In a year where many vineyards lost most (or all) of their crop to the excessive rainfall, Fairhaven posted the largest haul of grapes in the six years of commercial production! Most of the credit for this success goes to Fairhaven’s vineyard manager, Miguel Orta, and his determination to protect the crop through the periods of blinding rainfall.
Miguel uncovering the North Lomanto Block
The Lomanto and the other American Hybrids showed their usual durability by producing gigantic clusters that ranged well up toward the 12-14 oz. range on the Lomanto, Albania, and Extra. Totals exceeded the 12 ton range on these varities.
Another pleasant surprise was the amazing production of the Nortons! Katherine’s “Acre of Gold” yielded the biggest crop in the history of the planting!
Hanna all smiles on a really hot morning!
Harvest began in earnest on July 24th and concluded with the taking of the Nortons on August 4th.
The really big news is the first high volume harvest of the Heritage American Hybrids including, Brilliant, Extra, Delicatessan, and Nitodal. All of the wines are currently in the final stages of fermentation and are being made ready for the finishing phase of production.
Hand crushing a rare American Hybrid
Fairhaven salutes the legion of dedicated workers that “toughed it out” through the blazing heat during this period!
Here comes the 2015 Lomanto
Miggy and the Lomanto!
Feeding the crushers
Acre of Gold Nortons