Rancho Maria, the 2nd bonded and licensed winery in Pima County (as of September 2011 [edit: Charron Vineyards is actually the first]), had a somewhat disappointing yield per acre this year, but that just means the fruit harvested during the 2011 season will yield dense, complex wines. Danielle and I spent a few hours on September 4th harvesting Grenache with owners Mark and Maria Mabry and a few other ranch hands. The wasps and ants hung out with us for a while as well, but everyone came out unscathed, though Mark may have ruined a perfectly nice outfit at the de-stemmer and press!
Check out the pics:
Untangling Grenache bunch from trellis wire and irrigation line
Mark de-stemming estate Grenache
