Welcome to the Goosecross
2005 Harvest Report
HARVEST RECAP

After a mild winter and a very warm March, unseasonably cool weather and record-setting rains in May delayed flowering and fruit-set¹ and rattled our nerves with visions of crop loss and mold problems. Fortunately, our fears were unfounded and we were heartened by a larger than expected set of nicely-formed clusters. The summer months were mild and pleasant followed by continued warm, nearly perfect ripening conditions in the early fall. Without the typical handful of summer heat spikes the harvest was late for most growers, risking the possibility of running into rain. But as the harvest rolled along, with some growers harvesting well into November, we were blessed with warm days, cool nights and no significant rainfall until late October.

2005 surprised us all, valley-wide, by producing an exceptionally large crop. On a "normal" year our Winemaker, Geoff Gorsuch, might thin the crop once or twice, but he found himself thinning on several occasions before the season was over. He remarked that "I've never done so much thinning before--big crop, beautiful quality-it's a very rare occurrence." Over cropping can lead to diluted or green flavors and the thinning promotes fruit maturation, and good color and flavor intensity.

Geoff characterizes the vintage as ".remarkable. The mild conditions allowed for a long "hang-time"² and great flavor development. The grapes were tiny, with intense flavors, just the way I like them."

Harvest at Goosecross began with the Chenin Blanc on September third. By the middle of September we were "crazy with whites" and we finished with our Estate Cabernet on October eighth.

This exceptional vintage marked some important milestones for us: it was the 20th anniversary of Goosecross Cellars, and the 20th anniversary of Geoff and his lovely wife, Karen. It was also the first harvest of our estate vineyard since it was re-planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It was a very good year in so many respects. Cheers!

Footnotes:

¹Fruit set or cluster set: The overall formation of the grape cluster following flowering. Normal clusters will be fully formed, with very few "shot berries" (missing grapes) and uniform grape size, depending on the variety or clone (sub-variety within a grape variety that has been replicated because of specific attributes such as flavor, productivity and adaptability to growing conditions).

²Hangtime: Literally, the number of days the grapes spend ripening on the vine. As long as the weather is fair, a long hang-time is desirable for full flavor development.