keeping this season’s growing trends about 1 week ahead of
average. The Zinfandel followed on May 25th and the Cabernet Franc the
week of June 1st.
SUMMER
With verasion beginning the second week of
July we knew harvest would certainly be commencing quicker than
anticipated. And we were not disappointed.
HARVEST/FALL
Harvest began August 19th with the first of
two Sauvignon Blanc picks. Our First Zinfandel pick of the vintage fell
on September 9th, which is 2 days ahead of last year and about 3 weeks ahead of
the old normal. On September 24th with rain looming, the Starr
family, Phil, Jack, and Anne picked 3 ton of Petite Sirah (by
themselves) in a 13 hour marathon, but hey, we got it in before the
rain! The Cabernet Franc, our last variety to harvest, was picked on
October 3rd to immediate accolades by both Phil and Jack due to the intense
development of color and flavor.
SUMMARY
The 2014 vintage yielded wines with
intensity and freshness. These aspects are emphasized by the balance of sugars
and firm acidity achieved in the winery. We feel this is truly a symptom
of our very intense farming and our vineyard site, blessed with dry
days, lots of warm sun, and cool nights.
NEW VINEYARD
It is also worth noting that our estate
vineyards expanded during the 2014 vintage. With the addition of
900+ new vines (about half of our new hillside), we certainly feel
the expression of our vineyard site is worth exploring and expanding. In
doing so we took on two new varieties including Semillon and Riesling.
Also expanding our holdings with varieties that have showed promise for us,
Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouchet.
We at Sierra Starr are
extremely excited and proud of the wines produced from the 2014 vintage and
wait anxiously for their development in cask and tank before bottling down
the road.
Cheers!
The Starr Family
