Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! We are delighted to have had a great 2023 and look forward to a beautiful 2024. The weather in 2023 was cooler than our average year, extending our harvest to November. The wines are now in barrels after completing the primary fermentation and the secondary malolactic fermentation. They will now age for two to three years in our underground cellars undisturbed, gradually transforming flavors and textures.
At present, aboveground, the winter rains are making our surrounding hillsides green again. The wind and rain clear the air, so the days following the rain are sparklingly clear. It is a bit nippy (by California standards) out there, but the sunlight invites one to rejoice in the shades of green lit up by the angled winter sunshine. When it does rain, our waterfall wakes up and, for a couple of days, gushes exuberantly, transforming our view to one you may see serendipitously on a remote hike in the hills. For us, it is front and center, framed perfectly from the window of our tasting room.
I invite you to visit our colorful California winter wonderland, rain or shine – no snow but a beautiful season. As a travel note for many of our members from out of state, now through the end of March, hotel rates and airfares are less than half the price than in summer. Restaurant and winery reservations are more accessible. Make Nicholson Ranch your anchor visit and explore Wine Country this winter. Please feel free to email me directly at dgulrajani@gmail.com or guestservices@nicholsonranch.com for suggestions. I love traveling to other wine countries, and I would love to share my favorite places in our Wine Country with you.
While you are here, you will notice that while the grass is green, the grapevines are not. The grapevines drop their leaves around Christmas, going into three months of restful dormancy. The dormant plants store all their sap in their roots to protect the plants from cold, frosty nights, leaving dry leafless branches above. The main activity in the vineyard is to prune the dry branches to prepare for the new season. A crew of about fifteen people prune each vine by hand going from one vine to the next. The pruner gauges the health of the vine by the thickness of the branches, called canes, and may keep three or four canes for a vigorous vine and maybe just one cane on a weaker vine. All the remaining canes are cut off and dropped between the rows to be mulched and returned to the soil. Each grapevine is now perfectly structured to sprout new branches and bear fruit for the 2024 vintage.
Please visit and witness the start of the vintage. The centerpiece of your visit is, of course, a tasting of Nicholson Ranch wines. This winter, we have added two Gulrajani heartier reds to the menu for you to enjoy. I look forward to your visit.
Cheers
Deepak Gulrajani