ACQUIRE WINE

v.25
The 2025 vintage commenced on time with bud break mid- to late March, after slightly lower than average winter precipitation. Spring and early summer were primarily cool and foggy, with flowering starting mid-May and fruit set finishing mid-June. Vérasion started early July, followed by warm weather in August and a brief heat wave over Labor Day weekend, prompting harvest to start August 28th with chardonnay from Michaud Vineyard in Chalone. Weather in September and October continued the early growing season’s cool trend, with several rain events punctuating pick dates and requiring diligent fruit sorting. Harvest finished on Halloween with syrah from Lester in the Santa Cruz Mountains. While not quite as cold as 2023 yet certainly less “Californian” than 2024, this atypically wet and fairly cool vintage will be remembered for its pretty, lean, and terroir-driven wines.

2025 HARVEST DATES
8.28.25 Michaud Chard, CHALONE
8.30.25 Michaud Pinot, CHALONE
9.2.25 Fogstone Chard, SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
9.4.25 Gimelli Gamay, CIENEGA VALLEY
9.8.25 Pelio Chard, CARMEL COAST
9.10.25 Fogstone Pinot, SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
9.12.25 Redwood Grade Chard,  SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
9.13.25 Spear Chard, STA. RITA HILLS
9.15.25 Pelio Pinot, CARMEL COAST
9.18.25 Fogstone Pinot,  SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
9.18.25 Tasona Nafare Syrah, SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
9.22.25 Pelio Pinot, CARMEL COAST 
9.29.25 Zayante Syrah, SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
10.7.25 Redwood Grade Pinot, SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
10.24.25 Redwood Grade Syrah, SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
10.31.25 Lester Syrah, SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS

v.24
The Central Coast of California had another good water year. Though it didn’t get as cold and wet as quickly as in 2023, we eventually got what we needed. And after soils being rinsed and replenished, our earliest sites came out of dormancy the second week of March. The last rain event of the growing season was early May, followed by the typical “May Gray” and “June Gloom” for which the Central Coast is known. With temperatures hovering in the average range through the end of spring, flowering commenced mid-May and finished mid-June. Along with beautiful weather early June came healthy fruit sets, followed by the increasingly common warm weather starting around the 4th of July. Temperatures were consistently a little above average in July and August, followed by heatwaves at both the beginning and end of September, and the last one in early October. The SLS harvest started on August 27th with chardonnay from Coastview Vineyard in the Gabilan Mountains, and ended on October 10th with syrah from Lester Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Consistent with the warm weather and timely picking decisions, the ‘24 reds are characterized by rich fruit and spice intensity, backed by elegant structure, moderate alcohols, and fresh acidity. The whites are fairly lean, very fresh, and quite fruit-driven. Perhaps a bit less ethereal than 2023, and a bit more elegant than 2022- a classically Californian vintage.

2024 HARVEST DATES
8.27.24 Coastview Chard, GABILAN MOUNTAINS
8.31.24 Fogstone Chard, SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
9.3.24 Michaud Pinot, CHALONE
9.4.24 Pelio Chard, CARMEL COAST 
9.7.24 Spear Chard, STA. RITA HILLS
9.7.24 Pelio Pinot, CARMEL COAST
9.10.24 Double L, Pinot SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
9.11.24 Pelio Pinot, CARMEL COAST
9.20.24 Baytree Lane Gamay, SONOMA VALLEY
9.26.24 Redwood Grade Pinot, SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
10.7.24 Split Rail Syrah, SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
10.10.24 Lester Syrah, SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS