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 do you cease to gain anything? For many growers, this stage would be perfectly fine – the fruit is ripe and sound, so bring it in. But we want it all. We want the peak of flavor and ripeness, and we know that once you take it off, you can’t put the fruit back on the vine.
If we were facing a big heat spike or serious rain coming in, there’s no question we would pick right now. But with nothing to fear, can we get more evolved and concentrated fruit by waiting? It’s a nice dilemma to have.
We are in the vineyards every day, walking, sampling, feeling and tasting the fruit. In one of our Donum blocks, we are waiting for the skins to start breaking down so that the pulp comes away from them. A little rain could actually help that breakdown. The Japanese have a wonderful term for the moment when a rose is perfectly open, just on the verge of the petals falling. Or it’s like anticipating that moment when you perfectly brown the sugar of a crème brûlée.
As I look back on the growing season, flowering began early, but it was really drawn out. We had 20% to 30% bloom in the first week of May, then it cooled off and we only had between 50% and 90% by the end of May. That pushed the harvest back. Veraison (when grapes soften, turn color) was also drawn out. Some berries were ahead of others within the cluster; berry-by-berry sampling showed that variation. But now the later berries are catching up and the others aren’t dehydrating. So we’re getting uniform ripeness at last.
We know that the leaves in our canopies are old now. They certainly are not operating at full blast, but we hope there is still significant photosynthesis occurring. On the other hand, sugars are flat-lining. We have been sitting at 23 to 24 degrees Brix (approximate percentage of sugar) since early September now. There is not much dehydration, so we aren’t getting a bump in sugar that way. Even the little shot berries are juicy. The skins are just gorgeous, so we may have virtually complete ripeness at lower sugars, and we may make a different kind of wine from this vintage.
We’ll pick Ferguson Block tomorrow and finish Donum next week.
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