Despite another anxiety-filled season, we feel fortunate. Our fruit is excellent (great, ripe flavors; good sugar and acid levels; minimum rot; no bird damage) and good yields. And, by the end of the season, the two customers (2 of the 3 largest Oregon wineries) who refused to pay for their grapes last year finally did so - sometimes the small guys do win!
Looks like a season when attention to post-bloom vineyard work determined the quality of the grapes; a vintage when selective wine buying will pay off. Many wineries adding sugar this year as their fruit failed to ripen to acceptable brix levels. Moderate amounts of rot also, due to large, tight clusters and the timing of at least 2 two weeks of perfect botrytis-inducing weather at the beginning of October. Lot's of birds again, too.
La Niña conditions building in the Pacific...2012,deja vu all over again?
