The Wine Knows

I received an email last night from Todd Hamina, recently departed winemaker for Maysara Winery in the McMinnville AVA who is launching Biggio Hamina Cellars with the 2007 vintage. Hamina will bring in grapes from several of the north Willamette Valley appellations this fall and gave me a quick report on how the fruit is looking.

He said that the grapes are shaping up better than he'd initially thought after some roller-coaster weather through the first part of the growing season.

"If anything, there is some thinning to be done out there," he wrote. "Veraison is plugging along, with the Dundee Hills being a bit ahead."

Hamina said the weather has been steady and warm.

"But we're still a long way out from October," he added.