The Proprietor’s Blog: Holidays Are Approaching, Vines Are Going Dormant
Hello everyone, happy holidays! Thanksgiving was a true blast at our home with delicious AJA-filled cocktails and AJA-filled glasses. We’re so grateful that everyone over here is healthy and happy.
The vines are resting, we’re finally done. All the wine has gone through fermentation and is being barreled or steel-tank settled to age and mature.
This growing season was rough. 2020 was very windy during the flowering stages, which caused us to have less fruit per cluster. Our yield this year wasn’t what we had anticipated. But I guess that’s how 2020 went for everyone.
But we do have some very exciting things going on at the winery, including a native ferment. So our red blend from 2020 will be wholeheartedly Malibu.
Generally, when we make our wines we cultivate the best yeasts to match our varietals, as do most wineries. This year, we thought we’d try to see if we could get any native yeasts to ferment the grapes instead. Sure enough, we were able to get fermentation started with native yeast simply brought in on the skins of the grapes. How cool is that?
Our 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon release was so exciting. In fact, we only have about five cases left, it sold out pretty quickly.
What did we learn this year? Life is full of surprises. We’re not always sure what we’re going to get, but we have to work with what it throws at us. We can’t get upset or frustrated with the situation, because that only wastes precious time. We have to wake up every day ready to make the best wine the Malibu Coast has ever produced, and soon, some of the only Malibu-grown wines, but that’s a story for another time.
We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and stays healthy and far away from the coronavirus. Get tested if you have symptoms, and if you don’t, avoid exposure by wearing a mask, staying home, and maintaining social distance.
Oh, and join us for a tasting, that’s a great way to pass the time.
Cheers & happy holidays,
Amanda