This is a big week for us, the big payoff for the year. We’ve had great weather and the fruit is beautiful.

The Calera Pinot Noir selection did come around in flavor intensity, and it was worth the wait. It came off yesterday, with sugar in the low 24 degrees Brix (approximate percentage of sugar) range.

We had a little bit of rain yesterday, too minor to do much, a drizzle more like a heavy dew. It may have softened the skins a little, so we’re ready to harvest the Donum block that we were waiting for today. All the Pinot Noir should come off this week, and we’ll probably take in our Chardonnay early next week.

Normally our vineyards ripen and are harvested in order of site. We expect some blocks to be ready earlier. But this year has been quite unusual because the grapes came in grouped by clones and selections. (Clones are budwood from, and so genetically identical to, a single “mother” vine; field selections are taken from a number of vines and have some genetic variation.)

The Dijon clones were earliest. First they came off of the more gravelly soils of the Blue Farm vineyard around my house, in Carneros but closer to Sonoma. Then the 667 and 777 Dijon clones at Ferguson Block were ready, followed by those at Donum, on heavier clay soils. Finally, both the 115 and 667 Dijons came in from Nugent Vineyard in the Russian River Valley.

Now we’re picking the rest of the heirloom selections – Calera, Chalone, Hanzell, Martini, Roederer and Swan. In this moderate, drawn-out season of ripening, the clones have asserted themselves.

Cold nights are here. The light is different. You can tell be looking at the vines – leaves are yellowing and they look spent. Fall is arriving. It’s time

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