We’re still waiting. Our Calera Pinot Noir clone has ripe skins, the acids are starting to drop and the sugars haven’t moved much, so we’re waiting for a “pop” in the fruit, a flavor shift. Will it still come?

It doesn’t always happen. We may not get a flavor shift in the vineyard, but then it will eventually come out in the wine. Or we can have beautiful ripe fruit flavors, but the skins are still green.

Last year we had flavors appear early, disappear and then reappear. We really don’t have that much experience with long hang time. Kenneth probably has more from his winemaking in Oregon.

Because our moderate weather has persisted, the question is, if you don’t really need to pick, at what point … More…

I have time for a quick update on where we are so far this year. The weather around bloom time was a little erratic – very warm in early May, then cool, then warm again. Those conditions did affect fruit set, and so all the blocks have some shatter (flowers that don’t become berries).

As a grower, I’m not so happy about lighter crop weight, but as a winemaker, Kenneth is excited because there will be a higher skin-to-juice ratio yielding more intensity. Shot berries can add to quality as long as it doesn’t get too hot in the vineyard. There have been no major heat spikes this year so far, just a couple of days in the high 90’s.

The vines are growing nicely. Without any rainfall, there aren’t … More…

We are on the brink of September, and my very first blog entry concerns an important “day in the life” of a Pinot producer. At Joe Nugent’s fairly youthful vineyard (planted in 1997) in the Russian River Valley, we have a large crop, in contrast to the relatively poor sets we saw here in the previous three vintages.

Following a wet spring that did provide good conditions at bloom, an excellent set has given us big, full clusters with no shot berries. Grapevines are self-pollinating, but many factors affect fruit set, ranging from the vine’s health and vigor to the way we’ve pruned it, and weather has a direct bearing on crop size. During the period of bloom and set, it’s often too wet, too dry, too hot … More…