Toad's Blog

Toad Hollow Vineyards is over-the-top-excited about the awards we just received at the 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition!  This year we had 3 wines take home top honors!  The 2010 Mendocino County Chardonnay received a Silver Medal, the 2009 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir received a Silver Medal and the 2009 California Erik's the Red received a Silver Medal as well, we always knew they were good, but it feels so nice to have others agree with us!   ... READ MORE

It's the end of July but finally, a little color is starting to show up in our Goldie's Vineyard Pinot Noir grapes. These multi-colored clusters are pretty to look at only eye candy for now but don't let that fool you, they are quite tart right now. No worries, as it won't be long before the sugars start to rise. This process is called "verasion" and it is the beginnings of grape ripening. Verasion was later than last year here in the Goldie's Vineyard by about a week and it was about two weeks later than usual last year so we are kind of "behind the eight ball". The good news is that the Pinot Noir is healthy and plentiful.   ... READ MORE

Bloom is a magical time in the vineyards. The air is heavy with a sweet fragrance similar to honeysuckle and jasmine but very subtle. That is the smell of grape flower blossoms and you have to get up really close to see what is causing that wonderful aroma. Bloom only lasts a short while in each vineyard,   ... READ MORE

If you were a grape just waiting to happen, wouldn't you want it to happen here? What looks like miniature grapes are actually flower buds that will soon open for pollination and then after that.... Baby Pinot Noir!  ... READ MORE

Flooding, snow and bud break all within 24 hours? Mother nature has been a busy gal! But look what Goldie did out in the rain while we weren't looking. After a long winter's slumber, the Pinot Noir buds in Goldie's Vineyard have started to burst open and our 2011 vintage Pinot Noir is now in progress. Generally speaking, even a light dusting of snow on the hills in Northern Sonoma County is a rare occurrence but we have seen snow on multiple occasions this winter.   ... READ MORE