Harvest 2023
May 2023: Patience is a virtue.
And now we wait…
Wine is art and science and a whole lot of patience. All the excitement of the harvest is behind us now—the picking, the fermenting, the pressing. My work here this visit isn’t done (there’s always something to do on a farm), but my time here is over. I fly back to Texas tomorrow and leave everything into the most capable hands of our partners. Francisco and Connie will oversee the vineyard, the animals, the house and the bodega remodel, the villa proposals, and more, while Graham and Matias will oversee the wine as it transforms into something ethereal and wonderful and amazing.
This was a long and productive visit to the vineyard. Upon arrival, the final vestiges of summer held on just like the grapes. With temperatures in the upper 80s the grapes reached maturity and we hustled to pick them. Now, six weeks later, fall is in full swing. Today’s high won’t even reach 60 degrees, the Andes are covered in snow, and the vines empty of grapes and soon to be of the leaves whose color has changed from vibrant green to the dusty golds and reds of fall. The wine rests in tanks and barrels. I’d love to have some bottles to bring home, something to show for all our efforts. Alas, winemaking takes time. Red winemaking takes a lot of time. So it will be two years and nearly two more harvests before we really know what we got from our first foray into the winemaking world. I hope this vintage is magical for everyone like this trip has been for me.
I consider this first harvest a success. We picked about 610 kilograms of grapes. While it would’ve been more if the dogs and bunnies and birds hadn’t feasted on the bounty, it is enough. When we first visited the vineyard last July, in disarray and disheveled from being ignored, we weren’t confident the vines would produce any grapes this year. While some varieties like petite Syrah thrived, others like carmenere struggled. The end result is a petite Syrah heavy field blend and enough wine to allow us to ease into the whole process. We bought some cabernet sauvignon and some carmenere from established vines, places with deep roots and optimal flavors. Those wines will likely all get blended a bit together, though it is too soon to know the final product. We relish the anticipation of those first bottles of Viña Invictus wines.
Life is good. Wine is wonderful. Cheers!