When the 2022 Chardonnay grapes were still green, a September storm brought three inches of rain. By the time the grapes were ready for harvest, rot had begun to spread. Because rot spreads rapidly once it reaches a critical level, we instructed the crew to avoid vines with rotted fruit and swiftly harvest the healthy grapes for our "premium" lots. Later on, when we had sufficient time, we carefully picked and sorted the fruit that remained. During the winter, we assessed the quality of each wine lot before starting the blending process for our final cuvées. Following the blending of both the Première Reserve and Mendocino bottlings, we found ourselves with surplus "premium" wine, which amounted to approximately 1,200 cases—plenty, but only about 85% of what we had hoped to bottle as Chardonnay Table Wine. We combined all the remaining premium lots in our first Table Wine tasting and the wine tasted lovely.

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