After a year that ended with lots of bottling, including three very new wines (Giunta skin-fermented Viognier, Giunta Riesling, and Giunta Crunchy Red), we are settling into the mid-summer when I begin walking the vineyards. This allows me to see firsthand the possibilities of the 2022 harvest. Not only am I checking for any issues in the canopy and fruit. But with Veraison in full blast (or finished) across all our fruit, I can also sense how much is out there. Overall, our fantastic growers have managed a pretty vigorous and humid spring very well. Disease pressure was high but these folks put in the hard work to keep it at bay. It also looks like a decent-sized crop this year after many vineyards were very low last year. It really is the calm before the storm now as we watch things ripen.
Next up I will bottle the 2021 Testify Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay and the 2021 Decibel Martinborough Pinot Noir. I have decided the 2021 vintage has not given us the result we needed to make the Testify Pinot Noir, keeping to my promise to only make this wine when I can truly put my hand on my heart and say it is our best. That said, the Decibel Pinot Noir is looking fantastic and should be another stellar wine. And I truly believe the Testify Chardonnay is its best yet marrying some interesting barrels with the truly luscious ones.
