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 or too windy. This year seems to have been ideal.

We’re used to seeing clusters weighing 110 or 120 grams and these are over 200. Right now the crop is sitting between 18 and 20 degrees Brix. We had seven tons of grapes hanging, and we have just cut back to 3-1/2 tons per acre. We had a cluster count of 28 to 30 going into veraison (when the berries soften and change color), and we’ve reduced it to less than 20. Those clusters should weigh about 170 grams each at harvest, and that should put us at the high end of what experience tells us is an ideal range for balance and concentration in the fruit – from four to six pounds per vine, depending on the vintage.

It was dramatic to see that much fruit dropped on the ground. One of our winery clients asked how we could get our grower to do that. It’s simple. We pay by the acre and not for tonnage, so we can drop what we deem necessary to ensure full ripening and fruit intensity.

Not that thinning fruit isn’t scary. That’s a lot of money on the ground, especially with Pinot Noir such a hot commodity right now. Frankly, dropping a bountiful, valuable crop runs against the grain of farmers like Joe and me. The key is to always keep the wine you want to make in mind.

If we produced a $10 or $20 bottle of Pinot Noir, dropping that fruit would be sheer economic folly. Not everyone is trying to make world-class wines and there are some very good values out there. But we are committed to producing a $40-plus bottle of exceptional Pinot Noir, so we have to stay on plan.
With ample water in the ground from the rains and this excellent set, we are seeing larger berry size because we have bigger seeds – so the ratio may be much the same, but we should have more tannins. We need to reduce our crop to get those seeds to ripen properly as well as to prevent the clusters from crowding. Thinning lets in more light and air to enhance pigmentation and prevent rot. We don’t have control over the crop sizing up, but we can thin appropriately to deliver optimum quality.

The beauty of our operation is working with the same vineyards year after year so we can begin to understand the dynamics of the sites. With consistent good farming and winemaking practices, we can tweak the vineyards to make better wine. And that’s really fun!

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