It’s been harvest season for wineries in Napa and Sonoma, which means Jackson’s own winery has also been busy.
Winemaker Anthony Schroth of Jackson Hole Winery went to California last week with his brother, Ian, to pick grapes. They began at 5 a.m. Friday and finished about 12 hours later. Then, they loaded tons of grapes and a dozen barrels in a Budget rental truck and drove from 6 p.m. Friday through the night to return to Jackson.
They invited Dishing and a few of their friends to watch/help as they began making their Catch and Release zinfandel Saturday, an hour or so after they arrived home.
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- Empty oak barrels that will be used to age this year’s zinfandel lot.
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- Anthony Schroth and his brother, Ian, began picking these zinfandel grapes at 5 a.m. Friday in the Napa/Sonoma area. By 2 p.m. Saturday, they were back in Jackson and beginning to make wine.
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- Anthony Schroth gives Carrie Smith and Caitlin Keys a taste of grapes from this year’s zinfandel harvest.
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- From the back of their Budget rental truck, Schroth shovels grapes into a machine that detaches them from the stems.
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- Friends were invited to help with Saturday’s work.
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- The grapes coming out of the de-stemming machine. They will age in these tanks for 14-20 days.
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- After being collected in a trailer, the stems will be used on the Schroth’s property as fertilizer.
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- Mimosa in one hand and rake in another, Ian Schroth’s friend helps with the de-stemming process.
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- Grapes, seeds and some oak chips (added for flavor) will age in these fermenting tanks for 14 to 20 days. Then they will be barreled. The Catch and Release zinfandel (lot 12, named after the year it was made) will be released in 2014.
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- Bob Schroth gives Carrie Smith a taste of the 2010 Chardonnay, aged in 100 percent French Oak. The wine in the tank is about to be bottled and will be released in December.
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- Anthony Schroth pours a taste of the Catch and Release zinfandel. The first of this vintage (lot 10, because the grapes were grown and picked in 2010) will be released in December.
