Washington State Grapes Update

With the oppressive heat of this summer squarely upon us, we at Keystone would like to take a moment to remind you of the better days that lay ahead of us – The cool breeze of autumn that carries with it the scent of falling leaves, the shorter days and longer nights that trigger that perennial gift from Mother Nature – the harvest, and the sheer pandemonium that we (your trusty grape lug haulers and juice bucket huckers) affectionately refer to as “Wine Season.” While it’s not time to dust off those fermenters quite yet, it is a good time to turn your mind toward planning your 2012 vinting endeavors and we have an update that is sure to set your gears in motion.

We just received word from Martha, our favorite grape broker in the Yakima Valley that, thus far, this year’s crop of Washington state grapes is on track to be a good one! We have been offering these extraordinary grapes for four straight years now, and with all of the great feedback we have received from customers, we are thrilled to be bringing them back again in 2012. If you haven’t tried them yet, these premium grapes are harvested on independent timetables, as they ripen, ensuring that they will produce unique and wonderfully complex wines, whether you ferment a single varietal on it’s own, or use multiple varietals together in complementary blends.

Along with the update, we received some photos of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines that we thought we’d share…