2025 Sauvignon Blanc
Inauspicious is the word that comes to mind when I recall the start to the 2025 vintage. Conditions were wet and cool that Spring, belying the remainder of the growing season we were about to experience. There would be heat, drought stress and agonizing decisions ahead.
The summer of 2025 proved to be a very dry one in St. David's, with many potential rain events just passing by to the north or south of our farm. Our position relative to the Niagara Escarpment plays a major role in the precipitation patterns we experience, and that summer it seemed to act as a point of divergence for fronts approaching from the west. There comes a point in drier years (2007, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2020) where vineyard mangers must make the call if and when to irrigate. Is the dry stretch just a blip? Can you afford to let vines stress a little? Will too much water negatively effect the wine? Questions abound.
The decision to irrigate is not one that is made lightly, lest anyone think that it just involves turning on a tap whenever you desire. On our farm it's a multi-step process that has evolved to feel like a plan of last resort. Likely, the pump and pipes haven't been used for a few years, so the first step is locating the equipment and extricating it from the overgrowth. When the pump inevitably won't start, new parts are ordered and you re-consult the Weather Network in an effort to will some rain your way.
Once you are finally set to irrigate, the water level in the creek must be checked and it can only be done on your legally designated day of the week to pull water from the source. With all systems go you fire up the pump and, by the grace of god, it turns over! Joy is short lived, however, as multiple leaks sequentially spring from the long line of pipes evoking the fountains of Bellagio. Maybe it will rain tomorrow, after all.
On August 19th, 2025, on the precipice of vine shutdown, we got the rain we needed. Most importantly, it bought us enough time to fix the leaks and irrigate for the rest of the season. The older Sauvignon Blanc vines within the block were still in decent shape, but the replants and younger vines were in dire need of a drink. From that point on, we were careful not to water to the point of excess, so as to avoid tight clusters, disease pressure and dilution.
The 2025 Sauvignon Blanc was harvested on September 15th at 21.2 degrees Brix, TA 7.20 g/L and pH 3.27. Pressed juice was then cool-fermented over 40 days in a combination of neutral oak (88%) and steel tank (12%). Over time there arose a tantalizing tropical and citrus medley - you pick the fruit and it's probably in there. It comes across luscious and round on the palate, with a hint of ripe fruit sweetness.
In the end, we probably waited a little too long to irrigate our suffering younger vines in 2025, but the intensity this of wine speaks to the upside of risking minor vine stress in mature, deep-rooted vines to pursue peak flavour concentration.