Harvests at Dana Campbell Vineyards ~ 

2007 ~

We really didn’t expect much the first year and didn’t get that much either.  The birds ate half the fruit as we decided not to net.  We sold just under one ton to Cal Schmidt at Schmidt Family Vineyard in the Applegate (near Ruch, Oregon).  Our Malbec went into a blend with several vineyards.  Our Tempranillo and Viognier were blended together and we will have a case to sell of our own Dana Campbell Vineyard 2007 “Vionillo.”  Yes, we know a case won’t go very far, but we are excited none the less and have trademarked our first label!

2008 ~

At third leaf we expected and got a very respectable harvest.  This year we netted and the birds are still some trouble, but between the propane cannon and Pat’s shotgun, we kept them at bay.  We had other critters this year as a neighbor loaned his pasture to the bee man, so we were inundated with bees right before harvest.  The pickers didn’t like that much and the bees found their way to Schmidt’s too.

Our Tempranillo did the best with over 4 and a half tons of fruit (11 bins) and the Viognier and Malbec netted just about 2 tons a piece.  We picked the Tempranillo and Viognier the same day on the 29th of September and decided we would never do two varietals in one day again.  We overwhelmed ourselves and Schmidt!  The Malbec was picked on the 30th of October.

Thanks to Randy Gold, we have a great picking crew and a lot of help.  We sure needed it. We will have quite a bit of 2008 product and plan on being able to sell our Malbec, Tempranillo and the blend of Tempranillo and Viognior.

We will soon have 2008 wine for sale: We will be offering 15 cases of Vionillo, 17 cases of Malbec and 39 cases of Tempranillo in the fall of 2010. Look for our new releases.

2009 ~

Fourth leaf is reaching the point of almost full maturity.  This was a great year for the amount of fruit, but everything ripened a little slower than last year.  We also suffered from some hail damage at the beginning of August that didn’t help.

Once again, with great help from Randy Gold, we had an excellent yield with the Malbec and Tempranillo coming in earlier than the Viognier.  We ended up with 8 tons of Tempranillo and 4 tons of Malbec picked and off to Schmidt in mid October.  The Viognier took its time fully ripening but we picked on November 5th with 4 tons going to Schmidt and another 2.4 tons delivered to Pallet Wine Company.  Our friend Tom Kennedy came both days and helped with the tractors; Paula and Pat picked a bin of Tempranillo; and Dennis helps load and haul.  We are very thankful for all the help!! We will have to celebrate when this vintage reaches maturity!

Delivering to Schmidt Family Vineyards ~

Even though it is along drive from the vineyard, it is great to arrive and watch the fruit begin the journey to becoming good wine.  Thanks to Cal we will have great wine to share.