LWC - 2006 Vintage Wines

LORING WINE COMPANY
2006 Vintage Wines
The theme for 2006 is "Vineyard Workers". Mostly the picking crews on the morning we picked. Since these are some of the hardest working people in the world, and they are so important for the production of great wine, we felt they deserved to be the stars this time around.

2006 Garys' Vineyard
Pinot Noir 2006 Clos Pepe Vineyard
Pinot Noir 2006 Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard
Pinot Noir

Santa Lucia Highlands Santa Rita Hills Santa Maria Valley

800 Cases 650 Cases 250 Cases

The pickers at Garys' have it pretty easy in that the fruit is really easy to get to. The cordon pruning and the propensity of the Pisoni clone shoots to grow vertically leads to the clusters all lining up within a tight zone. Picking at Clos Pepe is done by friends and family. It's a difficult pick because the cane pruning means the fruit is scattered about - and you have to hunt and search a bit. Here's a nice shot of a worker emptying a bucket of fruit into a picking bin. Pickers usually pick into totes or buckets. When full, they take them to the picking bins, which are on a trailer being towed by a tractor.

2006 Rosella's Vineyard
Pinot Noir 2006 Brosseau Vineyard
Pinot Noir 2006 Keefer Ranch Vineyard
Pinot Noir

Santa Lucia Highlands Chalone AVA Green Valley (Russian River)

950 Cases 475 Cases 1125 Cases

Pickers at Rosella's doing their thing. Brosseau vineyard can be challenging since it's very hilly. Lugging those heavy totes up and down hills wears the workers out. Keefer is interesting since they pick at night. The worker in the picture has a head-lamp on so he can se what he's doing. In the photo, he's dumping a tote into the picking bin.

2006 Naylor Dry Hole Vineyard
Pinot Noir 2006 Cargasacchi Vineyard
Pinot Noir 2006 Durell Vineyard
Pinot Noir

Chalone AVA Santa Rita Hills Sonoma Coast

150 Cases 600 Cases 600 Cases

Here's a pretty good shot showing you the picking bins on a trailer behind the tractor. Most vineyards have trailers that hold 2 bins. Here you see a worker handing his bucket to the crew boss. The crew boss is usually responsible for sorting out leaves and any moldy fruit that gets into the picking bin. A great action shot of fruit being dumped into a picking bin.

2006 Aubaine Vineyard
Pinot Noir 2006 Graham Family Vineyard
Pinot Noir 2006 Russell Family Vineyard
Pinot Noir

San Luis Obispo Country Green Valley (Russian River) Paso Robles

225 Cases 425 Cases 500 Cases

At Aubaine, rather than try to sort out leaves and mold in the picking bin, they have the workers dump their totes onto a mini sorting table that sits between the two picking bins. It's a great setup, but can be somewhat slow. More pickers in action. They look kinda lost in the tall rows at Graham. Russell is the most difficult site for pickers to work - because it's so freakin' steep. They have to use crawlers (with tank treads) on the hills instead of normal tractors. I'm usually trashed after the pick at Russell.

2006 Shea Vineyard
Pinot Noir

Willamette Valley

525 Cases

This is the only photo we didn't take the day of the pick. We weren't able to get up to Oregon for the Shea pick, so Dick Shea sent us a photo of his vineyard manager, Javier.

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Brian Loring (Brian@LoringWineCompany.com)


2006 Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir	2006 Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir	2006 Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard Pinot Noir
Santa Lucia Highlands	Santa Rita Hills	Santa Maria Valley
800 Cases	650 Cases	250 Cases
The pickers at Garys' have it pretty easy in that the fruit is really easy to get to. The cordon pruning and the propensity of the Pisoni clone shoots to grow vertically leads to the clusters all lining up within a tight zone.	Picking at Clos Pepe is done by friends and family. It's a difficult pick because the cane pruning means the fruit is scattered about - and you have to hunt and search a bit.	Here's a nice shot of a worker emptying a bucket of fruit into a picking bin. Pickers usually pick into totes or buckets. When full, they take them to the picking bins, which are on a trailer being towed by a tractor.


2006 Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir	2006 Brosseau Vineyard Pinot Noir	2006 Keefer Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir
Santa Lucia Highlands	Chalone AVA	Green Valley (Russian River)
950 Cases	475 Cases	1125 Cases
Pickers at Rosella's doing their thing.	Brosseau vineyard can be challenging since it's very hilly. Lugging those heavy totes up and down hills wears the workers out.	Keefer is interesting since they pick at night. The worker in the picture has a head-lamp on so he can se what he's doing. In the photo, he's dumping a tote into the picking bin.


2006 Naylor Dry Hole Vineyard Pinot Noir	2006 Cargasacchi Vineyard Pinot Noir	2006 Durell Vineyard Pinot Noir
Chalone AVA	Santa Rita Hills	Sonoma Coast
150 Cases	600 Cases	600 Cases
Here's a pretty good shot showing you the picking bins on a trailer behind the tractor. Most vineyards have trailers that hold 2 bins.	Here you see a worker handing his bucket to the crew boss. The crew boss is usually responsible for sorting out leaves and any moldy fruit that gets into the picking bin.	A great action shot of fruit being dumped into a picking bin.


2006 Aubaine Vineyard Pinot Noir	2006 Graham Family Vineyard Pinot Noir	2006 Russell Family Vineyard Pinot Noir
San Luis Obispo Country	Green Valley (Russian River)	Paso Robles
225 Cases	425 Cases	500 Cases
At Aubaine, rather than try to sort out leaves and mold in the picking bin, they have the workers dump their totes onto a mini sorting table that sits between the two picking bins. It's a great setup, but can be somewhat slow.	More pickers in action. They look kinda lost in the tall rows at Graham.	Russell is the most difficult site for pickers to work - because it's so freakin' steep. They have to use crawlers (with tank treads) on the hills instead of normal tractors. I'm usually trashed after the pick at Russell.