Clyde punches down a tank of Cloverdale cab at Pelligrini....

Clyde reports on Harvest 2007 from the front lines...

This was last Friday afternoon at Pellegrini Winery in the Russian River region of California. These cabernet grapes came from their Cloverdale ranch vineyard—a very warm area of the state—hence cabernet crushing in middle of September. I spent the afternoon sipping juice from all the vats of chardonnay and pinot noir.

It has been a very even vintage in Sonoma and the weatherthis harvest has been perfect so far! All of Pellegrini’s Olivet Lane pinot noir is in tank and more than half of the chardonnay, too. They are also finished with the Cloverdale merlot. They still have zinfandel to pick from their Sonoma acreage.

—Clyde Beffa