Tom Scott Vineyard Newsletter - Winter 2017 - Barn Burner Cabernet Sauvignon
Every vintage has its own story and 2017 will be remembered for its extreme weather events and natural disasters. It will be interesting when we sit down in 2020 to experience the adventure of 2017, as expressed by the wine.
 As we entered 2017, we had abundant winter rain, twice our "normal" average of 26 inches. The heavy rains were followed by an unusually long and cool spring. While we normally begin pruning mid-February, last year pruning was delayed two weeks, as the vines remained dormant until early March.
Then in June, when the rains normally stop, we had a hailstorm. While the hail didn't impact our vines, which had already experienced bloom and had set their fruit, our olive trees lost most of their blossoms, resulting in a very light olive crop.
Last summer presented us with record-breaking heat. We're fortunate that our vineyard trellising and the resulting vine canopy, protected our fruit from damage, but we had to be very diligent regarding our irrigation (but aren't we always!) Once we began applying water in August, we continued until harvest.
 While the vines had gotten off to a slow start due to the cool spring, the heat of summer sped then along. By early fall, we felt that our harvest would be late October, which is our "usual" time. And then we were faced with drama.
The wet winter and cool prolonged spring had covered our surrounding hills with dense growth. The trees in the Valley had been left weakened by the droughts of 2012 through 2015. Even after several recovery years, the trees remained vulnerable. The summer heat dried the abundant hillside growth and the stage was set. Traditionally, in the Napa Valley, when we get a strong north wind, it heightens fire concerns. North winds tends to be hot and dry, unlike winds coming from the south, which reach us from the coast.
We had a wonderful party on Saturday, October 7th, celebrating our 2014 Barn Burner. There was dancing under the stars on a warm, clear night. Sunday afternoon, October 8th, strong winds from the north began to topple trees. Falling trees began knocking down power lines and suddenly fires began raging. In our vineyard, the winds were 40 miles per hour, while up on the hills and ridgelines; they reached 70 miles per hour, causing massive firestorms. The winds blew the smoke away from us, allowing us to watch the fire rage under a clear starry sky.
 All across the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, the fires, smoke and losses where staggering. Through it all, we were able to remain in our home, surrounded by vineyards, which offered us a natural firebreak.
While 90% of Napa Valley's grapes were harvested before the fire, ours were not. The winds helped keep the smoke down, but there were several days the air was thick with smoke and ash. We're hopeful our protective canopy helped shield the fruit from damage.
We harvested a beautiful crop on October 31st, and the fruit was put into the hands of our winemaker.
Will the 2017 vintage reflect the fire? We have no way of knowing. Mother Nature has designed the perfect plant to give us perfect fruit. Napa Valley weather and soils are pretty perfect. But the unexpected can and does happen...
 Northern California wine country experienced fires in 2008 and 2015, and those fires have helped the industry understand a little bit more about smoke taint, but the truth is no one really knows. So far, we've been hearing blind tastings have shown no effects of taint.
We've always let our fruit reflect the conditions that Mother Nature has presented us. Our wine is all about the vine, the weather, the soil and anything else that comes this way. We've been honored to be part of an ongoing story that continues to give us spectacular vintages.
We want to thank all our wonderful friends that have been supportive of us in a challenging year. We raise our glasses to you!
We'll release our 2017 vintage in October 2020. We believe 2017 will be another spectacular vintage... and we know it will have an interesting story!
Tom and Lauren Scott
www.tomscottvineyard.com
www.tomscottvineyard.com/wineshop
info@tomscottvineyard.com
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