July was hot and very dry, and the color change, véraison, began somewhat early. August stumbled in soaking wet (and maybe a wee-bit tipsy). It’s late August now, and the vines have turned all their fruit a vivid purple. This month-long process of turning color, was a long and drawn-out affair this year.
A half a foot of rain and counting for August, a record for our vineyard — but we’re certainly feeling in a rain-barrel half full mood. We’ve been here before: when the grapes ripen in drips and drabs you can certainly get high quality flavor, aromas and textures, but you lose control. Some grapes ripen much earlier than the rest, then become very fragile, and when that happens we need to harvest in multiple batches (a challenge when we are so small), or harvest everything based on the status of the most vulnerable berries in the bunch. This means that the weather decides for us — nothing more, nothing less. But doesn’t the weather always decide? We have good experiences with the weather forcing our hand, it only requires a willingness and ability to drop everything and harvest when the conditions dictate.
The crop looks beautiful. This last week of August has shifted abruptly to hot and dry, with a 10 day forecast of more of the same. The vineyard is a kaleidoscope of berry sizes, with small clusters, large clusters, clusters with berries no bigger than a wild blueberry, and clusters with a mixture of small and large berries. Some vines that suffered frost damage have hardly any clusters at all, but if I had to guess I would say we'll have a strong yield this year (I often guess wrong). Honestly, if it's diversity that you crave, and we most certainly do, this vintage’s fruit is resplendent.
We while away the time securing the layer of netting that stands between our abundant wildlife and our (your) wine. We mow. We tidy up the common spaces and tweak the electric fence. We walk the rows tasting berries. Right now the acid is what strikes us on first chew, but like a stealthily spicy dish, the tannins accumulate and catch our attention as we chew our 10th, 15th, or 20th berry of the day. We inventory the harvest equipment, evaluate cleanliness, and speculate about harvest date (again, we’ll likely guess wrong).
But mostly we conserve energy, as the harvest is going to require speed and endurance. We have put in so much good work this vintage that we feel confident that all the vines have been given the opportunity to produce beautiful fruit, so we can relax and gather ourselves for a long couple days of harvest.