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Field note · 06 September

The decision before first light.

Ripeness is a number, a taste, a forecast, and sometimes a quiet certainty at the end of a row.

07 / 08
A ripe grape cluster cut by hand at dawn

How cool nights, seed color, and a walk through Block Seven set the first pick of harvest.

05:18 · Block Seven

The first walk begins before the ridge catches sun. We taste from the shoulder and the low seam, where cool air settles. Sugar gives us one fact; the color of the seed and the resistance of the skin give us several more.

A decision shared

Picking is not a dramatic declaration. Vineyard, cellar, and weather notes are placed on the same table. We look for a window that protects freshness without leaving the tannin behind.

What arrived

By mid-morning the first crates were under the cellar arch: small berries, clean stems, and the peppered scent we had been waiting for. The vintage had started without ceremony, exactly as it should.

“The hill does not repeat itself. Our work is to notice why.”
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First light harvest | Aster & Row