I Guess It Could Be Wetter, Windier, and Colder...

But, still, this pattern of a couple dry, warmer than normal days followed by a string of showery, cooler than normal days continues to plague us during the critical bloom period.  On the positive side, it looks like we'll have an extended bloom period this year, pushing harvest into mid-October.  This is a positive, from my point of view; because I love the wine we make when we aren't harvesting during a September heat spike, especially given that the forecasters have been calling 2012 an analog to 2009 - one of the hottest, heat-spiked years in recent memory.  On the down side, we could be in for an abnormally low yield.

The weather forecast shows cool, showery weather through Tuesday; then a couple clear, warm days; followed by a week of cool, showery weather.  Depressing, but, then again, the forecasters have been wrong most of the season so far.

All Blocks in Bloom

The Dijon clone blocks are now blooming, too; only a couple of days after the Pommard and Wadenswil.  Looks like we have good follow-through on the strong, even budbreak.  Now, hopefully we will have a good bloom and strong set...

Bloom Has Begun

86F and sunny yesterday, bloom today. 12 Days earlier than last year, 10 days earlier than 2010, 1 day earlier than 2008, 6 days later than 2009, and 5 days later than 2006.  Reasonably good weather forecast for the next couple of weeks; cool with some showers over the next couple days, then sunny and warmer than normal.

On the downside, we're seeing some inflorescence necrosis - though not yet as bad as 2010.

 

We've finished clipping the second of three sets of catch wires. The mostly cloudy and cooler than normal weather over the last few weeks has resulted in the end shoots on each vine being significantly longer than those closer to the trunk.  We should see the middle shoots catching up with the coming warmer than normal weather, and we'll probably be clipping the top wires by the end of bloom.

 

Clone 115

Clone 114

Wadenswil Clone

Pommard Clone

Sun Returns as Grand Period of Shoot Development Begins

After 10 days of cool, showery weather the clouds have begun breaking for the sun.  The vines have begun the grand period of shoot development, when the shoots race up the trellis wires.  With shoots showing 10-12 leaves and into the top half of the trellis, we have begun clipping the second set of wires.  It looks like we're about 7-10 days away from bloom.  Most shoots have two sets of moderately sized inflorescences; very few third sets, few wings and then only on the first set.  The weather forecast has improved significantly over the past few days, showing dry weather with near-normal temps over the next three weeks.  The forecasts still have not shown much accuracy beyond a week or so, so we'll keep our fingers crossed as we move through the pre-bloom period.

115 Clone

114 Clone

Wadenswil Clone

Pommard Clone

May Heating Degree Days and Rainfall

We had 167 Heating Degree Days (HDDs) in May, bringing growing season-to-date HDDs to 245.  The warm start we had in April helped to offset May's below normal accumulation.  Despite the cooler weather in May, the timing of the warmer days fit well with vine development, and as a result, the shoots are fairly evenly developed and above the second of the three sets of trellis wires.

We had 2.3 inches of rain in May, somewhat higher than "normal"; bringing water year accumulation to 41.3 inches. 

Looking forward, the current short-term forecast shows near normal rainfall and cooler than normal temperatures over the next few weeks.  Hopefully temps will be somewhat higher than currently expected as we head into the pre-bloom period, helping us maintain what is currently a "Goldilocks" situation with just about right early-season growing conditions.

Shoots Above 1st Wire, Growth Slowing due to Cool, Wet Weather

7 to 9 leaves open, due to strong growth through May 19, resulting from dry weather with daytime highs ranging 66 to 87F.  Growth has slowed since May 20 due to rain and temps in the mid-50s to low-60s.  The vineyard is in good shape; with nice, uniform shoot development.  We've been able to get the first mowing and cultivating done, and the shoots have been tucked between the first set of wires.  The current forecast shows the last week of May warming up into the mid-70s and drying out.

 Clone 115

 Wadenswil Clone

Pommard Clone

Clone 114

Dodged The Frost Bullet, Vineyard Is Looking Good

No frost last night.  The vineyard is looking good; and we are having great Springtime weather, which we haven't had for the past couple years.

We pulled doubles and removed suckers over the past few days.  Shoots are 3 to 6 inches long, four leaves open, with inflorescences exposed; and continued strong and even development throughout  the vineyard.

115 Clone

 

Wadenswil Clone

Pommard Clone

114 Clone

Our 6.5 acres of newly planted vines are also off to a strong start; some of the vines are already beginning to peek out of the tops of the growtubes.

The forecast for the next 10 days shows dry and clear conditions, with temps reaching the mid- to upper-80s this weekend then cooling into the upper-60s to low-70s.