First Brix & pH Sampling

We got lucky this week and didn't have the five days of 90+ temps that were expected.  With nearly all clusters fully colored, and individual berry Brix readings in the 20's, we did our first cluster measurements today.


4 clusters per sample; 2 clusters from 2 rows, each row sampled 1/3 in from each row end.
(click on table to enlarge)

Skin tannins and flavors are not yet perceptible.

Compared to the past several years, this year's crop is ripening in a time frame that most closely resembles 2008's crop.  2012 is approximately one week ahead of 2008; the current forecast through mid-October is similar to slightly warmer than 2008. 

East Side of Rows Black, West Side 90+% Black; Good Ripening Weather Continues

Clear, warm, dry weather continues. Clusters were almost 100% darkened on the open, east sides of the rows by the end of last week.  By today, the shaded, west side is about 99% darkened at the top of the vineyard, 90-95% darkened in the middle of the vineyard, and 85-90% darkened in the lower part of the vineyard.

Sugar is perceptible, acid is starting to become tolerable, skin tannins and flavor are not yet perceptible, and seeds are beginning to take on some coloring beyond the immature green shade.  Shoots have lignified, becoming canes; and the canopy is in great shape, in spite of having had only about 0.1 inches of rain in going on 3 months.

The upcoming week is expected to have several abnormally warm days into the 90s.  The current outlook through mid-October is unusually dry, less than 0.1 inches of rain; and warmer than normal.   It's currently looking like this lower than average yield crop, will fully ripen with little or no rot risk; no flocks of birds in sight, yet.

Pomard Clone:

Wadenswil Clone:

Dijon 114 Clone:

Dijon 115 Clone:

 

3 Weeks Since First Color

Almost 3 weeks since the first signs of color and the clusters are just now becoming colored a shade of something other than green.  We are expecting clear, dry weather with above-normal temps through the end of the week, so we will probably not see any green berries after this week.  Once the clusters are purple, countdown begins for final month of ripening.

Pommard Clone:

Wadenswil Clone:

Dijon 115 Clone:

Dijon 114 Clone:

August 2012 Heating Days and Rainfall

August was the hottest month of this cool summer, although we had one day when temperatures spiked above 100, daytime temperatures for most of the month were in the upper 70s to low-80s, nightime temps in the 50s. 

August 2012 was also the hottest August we've had in recent memory with 578 Heating Degree Days (HDDs), topping August 2011 by 18 HDDs.  As a result, cumulative HHDs for the year are now 1579, 219 HDDs less than 2009, but about the same as 2005, 2007, and 2008.

Normal rainfall for August is around 0.5 inches, this year we had none.  We haven't had any measurable rainfall since July 3, making August 2012  and August 2006 the driest post-bloom periods in recent memory.  Cumulative 2012 season rainfall is 43.59 inches, due to the wet La Nina winter and spring conditions.

Long-range forecasting continue to show a shift toward El Nino conditions this winter.  The current September forecast shows temps remaining at or above seasonal highs for most of the month, with little or no rainfall expected.

First Signs of Color

One more day of hot weather and it looks like we were spared the triple digits forecasted for this week - although all week we have been in the mid to upper 90s, unseasonably warm for the Willamette Valley.  No incremental "sunburn" and the ripening process didn't get interuppted.

Color is beginning to change in all blocks, timing is similar to 2008 and 2010.

There is very little fruit to drop this year - no 3rd clusters, very few laggard wings, and no "extra" crop to thin.  For our own winery, we probably won't drop anything, one of our larger customers has requested that we drop all of the wings (we'll do more work looking for the wings than actually dropping any).  What's out there looks to be maturing at the same time.  It will be interesting, given the length and uneveness of the bloom period, to see what effect this has on veraison.  If veraison proceeds normally, I'm expecting harvest to occur around the 2nd week of October.

Between Lag and Veraison

The heat has finally arrived, and how!  Today is supposed to be the coolest day this week, at 90F.  At least it's a dry heat ;)

The grass is almost dormant and the ground is hard as concrete.

BUT, we've already had a heat spike into the triple digits, a week ago.  And an already small crop was thinned some more.

Fortunately, the damage was limited to the west (shaded) side of the rows, with virtually no damage on the east side where we pulled leaves earlier.  The damage could have been worse, but maybe Mother Nature is just toying with us...multiple days in the triple digits forecasted later this week.



On the positive side, the vines are looking great; and the fruit is pale green and translucent, with hardened seeds.  My guess is that we're about a week or so from the beginning of veraison.

Pommard Clone

Wadenswil Clone

114 Clone

115 Clone

Wow, Looks Like Low Yields This Year!

'Had a chance to drive through Yamhill-Carlton, Ribbon Ridge, Dundee Hills, and Eola Hills AVAs today.  After feeling poorly about our vineyard's fruit loads, it looks like we're in pretty good shape compared to what I saw at other well-managed, typically good-yielding vineyards.  It's hard to say what yields will be this year, but given the rows I could see at these vineyards, I wouldn't be surprised to learn later that 2012 is one of the lower yielding vintages in recent memory.  To me, it looks a lot worse than 2010.