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Vineyard Notes
Oct 27th, 2011
Harvest is finally over
It was stressful watching the birds, the rain and long range forecast but in the end, we got sunny days (or at least partly cloudy days) and no rain which gave us the all important hang-time without any added disease pressure. We were able to manage without any sprays in the final few weeks, the birds got some but it was not bad. We picked the first rows on October 19th with the remainder on October 23rd and 25th. It did not look good in the first couple of weeks in October but at the end we have great flavors and good acidity. The sugars ended up being in the low to mid 20s brix which should make great balanced wine.
Also would like to thank Daniel Fey and the RP team who did a great job as usual. Last few days had Daniel driving around the vineyard battling the bird invasion to preserve all the work they had put in over the year. The hard work and a little luck has made this a good year.
Oct 13th, 2011
When will the grapes be ready?
This is the question on everyone’s mind. How much longer before we harvest? Well, every year two things show up for harvest – wasps and birds. Their appearance means the grapes are getting sweet and are nearly ready for picking. Yesterday, the starlings came and today the wasps.
Maybe next week we can harvest.
Oct 6th, 2011
Waiting for the sun
We need a couple of weeks of warm sunshine to complete the flavors but the weather is not cooperating. The forecast next week calls for alternating days of rain and sunshine, not particularly promising. It is one of the special joys of farming, watching the long range weather forecast and hoping its wrong.
Prior to the bad weather we had already gone through a second round of crop thinning and removed the leaves on the west side of some of the blocks to give the grapes the best chance of ripening. We have not sprayed so far but may do so if needed. If the rain holds off for a couple of weeks we will be fine. If not the wine makers will have a challenge.
Sep 3rd, 2011
Veraison
The grapes are turning from green to purple and we are about 40-45 days from harvest. Its going to be mid October for harvest so its going to be another year of trying to squeeze a few more days before the onset of the winter rains and hopefully the birds don’t hit the grapes like 2010.
Jul 5th, 2011
Bloom
Its finally here. After a long rainy cold spring (even by Oregon standards) the vines set flowers and have begun to bloom. We would prefer to have this occur 3-4 weeks earlier, to avoid a stressful late October harvest but its still cold and rainy so October seems unavoidable. We can just hope to have a warm August and September to move ripening up a few days. The vineyard looks great and look forward to a great year.
- The start of another great vintage