The Approaching Vintage

It’s here again, and it’s with the excitement of a child on Christmas Eve, and the steadying breath of those who know their minds and bodies are about to be tested, that we welcome it for another year.

Everything in life is about to go on hold. It just stops for a couple of months. There’s no time for anything else, just being consumed by vineyard and winery, but eagerly so.

I do have to wonder how far luck will stretch; the Yarra Valley hasn’t had a bad vintage since 2011, and 2017 is looking like something very special. There are still a million things that can go wrong; and surely some of them will, but for now, I’ll get my hopes up and live in whimsical fantasy that something great is about to happen.

The fruit is healthy. The new barrels are in. The 2015’s are in bottle, the 2016’s are looking pretty close to the same.

I’ve had another year of learning and planning, and am excited to dive in again and see what this vintage wants to do.

I’m still not sure if I’m a joke, some idiot toying with something he can’t understand; I guess that’s part of working with the unfathomable, you just do the best you can. Trust your taste, and take each decision as it comes.

Well, here goes.