This past Tuesday I transferred the last of the 2021 wines to barrel. It was a bit of a surreal exhale as the past two months have been an intense, head down, nose to the grindstone process of cleaning, sorting grapes, and creative decision making. This was Pray Tell's largest production year to date, with six grape varieties coming in from seven different vineyards located at all corners of the Willamette Valley + the Oregon side of the Rocks District AVA (one of the most distinctive growing regions in the world for Syrah...ps. I make Syrah now). My early take is that this vintage and the wines in barrel are truly special. 

The growing season was one marked by some crazy moments of heat--we're talking record shattering, over 100 degree days this past summer. It propelled the ripening process forward on sugar alone and after the unfortunate fires of 2020, many winemakers were quick on the draw to bring grapes in the doors as early as possible. One of things that I noticed along the way was that the warmth lead to early sugar ripeness, but delayed physiological ripeness. So while it felt tempting to pick on sugar alone, my personal preference was to allow the fruit to continue to hang on the vines so as to develop more complexity and flavor. These wines will certainly be structured and built to age, though my hope is that I can find elegance during the elevage in the cellar. Early decisions in the processing stage of stem selection, maceration lengths, fermentation temperatures, press cuts, and barrel/vessel selection are all components that drive my style of winemaking in general. 

I'm excited to share more insight into the vintage as the wines develop over the maturation process. Right now, most barrels have gone "dry," some even undergoing malolactic fermentation where they will soften and round some primary edges. The next few months will lend themselves to lots of check-ins and familiarization with each barrel. This is when I will really begin to get to know these wines and they'll develop their own voices. 

Lots of positive energy. Onward!