Ok, ok, I’m a bit ahead of the game. Hell, nobody has even picked for bubbles, and that usually starts before the end of July. But despite the cool weather, there will be a harvest, and it will be upon us sooner than we might expect. That “two months out” can turn into “tomorrow” faster than a lawyer diving for a dropped nickel.
So, we wait, we clean (place looks as good as it ever has IMHO- the decision to move half the tanks to the other side of the winery at ten at night after drinking beers with Erik “Colonel” Klepper was brilliant in hindsight), we drink beer (dropped Racer 5 and I’m going through a “Red Rocket” phase- just a phase-like the beatles had their Ravi Shankar phase, except Jesus is way more famous than me).
The interns check in Sept 1. I had thought with the cool year that would be plenty late, but even that might be early. This year’s interns are interesting- we have a right wing wine blogger from Georgia, and a left wing radical feminist Pinot enthusiast from NYC. If the grapes are really delayed, I might just install a cage and let 'em wrastle it out. Rage in the cage. Good fun. I wonder if I tell them that scrubbing the floor with toothbrushes is part of the business if they’ll believe it?
And maybe this will be the year I finally brew some beer. Lord knows I have a hankering to ferment. And beer is the only true friend I’ve ever had (there’s a country song in that).
And really, at the core of it all, I just wanted to kick off the harvest thread. Which I have. Even though I am copmpletely sober- which really takes the fun out of posting. So now, we hunker down and wait.
No fruit in sight but I’ve got two batches of beer working here at the winery. The lager is being a little finicky though. At this rate, the beer will be long gone before harvest begins so I’ll probably have to make some more!
By the way, I remember when The Underwood switched from Racer 5 to Red Rocket Ale - BIG mistake. Racer 5 and Lagunitas IPA - best beers going IMHO.
Good to see you posting John! I remember that switch at The Underwood.
Where are you sourcing for this year for your wines?
We’ve seen the start of véraison just now in Gevrey-Chambertin, waiting patiently in Morey Saint Denis. Looks to be just a week or so later than previously expected, putting us at September 20-25th in the Côte de Nuits.
Very cool. Pinot and Zin? How did the 07 and 08 turn out? I’ve been a little busy. Large in part motivated by you and Eric getting after it. Tell him I say hello. Still brings a smile to my face thinking about some of the jokes he has said years ago.
Saw some chardonnay clusters yesterday. The berries aren’t even full size yet. The good news is that, from what I saw, the clusters will be loose and rain won’t be as big a problem as it might be. I think we’re looking at mid-to-late October for harvest.
A bit similar, but this year is a fair bit colder than 05. This year seems more similar to 98/99 or the early 90s. Otoh, 04 was pretty cool coming into August. As usual, the next 8+ weeks will determine everything. If we get some warmth without any heat waves then it should be a terrific pinot vintage.
Looks like an initial ‘Fall’ pattern is to set in 7-10 days out. Don’t confuse the term ‘initial’ with what we actually see in fall but this is a good sign for those you looking for warming temperatures where we gradually build a warmer pattern in.
It seems that we should see some of the 90-95 degree days in the warmest areas around the bay area region during this period. Nothing overly hot (100+), but expect some continued warming starting in 5-7 days and remaining persistent for a week to 10 days following. Not enough current data to make an educated guess further out then that.
My long range for San Jose (16 days) doesn’t show any days over 82. Where’s your data coming from?
We’re calling it game over for Cabernet at our Woodside Vineyard. Chardonnay is not in veraison yet, and it was fogged in all day yesterday. My best projection on picking Cabernet right now would be November 23rd. I can’t justify the cost to drop fruit and net with a less than 10% chance we’ll pick fruit at all.
A combination of a lot of things:
NOAA forecasts for the PNW and local areas, water temperature disbursement near the equator and in the Gulf of Alaska, the corresponding jetstream positioned both over the PNW and the north part of the state. Additionally, wind fetch gradient generated off Cape Mendocino down to Santa Barbara area, the potential movement or causes for breakdown of low/high pressure gradient that sets up this time of year between our region and the deserts of California.
The biggest factors are really those low/high pressure systems and the relative positioning as that is what has pushed the fog layer inland more this year compared to years past. We’ve had deeper saturation of the marine layer and less ‘rollback’ to the coastal areas during the day due to the stronger gradients. This is why you have fog in San Jose this time of year when you rarely do.
In any event, I surf…therefore I am! I don’t pick grapes nor do I smash them. However, we seem to look at the same weather patterns with similar vigor. Yet, our reasons for doing so are drastically different. That is unless you like to drink a nice Santa Cruz Mts Pinot right after a surf session!
I’m too old and cranky to get my bones in the cold water anymore. My surfing is pretty much limited to renting a boogie board when I go to Hawaii or Mexico and the water is more than 5 degrees warmer than ‘hypothermic’.
My best case projection for Woodside was figuring color started today. I need 80-90 days minimum to get to 22-23 and get the bell pepper out. Warming in 2-3 weeks is probably too late for me to do any good.
We usually have fog in San Jose in August, just not this cold or holding on too 9:30. Usually it’s gone by 8 and night time temps are in the 60’s not 50’s.
John, if I could coax you into a visit, you’d see that your fruit has been loving the mild temps and is now embracing veraison with glee. Then again, assuming those interns are both female and cute, feel free to send them out for a “look see” in your stead . . .
The NOAA 6-14 day temperature maps (Climate Prediction Center - Forecasts & Outlook Maps, Graphs and tables" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) are changing on a daily basis, from warmer than normal to colder than normal and back again. So I’m not sure we know much of anything about what’s going to happen.
Paul: really sorry to hear about your cab. Are Ridge and Mt Eden likely to suffer a similar fate as well?
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