This year’s harvest is moving along well though a bit slower than most years due to modest temperatures throughout July and August. We haven’t had spikes of hot days. Rather, we’ve continued with cool mornings followed by afternoons in the 70’s and occasional low 80’s. This coolness means that the desired sugar levels in the grapes rise more gradually than in years where days in the 90’s are common.
Speaking with our winemaker, Don Van Staaveren, he’s looking at an early October harvest of our Chardonnay (that’s about 3 weeks later than previous years) and mid October for the harvest of our Red grapes (that’s about 1 week later than normal). This long, gradual maturation period for the grapes is healthy and good. However, October harvests face the threat of fall rains that can disrupt things. So, Rosemary and I are watching the weather forecasts and crossing our fingers that rains will hold off until late October.
Stay tuned!