2022

  • January 16th, 2023

    By

    Happy New Year! I hope your holidays brought joyful times, health, and new memories with family and friends. The New Year at Nicholson Ranch started wet with a lot of rain and more forecast in the coming days.  This is a good thing for us, and for the vineyards, as the soil soaks up the rain and stores the water for springtime growth.  The waterfall you see from our tasting room is continuously flowing, filling up the pond below, inviting life. We spotted the first waterfowl to return, a cormorant and a pair of ducks (likely migrating bufflehead). The grass shooting up on the surrounding hills is slowly turning green. When we get more sunshine the hills and the vineyards will be robed in a swathe of verdant green.

    All the wine from 2022 is now in barrels in our underground cellars.  The grapes picked in September fermented in small tanks in the winery.  The first fermentation is when yeast convert the grape sugars to alcohol and other compounds that impart flavors and aromas. This fermentation takes about three weeks.  The wine then goes through the second, slower fermentation called malolactic fermentation (ML for short) that converts the malic acid in grapes to a softer, creamier lactic acid.  The fermentation can take two months (or sometimes longer).  ML just finished for the very last barrel of 2022.  All red wines (with rare exceptions) go through the second ML fermentation. Not only does ML improve the texture of the wine, but it also makes the wine age-worthy.  Without ML, the wine would be excessively tart and texturally rough.

    In addition, ML converts the malic acid which is a food source for some microbes into a more stable lactic acid.  As a result, we can store and age the wine in barrels for a long time without fear of spoilage.  For a winemaker, this is a very satisfying moment, when we guide the wine to being not just a tasty beverage, but one that will provide immense pleasure years after it was made.  Recently, I heard from members who are still enjoying older Nicholson Ranch Pinot Noirs from the 2011 and 2013 vintages. Curious about other vintages we opened bottles of 2008 and 2010 Pinots. Both wines showed beautiful aromas and flavors, belying their age.  For me, these older bottles are like photo albums with memories encapsulated from their vintage year.

    This wine club release includes wines from 2017 that are just approaching their prime, as well as a 2019 “777” Pinot Noir. We hope these wines bring back joyful memories from their vintage years.

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    Cheers!

  • November 5th, 2022

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    Dear Friends,

    We had a good, albeit early and stressful, harvest this year.  In my previous letter, I mentioned that heat and rain are the two weather challenges we face at harvest time.  This year we experienced both. In early September, we had a few days of 100+ degree highs. In anticipation of the heat, we harvested some vineyard blocks before the temperature rose, testing the grapes every couple of days to check the flavors.  The grapes in some blocks were not ready, so we let them stay on the vine.  Unfortunately, the hot spell ripened the grapes and dried them more than I’d liked. However, when the rain arrived a week later, it rehydrated the grapes, returning them to their average size.  It rained about an inch, with the downside being that the fruit became wet and potentially could become moldy.  As a result, we worked with a double crew to pick the remainder of our grapes at Nicholson Ranch before it warmed up and grew any mold.  The rain and heat essentially helped cancel each out.

    Harvest days start at 5 am, just before dawn, when temperatures are in the low 50s. Picking the grapes when they are cold preserves flavor and aroma.  A harvest crew includes a tractor driver, eight pickers, and two leafers.  The pickers begin the morning working with headlamps, expertly cutting off each cluster of grapes from the vine with a small sickle-bladed knife.  Quickly, working with nimble fingers, they fill up picking buckets, each holding 40 to 50 lbs of grapes.  They load the grapes into larger bins on a trailer pulled by the tractor.  The leafer’s job (my designated role) is to throw out leaves and any unsound fruit.  Grapes that are not ripe or grapes that are moldy do not remain. The tractor takes the full bins to the winery and returns with empty containers to repeat the process. The crew and the tractor go through the block, vine by vine, row upon row, until we have picked the entire block.  Usually, we end at 11 am before it has begun to warm up and just in time for a hearty lunch. 

    At the winery, the grape clusters require further care. They are put through a destemmer, a machine with rotating paddles separating the berries from the stems.  The berries are collected in our fermentation tanks.  A typical tank is rectangular, 5 ft x 7 ft, and can hold an acre’s worth of grapes.  Our entire morning pick of 6 hours can yield just two tanks full of berries.  The tanks are refrigerated to keep the fruit cold to allow the grape juice to absorb color and texture from the grape skins.  After a few days, we turn off the refrigeration and let the grapes warm up.  This step allows the native yeast to start fermenting the juice.  We do not add any yeast to the juice but allow native yeast that resides on the skins of the grapes to do the fermentation. Our native yeasts produce distinctive aromas and textures unique to Nicholson Ranch wines.

    Fermentation takes between two and three weeks.  Once the yeast has converted all the sugar in the juice to alcohol and other aroma compounds, the fermentation stops, and we now have a young wine.  The newly fermented wine goes into the French oak barrels stored in our underground cellars.  The wine will age for at least two years before it is ready to be bottled.  The barrel aging enhances and concentrates flavors and smooths out the texture of the young wine.  Another year of aging in the bottle adds to the complexity of the wine.  

    Most of you will receive the 2019 Dry Farmed Pinot Noir that recently was awarded 93 points from the Wine Enthusiast magazine.  The Dry Farmed and all the Nicholson ranch wines are beneficiaries of our sun, soil and the hands that grow and make the wine (let’s not forget the invisible natural yeast who are essential to making wine).

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    Happy Thanksgiving,

  • September 2022

    By

    Dear Friends,

    We are approaching another harvest, and it fills me with excitement and anxiety. Witnessing the joy of harvest and being an active participant in the annual cycle of the grapevine is exciting. Knowing the plants are completing their year’s work in producing magnificent fruit is incredible. Yet, I must balance my excitement with the vigilance of monitoring the weather. Currently, and for the next two weeks, we are having perfect summer weather- 85 degrees in the day and 55 at night. As we go into the fall, the daytime temperature usually cools down to 75 degrees and allows the fruit to ripen at a slow pace. This extended season allows the grapes to develop complex flavors. However, my concern is about heat and rain.

    In the past ten years, we have seen unexpected heat in the fall or sometimes even rain. Heat spikes take temperatures into the 90s and sometimes 100s, shorten the season, forcing us to harvest grapes before their prime. These spikes are rarely catastrophic since they affect only one section of the vineyard. Our vineyard has several grape varieties and several clones within each type that give a diversity of ripening times. Chardonnay will ripen first, followed by Pinot Noir and then the big reds. Amongst the Pinot clones, Cactus Hill ripens first, followed by Dry Farmed and 777. A heat spike event is most consequential to the block nearest the ripeness peak.

    Rain, on the other hand, can be disastrous. As the fruit ripens, the skins become softer and less resilient. Rain and humidity promote fungi that begin to rot the fruit. Rain in California arrives in late October after all the grapes are picked. Every other year, it rains unexpectedly in September or early October while grapes are still on the vine. A small amount of rain, less than a half inch, may not do much damage. But a more extensive rainfall will leave water on the leaves and the fruit—perfect conditions for mold to develop and destroy the crop.

    In each case, heat or rain, understanding the individual block of the vineyard and the level of resilience within the section is crucial in making thoughtful decisions. Having farmed Nicholson Ranch for over 25 years has allowed me to navigate the vagaries of each year and course correct appropriately. To this point, most of you will receive the 2019 Cactus Hill Pinot Noir. The 2019 vintage had two three-day heat events in September and a few days of a light drizzle. Despite, the uneven weather, the 2019 Cactus Hill has gone on to win the Best of Class award at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest competition for American wines.

    As we approach harvest, here’s hoping that it is filled with calm weather and is easy and smooth.

    Cheers,

    Deepak Gulrajani

  • March 21st, 2022

    By

    Dear Friends,

    Happy Spring.  We are enjoying great weather at Nicholson Ranch with bright sunny days and cool nights.  Warm sunshine is waking up the vines from their winter hibernation.  The buds on the vines swell up and open gradually to reveal a small branch with tiny leaves.  “Bud-break” as it is called, is the start of another vintage. 

    2022 is a significant year in the history of Nicholson Ranch.  I am replanting all our Chardonnay and Merlot vines and about half of the Pinot Noir.  I planted the original vines in 1995 on land that had been a cattle ranch for several decades.  Vineyards usually have a life-span of 30 years.  The last few years with fires, smoke and drought have accelerated the aging of the plants.  

    The good news is that I get to plant new little baby vines, this time with more knowledge and less trepidation than in 1995.  Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have excelled at Nicholson Ranch, so naturally I am planting these varietals, albeit with a different mix of clones.  Clones, as many of you know, are slight variations in the variety that manifest as a different nose or a different texture in the resulting wine.  Think of the difference between the Dry Farmed Pinot and the 777 Pinot.  Each of these are crafted from a different clone of Pinot Noir.  The Dry Farmed shows more aroma while the 777 has more texture on the palate.  For the replant, I have selected clones that have produced our Reserve level of wines.  As these new vines age, I expect to craft even better wines through this decade.

    Second, I am increasing the number of vines of Merlot and Syrah.  At present we have two acres and one acre of these vines.  This will increase to three acres for each variety.  Both Merlot and Syrah are more hardy grapes than Pinot Noir.  They tolerate heat and unseasonal rain without compromising quality.  Both Nicholson Ranch Merlot and Syrah wines are new world in flavor and old world in style, showing great texture and finish while showcasing signature California fruit flavors.

    Work on the replanting has begun, with new vines planted in a nursery where they will be nurtured for a year before planting at Nicholson Ranch.  The new vines are a combination of a rootstock and a graft.  The rootstock is plant material from native American vines that are best suited for our soil.  These will first be planted in little pots to establish roots.  Next year, the varietal graft (Chardonnay or Pinot Noir) will be inserted into the stem of the rootstock to create the new vine.  The graft is the same genetic material as each of the clones that we have at Nicholson Ranch.  The new vines will go into the ground in the Spring of 2023 to continue the lineage of Nicholson Ranch wines.

    I appreciate your continued patronage and I look forward to seeing you in the coming months.  

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    Sincerely,

    Deepak Gulrajani

  • January 13th, 2022

    By

    Dear Friends,

    Happy New Year! We are enjoying a good start at Nicholson Ranch, even with Covid.  After a year of a severe drought, California received abundant rain delivered by a cascade of storms dubbed “atmospheric rivers” for their serpentine appearance on a radar map.  The immense rainfall turned our wine-country hills bright green by Halloween and the Sierra Nevada mountains white by Christmas.  After two years of being a mud-hole, our pond is full to the brim, the surface shining like a silver mirror.  The winter sun, flying low, makes the moisture sparkle on the green hills.  Sunset bathes the landscape in an orange hue.  At the moment, it is perfect.

    Despite the tribulations of Covid, last year was one of the best years for me.  As of the end of 2021, my three older kids are all venturing out into their adult lives.  Zander, my eldest, is literally off the payroll.  After three years of working in our lab and hosting our guests, Zander decided to pursue further and deeper in the lab sciences area.  Taylor, my second son, has his first real job as an engineering consultant in the Bay Area; and, Natalie, my only daughter, was accepted by UCSF, one of the best medical schools anywhere.  I am a proud father and I feel very content having the kids move out into the world.

    The New Year has also got me breaking out to experience life beyond wine country.  Early this month my wife, Nancy, and I were in Houston for a family wedding.  It was good to travel and see friends and family after two years.  It was exhilarating to celebrate with music, color and delicious food. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated.  As 2022 is my 60th year, I plan to celebrate my milestone year by spending time with friends and family, visiting India in the spring and Europe in the summer.   

    I look forward to seeing you, my wine club family and friends in 2022.  Come out and visit Wine Country.

    In the meantime, we have wonderful Nicholson Ranch estate wines for you from the 2018 and 2019 vintages.  The California sun, our volcanic soil, and the craft of my winemaking team allows us to share our little corner of Sonoma with you.  

    Cheers.

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    Deepak Gulrajani