2013 - Terrible End, But Nice Wines

It was a short, wet end to an early, hot, dry growing season; benefiting vineyards that ripen early.

Fortunately for us, our vineyard ripens early, allowing us to harvest ripe fruit at the earliest point since we took over in 2006.  We brought in our first fruit on September 19, our last on September 27.

Our 2013 wines are in barrel, going through malolactic fermentation.  We'll see how they turn out, but at this point they have red and blue fruit flavors, moderate alcohol levels, soft tannins, and juicy acidity.  Here's what they look like:

In another twist to a strange season - after the hottest season in memory; then all the rain, humidity, and cold that forced wineries to bring their grapes in early - Mother Nature gave us a beautiful, dry, sunny end to October.  Just before rain began again this past weekend we were able to plant 3500 new vines, as part of our ongoing vineyard renovation project to quadruple vine density, increase the number of Pinot clones/selections, and establish a hedge against phylloxera by planting resistant rootstock.

 

A soon as the leaves finish falling, we'll remove clips from the catchwires and begin the annual pruning process. 

September 19 - First Pick of 2013 Harvest

Thursday September 19, 6:45am Just a few minutes before we started our first pick of the 2013 Harvest, clear and 45 degrees.

A few minutes later

Pommard just about to be picked

First full bin and some of the sorting crew

We picked the Pommard and Wadenswil blocks for 3 wineries, including our own; and some 114 and 115.  Beautiful day, great crew, and very nice grapes.

Our grapes cooling in our new winery building at the vineyard, while we're loading customer trucks.

Crew rates first grapes of inaugural sorting at our own winery building.

Sorting and destemming line, finishing up around 5:30am Friday morning - one long, satisfying day!

After a day of soaking: Brix 23 to 24, pH 3.28 to 3.34; smells of tea and fresh fruit; great Pinot flavors.

Thank God for the Deluge, It Offset this Hot Week

The great condition of the vines at this late stage helped absorb the rain from last week, offsetting the effects of the 90+ degree temperatures this week.  We ended up having some splitting in the Pommard and Wadenswil rows, which are farther along in the ripening process (softer skins) than the Dijon clones; but overall the dilution effect of the rainfall held back a significant increase in Brix, with little effect on the pH.  With flavor development beginning to accelerate, and daytime temperatures declining into the 70s, we now are hoping for rainfall (and Botrytis) to be held at bay for another week to 10 days. 

With the abnormally high variation in berry age within the clusters this season, the clusters have a wide range of berry ripeness - shriveling berries, perfect berries, and near ripe berries all in the same cluster. And, the super thick skins this year seem to be taking somewhat longer to yield ripe pinot flavors.  If we don't get too much rain resulting in a Botrytis problem, we could end up with good Brix and pH, and an exceptionally complex range of great flavors. 

As of Thursday (when temps began to moderate), Brix and pH were, respectively:
21.0-23.0 and 3.05-3.10 in the Dijon 115
21.0 -22.0 and 2.98-3.00 in the Dijon 114
22.5-23.0 and 3.11-3.13 in the Pommard
23.5 and 3.11 in the Wadenswil

Hoping for minimal rain and maximum flavor development this week...

Deluge Last Week, Hot Weather This Week, Flavors Starting to Develop

Last Wednesday I measured Brix and pH for the first time.  The Wadenswil and Pommard were the farthest ahead with Brix around 22 to 22.5 and pH around 3.1, flavors were lagging behind sugar accumulation.  The Dijon clones had 19 to 21 Brix, with pH just below 3.0.

On Thursday and Friday we unexpectedly had 2.3" of rain, which soaked into the dry ground so quickly that by Friday afternoon I could walk through previously cultivated soil without any mud sticking to my boots.  The canopies are in great shape, so I was holding my breath wondering, with warm weather continuing, whether the berries would swell too much and start bursting.  They did rehydrate substantially, reducing Brix somewhat, but I haven't seen much bursting.

This week's weather is forecasted to be warm and dry, with temps in the upper 80's to low 90's.  Tuesday and Wednesday are supposed to be the hottest, so we'll check Brix and pH afterwards.  Flavor development is beginning to accelerate in the Wadenswil and Pommard berries.

Wadenswil Clone

Pommard Clone

Dijon Clone 114

Dijon Clone 115

Continuing Trend, Warmest August in Recent History

August continued this summer's trend of warmer than normal temperature, ending at 608 heating degree days, one of the warmest in recent years.  This brings total cumulative heating degree days for the season so far to 1943. To put this into perspective, at the end of August 2013, we had as many or more heating degree days as the full seasons in 2007, 2008, and 2010.  While 2013 has been a warm summer, it has not been a particularly hot one; temps have hit the 90 degree mark only 16 days, and only 2 of them have been above 94.  This summer's temps have just been consistently above the normal daily historical averages.

August continued the trend of below normal rainfall, coming in at 0.35", slightly less than the norm of 0.5".  Season-to-date rainfall is 38.4".

Near Mid-Veraison...Looking More and More Like A September Harvest

We're at or near mid-veraison in all our blocks.  The berries are changing color at a relatively slow pace; but with the continued dry, mid-80s weather we should be fully purple by month-end, if not sooner.

Dijon 114

Dijon 115

Wadenswil

Pommard

Weather Recap Through July

Cumulative July season-to-date rainfall is 33.9 inches.  While only 4 inches less than normal, since December we have received significantly less than normal rainfall every month except in May.

Correspondingly, cumulative positive heating degree days for the same period have been significantly higher than normal, with 1335 heating degree days through the end of July.  In fact, 2013 is trending to be the warmest season in recent memory.  Interestingly, we have not yet had the usual couple of several-day heat spikes into the 100s that we usually have during a warm year. For the most part, we have just been consistently trending above the daily average temperatures. 

Despite the heat and lack of rainfall, the vines are dark green and in great shape and we haven't seen any sunburned grapes yet.

If August were to have the normal amount of heating degree days, we would be at the same point at the end of August, heat accumulation-wise, as we normally are by the end of September. 

The three-month weather forecast is showing cooler and than normal weather for the August through October period, though.  So, hopefully the weather will accommodate us with a slower ripening period: holding down Brix, maintaining acid, and fully developing flavor and aroma characteristics of the grapes.

First Color

I noticed some color on a cluster a couple of days ago, but - because it is so early - I wanted to see color elsewhere before concluding that veraison has started.  Today I found examples throughout the vineyard.

Clone 115

Clone 114

Wadenswil

Pommard

We typically begin harvest 7 to 8 weeks after first color, putting this year's harvest roughly in the last week of September.  Being earlier than usual, the temperatures are likely to be higher, which could accelerate ripening, leading to an even earlier start of harvest.  Possibly somewhat offsetting this is the longer bloom period we had this year, which could extend veraison.  Assuming normal weather patterns in August and September, I'm expecting a September harvest.

Seeds Hardening

The weather has been dry and warm since bloom ended, the grass is going dormant, and the ground is as hard as concrete.  The vines are healthy with lots of lush green foliage and shoots that are starting to lignify.  The grape seeds are hardening, indicating we are at lag phase; a few days earlier than 2009, the earliest in recent years.


We have a goodly number of small- to moderate-sized clusters, roughly 2 cluster per shoot, with wings - if any - limited to the first cluster.  Cluster shape, as well as size of berries, is variable.  We have tight clusters with classic shape and uniform berry size (typical of the clusters that were pollinated during the near perfect conditions of the first week of bloom); less classic clusters with hens and chicks (pollinated as the perfect conditions began to change); and strange-shaped, loose clusters with fewer berries (resulting from the cloudy, showery weather during the last half of the bloom period). 

Clone 114

Clone 115

 

Wadenswil Clone

Pommard Clone

With clear, warm, and dry weather expected for the foreseeable future, it continues to look like we'll be harvesting early this year - possibly in September.

Full Bloom - Monday, June 17

Cooler temps, and occasional showers during the second week of the earliest bloom period in recent years.   Another week and we should have a good feel for crop loads this year, so far so good.

Dijon Clone 114:

Dijon Clone 115:

Wadenswil Clone:

Pommard Clone:

A Young Visitor:

It looks like temps in the 60s and 70s, with scattered showers for the rest of bloom; then warming into the mid-80s as we move through fruit set.  Heading for an early harvest this season.

Wednesday, June 5 - First Signs of Bloom

Strong, intensely aromatic smells of pinot flowers blowing through the vineyard.

Sunny, clear, low- to mid-80s this past week, putting us well into bloom.  Sunny, dry, upper-60s to low-70s forecasted; the vines should be in full bloom this week; looks like an early harvest.


We'll see where fruit set leaves us yield-wise, but so far we're having a good, healthy bloom this year.   

Shooting to the Top Wire

Hot & dry, cold & wet, hot & dry, cold & wet...the wet just ended.

The shoots have 11 to 13 open leaves, are nearing the top wire, and have, healthy sets of future flowers.

 

Dijon Clone 114

Dijon Clone 115

Wadenswil Clone

 

Pommard Clone

We had just under 3 inches of rain during May, about 3/4 of an inch more than normal, all in the last half of the month.  Cumulative rainfall since last October is 32.9", about 3 inches less than normal.

We had 230 Heating degree days in May, the warmest May in recent years.  The daily high temps were 15 to 20 degrees warmer than normal during the dry first half of the month, 5 to 10 degrees cooler than normal during the rainy last half of the month.  May extended the 2013 trend of higher than normal heating degree days, ending at a cumulative total of 344 heating degree days.  

The current forecast for the next 30 days shows dryer than normal conditions with temperatures slightly higher than normal.  I hesitate to say this, but if the forecast holds we may have one of the first decent bloom periods in several years...

A preview of coming attractions: