Ready or not

Florida Jim

Florida Jim

Florida Jim
After a growing season that was essentially, a dice roll, the fruit starts coming in tomorrow (Saturday).
Pinot from Bennett Valley. Shortly thereafter, pinot from Sonoma Coast. Then sauvignon from Sonoma Mtn. - maybe in the first week of October (which has never happened before!).
And then, if we are real lucky, syrah at the end of October or beginning of November.

FWIW, those of us who deal in the cooler climates here in Sonoma county are every bit as at risk as those makers in Burgundy and the Loire. Every bit.

May you enjoy your weekend - I won't be getting much sleep.
Not that I mind . . .
Best, Jim
 
El Nino makes for a tough season.

Best of luck, Jim, and keep us posted.

And you may face similar risks at harvest, but you are mostly spared during the summer.
 
Got my Carneros Pinot Noir grapes yesterday (115 clone). 24.5 degrees brix, TA a lot higher than last year I think, but I haven't measured yet. The fruit was in good shape though.

Just a small-scale home winemaker,

John
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:

FWIW, those of us who deal in the cooler climates here in Sonoma county are every bit as at risk as those makers in Burgundy and the Loire. Every bit.

May you enjoy your weekend - I won't be getting much sleep.
Not that I mind . . .
Best, Jim
Click to expand...

Got sugar? ;-)
 
Best of luck Jim. Meanwhile, up here in Oregon we've had historic cold and some serious wet. And yet the vineyards I get around to look good if a late. We might be starting this weekend in a "normal" year but we'll be going in about two weeks. Happily, sunny skies mostly in the forecast and temps as high as 80F. Could work out really nice, no matter the crazy weather this year. I'm optimistic, but I suppose I wouldn't be in this game if I weren't.
 
posted by Florida Jim: "FWIW, those of us who deal in the cooler climates here in Sonoma county are every bit as at risk as those makers in Burgundy and the Loire. Every bit."

As everyone does, I wish the best of luck for your harvest. And, I think the differences in our growing season, contrasted with the areas you mention, are so profound that the analogy obfuscates more than it illuminates. You don't need the analogy to deserve everyone's best wishes! It's a good thing to aim for the edge! I'm behind you 100%. May Bacchus smile broadly upon your labors! Mine, too!

best,
Steve
 
It really started to warm up the last couple of days and it is supposed to stay that way through the middle of next week.(+Low humidity) That will help a great deal and there is no rain predicted.
The local Unitarian church is sponsoring a series of lectures this weekend entitled "To whom it may concern, praying to the weather Gods"
 
It really started to warm up the last couple of days and it is supposed to stay that way through the middle of next week.(+Low humidity) That will help a great deal and there is no rain predicted.
The local Unitarian church is sponsoring a series of lectures this weekend entitled "To whom it may concern, praying to the weather Gods"
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
posted by Florida Jim: "FWIW, those of us who deal in the cooler climates here in Sonoma county are every bit as at risk as those makers in Burgundy and the Loire. Every bit."

As everyone does, I wish the best of luck for your harvest. And, I think the differences in our growing season, contrasted with the areas you mention, are so profound that the analogy obfuscates more than it illuminates.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're probably right.
I just get nervous, you know?
Best, Jim
 
Syrah a month later than pinot, Jim! My, grape varieties behave quite differently in different parts of the world. Syrah is the earliest one for me in Manchuela.

This is a tough vintage in most of Spain. A wet, generally not too hot year (except for a couple of torrid spells in July and August) has unleashed oidium, which is rather common in these latitudes, and mildew, which isn't. There will be quite a bit of grey rot about.

Good viticulture, as usual, reduces those risks. So our old and young vineyards are very healthy - causing some envy around. Just some hail damage in the Corral de Sierra bobal vineyard. We started with syrah Sept. 17 (two weeks later than in 2009) and ended yesterday with 38 tons of very good fruit. We are now waiting until the end of this week to start with bobal, then it'll be garnacha/grenache, garnacha tintorera/alicante bouschet, touriga nacional and monastrell/mourvdre in succession.

Temperatures are ranging between 45F at night and 73F daytime, with no cloud in sight. We haven't had such nice harvesting weather in all our time here - and this is our 10th harvest.
 
Congratulations, Victor.

What specifically about your viticulture helps against the fungi? Surely you can't thin too many leaves in such a sunny southern spot?
 
Tricky because of the sun indeed. But we did a nifty job thinning, particularly at the bottom, to improve air circulation, but with specific instructions not to touch leaves which directly protected bunches. What we did have, because of those torrid spells, was some burning and desiccation on bunches directly exposed, particularly on the western (afternoon sun) side on north-south trellised vineyards (syrah, touriga nacional). We just had to discard those. But the thinning was pretty effective both in trellised and bush vines.
 
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