Interesting vintage indeed.
Here, far to the south of Bokisch, things are not only advanced but this is one of those vintages where you want to rip out the vines and plant citrus trees or put in a lawn bowling court. Our Syrah had an uneven set this year - some clusters are beautiful and almost ready for harvest, while others are just now starting veraison. The vines were netted mid-June but not as if that's mattered much -- our vineyard serves as a cafeteria for the local bird population. They are aided by raccoon, fox, and who-knows-what-else (skunk? chubacabra?) that rip the nets from the bottom to dine on the lower grapes, thereby allowing birds into the nets, where they often get trapped and thus attract coyotes looking for an easy dinner. And did I mention the deer that hopped the fence in May? Friends a few miles away have had regular visits from a mountain lion at night, but lately they've seen it strolling past their swimming pool in the late afternoons.
Our plan for 2014 is to harvest as soon as enough of the vineyard is ripe enough to make decent rosé, assuming that the animals will leave us anything to harvest.
-Eden (wouldn't be surprised to see a goddamn elephant or rhino rumbling through here in the next couple of weeks. Thinking of calling the wine "Daktari")
