Veraison at White Salmon Vineyard, Pinot Noir Aug. 28, 2022
This has been a most unusual harvest from both a climatic and business perspective. Brehm Vineyard’s Northwest harvest is on track, but later than in the recent past. Grapes got off to a late start after a chilly spring. The accumulated heat of the past two months has brought us on to a more normal cycle. We are running about 13 days behind the early harvest of last year. The grapes are progressing beautifully and the vineyards are strong.
Our existing inventory is moving fast. Brehm’s own White Salmon Vineyard grapes are being shared with local, premium wineries to minimize our unsold inventory. Customers are picking up and shipping from the Richmond, CA freezer. Upon completion of harvest, there will be a grape shipment to Pennsylvania. If you wish to make wine from the 2022 vintage, order now!
Bowing to strong demand, I was able to locate an old planting of Sangiovese in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, which sits above the Columbia River. Customers admire the ability of this grape to blend, as the dominant variety or as a complement to other varieties like Merlot, Cabernet, and Syrah.
The loss of our wonderful Sonoma Merlots allows us to try another mature, high-altitude vineyard. Dry Hollow is located among a massive cherry orchard. It is not a hollow, at over 1,000 ft., nested on the south side of the Columbia River.
Our Garnier Merlot is at river height, located in a cooler microclimate, 14 miles to the west.