One of our favorite things about wine is how it brings people together. Whether sharing a bottle with friends or getting coworkers together to go in on a barrel here at Crushpad, people bond over wine. Which is why we’re excited to expand our Community Crush neighborhood winemaking program this year to ten different groups, including five brand new areas.

Community Crush is a pretty cool and easy way to meet your neighbors, learn a bit about winemaking, and come away with a great, unique wine in the end. 2008 was the inaugural year for Community Crush and we had lots of enthusiasm from our five starter neighborhoods: the Mission, Marina, our own backyard – Potrero Hill, SOMA, and a general SF Super Group. This year, we’re venturing out even further, adding groups in the Castro, Haight, Russian & Nob Hills, the East Bay (gotta give some love to the sunny side of the Bay), and even all the way out in Chicago. Yes, Chicago is a new Bay Area neighborhood, didn’t you know? What can we say? What the fans want, the fans get.

It’s a simple buy-in (only $26/bottle, between 1 – 12 bottles) with big rewards. Community Crush members participate in all sorts of fun stuff – from a kickoff party, to winemaking Crush Camps, a barrel sample party, custom neighborhood labels, and a bottling party when the wine’s ready. Not to mention bragging rights of having made a great wine and some friends along the way.

If you want to learn more about Community Crush or to sign up, click here: http://www.crushnet.com/communitycrush.  We’d love to see you and your neighbors in the winery.

For the first time this season, I see quite a few vineyards showing some signs of water stress in the vine canopy. Considering the recent heat we have had, it's only expected - and I'm sure there is more to come. The dry and cooler spring was trending vine growth later than average. But while an extended growing season sounds great for flavor development, growers run the risks of rain and frost going into late fall. Rain and frost would be detrimental to any unharvested fruit.

The recent heat and subsequent vine stress, comes when earlier ripening varietals (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) are rapidly approaching veraison. Veraison is the transition the vine goes through from vegetative phase of growth toward the fruitful phase. The plant shifts its focus from leaves and shoot growth to maturation of the berries and increasing sugar-levels. An effortless transition during veraison is a benchmark for a great growing season.

At the mid-point in the growing season, grape growers are still working hard to complete whatever canopy work remains to be done. While many believe that it is an above-average crop year, this theory will not be confirmed until mid-season clusters have been weighed.

All in all, the vines are looking healthy as we head into veraison. So far, there is great cause to be optimistic for this growing season!

Mitchell

Crushpad's favorite legend-testing television crew was here at the winery again yesterday, adding some excitement to the usual hubbub. That's right, Grant, Tory, and Jessi from Discovery's MythBusters came to Crushpad to film an upcoming episode with our very own Michael Brill. What's it about? We can't say. We were sworn to secrecy. But, if any of you logged onto our Crush Cams yesterday afternoon, you probably got a good glimpse at the action.

It was the MythBusters crew's third visit to the winery. They're a good group of people and we love to watch them work their magic. Some secrets we picked up from yesterday's taping include: they don't have a make-up artist or hair stylist on set with them (they're all naturally that good looking), television happens in multiple takes, and everything is ad-libbed. Look for the episode to air in the fall (we'll let you know the exact date when we do).

On a related note, if you're ready for your own close-up, consider trying out for the next season of The Winemakers. Auditions are being held on July 27th with registration required by July 24th (next week!). Check it out here: http://thewinemakers.tv/casting-season-2. You can also get a sneak peek at Season 1 at a special screening here at the winery on July 27th. RSVP here: http://www.crushpadwine.com/event/winemakers.

One thing is for sure; growing wine grapes is never boring. 2009, like most years in the recent past, is one to keep you guessing. We started with another dry “rainy season” and then caught unexpected and significant rainfall in May. As soon as folks comment on the cool, springtime weather, we get unusually hot spells in May and late June. Toss in a season with very high powdery mildew pressure and you’ve got potential for sleepless nights. It’s what growers thrive on.

As I walk the vineyards now, I’m seeing berry size variability becoming a little less obvious. Grape varieties that ripen earlier are sizing up from little BBs to pea size. As a whole, we are about 5-7 days behind in growth than the 5-year average. Canopies look good and in some cases, the canopies are more full than I’ve seen in recent years. I find this interesting since, if you recall, we had shorter than desired shoots at bloom.

Presently, many growers are exploring both foliar and water applied fertilizer. Remember though, it’s all about balance in the vineyard, on the vine and in life.

Mitchell