Veraison Begins

We're dropping wings and 3rd clusters, just as veraison begins.

Hot, dry weather continues into August.  We're tracking very close to last year's fruit development; unless we get some serious cold, wet weather over the next 6-8 weeks, we'll likely begin picking sometime in mid-September.

Seeds Hardening

Hardly any rain, but the vines are vigorous.  Here's what it looks like after our third hedging this season.

The fruit is developing well and early; we're now at lag - the point when the seeds are hardening, just before the berries swell to full size. 

Dijon 114

Dijon 115

Wadenswil

Pommard

This year it looks like we will have a well-balanced, good-sized crop: with a few more shoots per vine, and larger than normal berry/cluster counts.  Vine/berry development is tracking very close to last year, so it's likely we will be harvesting early again this year.