We just ran our first sugars (that is, sampled our grapes for sugar content) in all of our blocks. This is an exciting time, because all the fruit has completed veraison (berries have softened and changed color) and we have completed our post-veraison thinning of fruit. So now it’s downhill to harvest.

Right now our Pinot Noir is sitting between 18 and 19 degrees Brix (roughly, 18 to 19% sugar), while Chardonnay trails a little behind at about 16. We typically harvest at around 24 or slightly higher.

Part of our sustainable approach to grape growing is to involve our crew year-round. By collecting berry samples in the vineyard, they gain a more complete understanding of the effects of the pruning they did eight months ago.  There’s also problem solving involved. Why is this block ahead of that one? Answering such questions brings greater understanding.

Although we don’t really pick by sugar content – we look at a variety of other factors with flavors foremost among them – we do use sugars as an indicator of how the growing season is progressing. Is something stalled? If so, why? Do we have too much crop?

Like teachers who assess their students’ performance periodically, we question why a given block may have fallen behind in development. We try to determine why, then intervene to correct the situation.

This time of year feels good. I was able to take last week off on vacation. We’re monitoring our water situation and watching ripening. We’ve thinned crop where necessary and our canopies are open to light and air circulation, so now we have time to attend to details like weeding and trellis repair.

We’ve seen a little Botrytis (a mold known as the “noble rot” in some varieties like Riesling, but not desirable in Pinot Noir) in the Russian River Valley this year, probably due to the foggy mornings, but with canopies opened and fairly warm temperatures, there should be no problem.

People are talking about a relatively small harvest this year, but it’s a little difficult to generalize about crop size. Where there was no frost damage this spring, the crop seems to be fine, a little below average. But the very cool spring and moderate summer had another effect. Shoot growth is not where it should be. We have made up length, but not shoot girth or caliber. So we have found it necessary to thin to one cluster per shoot because these weaker shoots cannot carry two clusters. And, of course, that thinning will lower yields.

Where frost damage did occur, we lost shoot positions. We have canes with blanks where clusters should exist. Normally we have between 15 to 18 clusters per vine. In some cases, we see attempts by vines to compensate by pushing out of the crown, but we need to keep that area open for air flow. We can’t abandon our quality practices just to boost yields.

So, ironically, we still have to thin even in a year of modest crop. It hurts to see fruit (and, symbolically, dollars) lying on the ground, but it’s a best practice for quality. Nabor tells me not to look at the ground, and just concentrate on the canopy. So I think we’ll have good quality but less quantity in 2008.

Our Dijon (early ripening) clones seem to have fairly good-sized berries. Some of the older, heirloom selections of Pinot Noir are showing more “hens and chicks” (large and small berries together in a cluster) than normal as a result of less than ideal conditions at bloom time. I’m seeing a lot of one-seeded, as opposed to four-seeded, berries, another indicator of less fertility at flowering.

From the seven-acre vineyard around my home, I had 21 tons of fruit in 2006, or about three tons per acre. Last year I had 17 tons. This year I may harvest as few as 12 tons, which would represent over a 40% reduction from 2006 levels.

It’s a hard economic reality, but you can’t betray your principals. It takes a long time to win over the gatekeepers of our industry – distributors, retailers, restaurateurs and the press – and, ultimately, our customers, and we must earn and keep their trust.

The beauty of our industry is that we all dance to Mother Nature’s tune and go through the vintage variations and challenges together. We know the growers who are committed to excellence, who pay attention to details and try to prepare for all eventualities.

In some ways, 2008 has been good to us. After an unusual and cold spring, we have had a very moderate growing season with a modest crop load.  For those growers who used all their water for frost protection, this is fortunate, because the cool weather and lower crop size has not stressed the vines. Although one can see the results of a dry year elsewhere in nature, the vines are doing well.

As growers, there is only so much we can influence. We have to pay attention, react appropriately and, finally, accept the fruit that we have to work with in the cellar. To paraphrase George Orwell in Animal Farm, “All vintages are equal. Some are more equal than others.”

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