Greetings for 2008!
Another Kent Rasmussen annual update is in order. There has certainly been plenty of time since the last news page update, and as usual, nothing has stood still. Such is the way of things, these days!

We Have a Blog!
We keep trying to catch up with what the rest of the world is doing, so we have a new blog at http://kentrasmussenwinery.blogspot.com where you can see what Kent has posted there as well as post your comments!  Let us know what you think!

New Label!
Last time, we showed you our new look for the Kent Rasmussen Winery label; we also mentioned that we might allow Kent to have a “weird and wonderful” label again. Well, that has become reality with “Esoterica”. Kent has always loved making wines from lesser-known varietals—the grapes you’ve never heard of! The cornerstone wine of the Esoterica line will be our Petite Sirah—many of you will be familiar with this wine, as the grapes come from Frank Leeds’ wonderful vineyard in Rutherford. This is a wine that we can’t help but make; life without Petite Sirah would be meaningless! And while Petite Sirah isn’t exactly unheard of, it doesn’t enjoy the celebrity it should. The first release of Esoterica was five wines: Touriga Nacional, Sousao, Petite Verdot, Carmenere, and Petite Sirah but the first four sold out immediately. (The Petite Sirah was a larger release.) Now we have added a 2007 Riesling (to heck with Orson Wells and his “sell no wine before it’s time” shtick), and a beautiful Late Harvest Viognier.

Esoterica is the perfect brand name for these fun, oddball wines; the word Esoterica means secrets known only to an initiated minority. Certainly these wines aren’t for everyone, but if you are adventurous, if you like the idea of championing the unusual, if you want to encourage winemaker creativity, then please—join the initiated minority! Oh, and Celia designed the label (by the way!)

Harvest 2007
Our interns this year came from Macedonia and Galicia. Lazar was from a country north of Greece, between Albania and Bulgaria; he was an interesting guy who plans to open a winery of his own in Macedonia. Anton from Galicia in the north-west corner of Spain was doing a stint as a student, and will go back to finish up some work at University before he tries to find regular work.

This harvest was . . . well, amazing! No joke or exaggeration—it was really a beautiful harvest. We had a lovely, languid summer, with very few really hot days. The “hang-time” that grapes (and winemakers) love was abundant, and the staff didn’t have to die in the heat while we worked. Even after the grapes were taken off the vine, the weather continued to be the perfect Indian Summer, which is a nice thing to a grape vine; cooler harvest means no dehydrating, which in turn means you don’t drop your leaves right after you lost your fruit, and you have time for your roots to take up more nutrients from the soil, and more time to develop yourself before you need to become dormant.

One exciting thing we tried this crush was night harvesting, and Kent has seen the light—the night harvester’s lights. It’s a win-win for all involved: the pickers get to work when it’s cool and there are no bugs. The winery doesn’t have to wait around for the grapes to arrive and start crushing—the bins are in the driveway first thing in the morning. The grapes are cool, so the crushing part costs less with no need to bring their temperature down prior to fermentation! Click here to see a slide show that was done by SF Gate—the Chronicle’s website. It’s Kent’s voice you hear for the last two thirds of the slide show, so be patient for a moment, and you’ll see why I included the link!

Replanting Carneros
Remember that famous old cinematic line from the early silent Westerns, “Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .”? Well, meanwhile back at the Carneros ranch where we grow our Pinot Noir, we have to do some replanting. Vines do reach old age (like the rest of us, I’m afraid,) and the oldest section of the vineyard needed to be retired. So it’s out with the old, and in with the new, by replanting about 2.2 acres on Cuttings Wharf Road. Now that the trellising system is in place, the new vines will be planted sometime in late March. We’ll be planting St. George root stock, and then after a year, we’ll bud over to Pinot Noir. Grapes are slow to establish themselves, but then are long-lived. (Depending on the varietal, soil, and climate, grapes generally produce fruit 30 – 40 years—or longer in some cases.) So it’ll be 5 – 6 years before the new vines are fruitful, but then we’re set for the rest of our time on this planet!

Wines You Need!
As usual, I like to tell you about some “must haves” from our list of wines:

Esoterica Late Harvest Viognier: Of all the Late Harvest wines that Kent has made, this one is hands-down, without question, the best. The grapes came into the winery at nearly 50% sugar! The finished wine is still about 35% sugar and the flavor is like nothing you have ever had before. This wine will age for a century and will be a joy to taste at any moment between now and then. Viognier is a white grape that has nice aromatic character, sort of like Gewurztraminer, but more floral and less spicy. This is a true Late Harvest, full of rich, over the top ripeness, honey, lilac, and massive viscosity.

Kent Rasmussen Winery Pinot Noir: This 2006 vintage marks our twenty-first year of making Pinot Noir. Saying that you’ve done anything for 21 years makes you feel old, but I guess the adage “practice makes perfect” applies to this wonderful vintage of our Carneros estate grown Pinot noir. As always, it’s lovely and worth your attention!