This has been my favorite harvest by a long shot.  I have to admit, it was not because of the quality of our fruit this year, which was excellent I might add (since we got in almost all our fruit before the rain).  And this harvest was by far the most exhausting I have ever worked.  It was because this was my first harvest as a father.  Every night I was able to come home to an adorable little girl.  It truly was a memorable crush.

So here is how it started, my daughter was born on August 6th.  I spent two weeks at home adjusting to the life of a newborn with my lovely wife.  The first week back at work, I get the call.  Guess what, our grower saw a spike in sugar in our Sauvignon Blanc and it was time to start crushing grapes.  A nice little heat wave brought in another round of Pinot Noir grapes for our Crusher program, and then some Lodi Zinfandel rolled in.  And it wasn’t even September yet.  We just hit the deck running and didn’t have much time to look back.  But no matter how many days of driving a few hundred miles to check vineyards and custom crush facilities, I was able to come home, wash the grape sugar off my hands, and hold my little girl.  No matter how exhausted I was, her little grin always made me melt.

As you can see, I had the best harvest ever!!  I will always remember the 2009 vintage DS&S wines.  To all the parents out there, I raise my glass.  I finally get it.  And to my wife Tracy and assistant winemaker Rachel, I could not have made it through this harvest without either of you.  Cheers to you all.  Your humbled winemaker, Greg.