It’s been a hectic month as Vintage 2015 came at us fast, furious and early! Fall is always the busiest time of year for us at Kanzler Family Vineyards but this year Mother Nature decided fruit was ready 9 days earlier than in 2014, which was itself an earlier than average year. It’s just the three of us (my parents and I) and we all have our plates full. I work long hours at the winery while my parents are busy keeping the business side going. It’s all a bit stressful, but fun and rewarding because harvest is the culmination of another year of hard work in the vineyard. As farmers first we know the vineyard is really where the magic happens.
Harvest 2015 was a huge departure from the last 3 harvests. We expected a light crop but some of our neighboring vineyards picked-out 50-60% less than 2014 yield! We feel fortunate Kanzler Vineyard was only down about 30%. Even more unusual, it’s still September and we have finished picking ALL fruit for the year. This year we picked first fruit from Kanzler on Sept. 8 and last fruit on Sept. 21. Usually, we don’t finish picking our vineyard until mid-October. My peers and I have adopted the slogan “Global Weirding” to describe farming in today’s world. I think my dad says it best: Every year we dance with Mother Nature… and she leads.
It’s not all doom and gloom. The crop was light and early, with small clusters and berries, concentrated flavors and deep, intense color which bodes well for 2015 vintage wines. There won’t be much of it, but I think it’s going to be excellent. So that’s 2015 in a nutshell, we can’t wait to share it with you!
