The Vanguard

I walked two Rows of our new Malbec Vineyard in Alexander Valley Thursday afternoon and found only these four berries had begun the transformation from sour, hard and sugarless peas into the sweet, intensely colored delicacies we will harvest in two months. Malbec is usually the first of the Bordeaux varieties to begin verasion. This color change gives winemakers a jolt, reminding us that crush is near.