Harvest 2024 Update

We recently wrapped up the 2024 harvest at Concinnitas Farm. As a result, our focus - and much of the activity - has shifted away from the farm and into the cellar. The last grapes hanging in the vineyard - our Aligoté, Chenin Blanc and Savagnin - were picked and pressed and are now fermenting in neutral oak barrels. There were several highlights from this vintage that we wanted to share with you.

The quality of the fruit from the 2024 vintage was spectacular. In most respects, the beginning of the growing season was very typical. By the end of July, which was as warm and dry as we have come to expect, we were on target for a vintage that would be similar to the last few. Then came August, which produced much lower than expected temperatures and periodic rainfall. This rain reduced stress on the vines and resulted in a beautiful and vibrant canopy well into harvest. The slow maturation of the grapes allowed beautiful, bold flavors to develop alongside the sugars. The result: a later-than-usual start to harvest, beautiful early morning picks with fog nestled between the hills, and some of the best fruit we have seen in the relatively brief history of Concinnitas Farm.

The 2024 vintage yielded more fruit for Concinnitas Farm than ever before. We purchased a vacant piece of farmland in 2016 and planted our vineyard gradually over the subsequent years. As our young vines mature and establish themselves, they produce more fruit. This is still true of our established blocks, like our Aligoté, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. It also means that, in the next few years, our youngest blocks (often, this means new varieties) begin to produce fruit for the first time. Overall, we harvested 14.5 Tons this year, nearly twice what we produced in 2023, including our first harvests of Mencia, Godello and Savagnin.

The 2024 vintage resulted in several changes to our wine portfolio. Smaller bunches and berry sizes in our Pinot Noir blocks means we will not produce a Blanc de Noirs this year. Instead, we will be utilizing our Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir to produce more red wine. Our Mencia and Godello - grapes native to Northwest Spain - are being co-fermented on their skins. The most buzz and excitement was generated by our 1.5 acres of Savagnin. It is one of the world's oldest known grape varieties and parent to several others, including some we have planted on the farm (Chenin Blanc and Trousseau). The fruit (being stomped by winemaker Bree Stock) tasted nothing short of incredible and reaffirmed our decision to be one of the first farms in the country to plant the variety.

The part of harvest we look forward to most is spending a LOT of quality time together, as a team and a family. This year, the participation of our kids, who are at the center of much of what we do at Concinnitas Farm, underwent a significant evolution. What began in 2021 with some limited grape picking and significant grape consumption has expanded to include barrel cleaning and decoration, fruit sorting, (a new favorite) foot treading, and cellar dog babysitting. The grape consumption has remained fairly consistent.