The 2010 harvest reminded everyone that Mother Nature is always in charge. A cool, wet spring set flowering and fruit set back by at least two weeks, followed by a cooler than normal June/July and then a two day heat spike in August that wiped out previous heat records and about 20% of our Pinot Noir crop. Needless to say, there were many sleepless nights for everyone. But, as always, patience was rewarded in the end, and a somewhat smaller pinot crop ripened perfectly through September and when Jim Haire arrived on Oct 5th with the first pick of our organically farmed Clone 667 Carneros Pinot Noir, we were reminded once again why the Carneros produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world.