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.
It has been a strange vintage year so far with lots of late spring rain and cooler than usual temperatures. Our Richard McDowell Vineyard Merlot did not fair as well as the Pinot Noir because heavy rain fell in late May when the Merlot was trying make baby grapes. Rain is not a friend to pollination for any plant and those poor tiny grape blossom didn't get a fair fighting chance. There will be some Merlot but it will be a small amount this year and cool weather has put it's ripening behind schedule too. On the other hand, Pinot Noir does not like it too hot so this odd vintage could be a good thing for our Goldie's wine. The next few weeks could be the deciding factor. If Mother Nature will cooperate and provide some warm summer weather, all will be well. We normally harvest our Pinot Noir vineyard in September but maybe October will be the lucky month... We'll keep you posted!
Comments
Post has no comments.