The beauty of the post-harvest period is that the tempo changes. There’s a feeling that “we made it.” The horses are back in the stable. There is time to reflect on the past season and assess it. What went well? What did not? Was it a timing issue?

But while this is a period when we can relax, it’s also a time of planning and preparation. We want to put the vineyard to sleep in a good way before the rainy weather begins. Since we never know what’s coming for sure, we have to prepare for heavy rains.

We’ve been flagging vines, marking those on which we observed slight, moderate or heavy leaf roll virus (which causes leaves to turn red and curl under). We question what we are seeing. Is it … More…

We keep checking our refractometers (devices that measure sugar content by refraction of light) and comparing results, because nothing seems to be happening. But they all read the same.

The flavors are there now, in most cases. The seeds and skins are mature. All the numbers are good except the sugars are low. The canopies are nearing the end of their cycle, so we will have to pick soon.

This has been a dry year, so there should be less chance of mildew or botrytis mold. Yet I have seen more mildew than last year. This puzzles me, and I’m sure the guys from the universities are puzzled, too.

I’m noticing symptoms of leaf roll virus (margins of the leaf blade roll downward; areas between major veins turn red) quite a … More…