# Heat spikes and harvest timing....do it now or wait it out?



## NorCal (Aug 11, 2021)

I'm not sure what a normal grape growing season is like anymore, this year in the Sierra Foothills in Nor Cal seems to be similar to last year; heat spikes with threat of smoke.

We have had two heat spikes (3-5 days >100 degrees) and a third happening this week. Sugar accumulation at this point is running 3 weeks earlier than last year. At some temperature above 100 degrees, the plants just shut down and sugar accumulation stalls and you run into the threat of dehydration.

Choices:
1. pick now based on brix readings (24-25 brix), knowing that the grapes look great, the canopy has held up, not a lot of pest damage, but knowing that the grapes may not have achieved full phenolic ripeness. This is a safe choice to get good *looking* fruit and the path grape growers like winemakers to choose. Yet, will this make the best wine possible?

2. give the grapes more hang time. Increase water to combat dehydration and canopy deteriation. Manage any fruit sunburn, pest damage, hope the winds will be blowing smoke in the right direction. Wait until there is high confidence of full ripeness and deal with the higher brix / lower acidity by watering back the must and tartaric additions.

I'm inclined to do #2. Wine is 83% water, 14% alcohol and 3% everything else. I think that 3% is determined by these kinds of decisions and for the taste profile of wine I like to make I want as much flavor as I can get from the fruit, which I think develops later in the grapes maturation. The reason I say that is that when I taste the berries themselves, I get more flavors when they are late in the season vs. earlier in the season. I think this translates into the wine. There is also a point where it goes too far and you start getting raisen and prune notes in the wine, which I'm not a fan of.

I'm going to do a more in depth analysis of my little vineyard to see where we are at and I'll post my findings later this weekend.


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## VinesnBines (Aug 11, 2021)

Will you have enough to split the crop and do both? That would give you a better chance of success.


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## Maheesh (Aug 11, 2021)

How do you keep the birds off the grapes?


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## NorCal (Aug 12, 2021)

Maheesh said:


> How do you keep the birds off the grapes?


We just moved into the property weeks ago. I figured this year will be what it’s going to be. I’m very surprised that I haven’t seen a single deer and very few birds in the vineyard. Not sure why there isn’t more of a problem. Maybe they are waiting for higher brix.


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## crushday (Aug 12, 2021)

@NorCal - eagerly waiting for your decision laced with wisdom and experience. I'm certain you'll pull the trigger when the time is right.


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## mainshipfred (Aug 12, 2021)

I would say it is dependent on you flexibility to harvest. If flexible enough let them hang until to see them going south. Otherwise, that's a tough one.


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## NorCal (Aug 12, 2021)

mainshipfred said:


> I would say it is dependent on you flexibility to harvest. If flexible enough let them hang until to see them going south. Otherwise, that's a tough one.


I have a local discussion going with a vineyard owner/home winemaker in a similar situation. He’s at 24/25 brix and is harvesting this weekend. Part of his decision is driven by the timing/logistics of not being to harvest the next few weeks if things do go south.


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## ovjock (Aug 12, 2021)

FWIW, I had an email chat today with a vineyard in Fiddletown. They said they have never picked (Barbera) before Sept 1st.


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## NorCal (Aug 12, 2021)

ovjock said:


> FWIW, I had an email chat today with a vineyard in Fiddletown. They said they have never picked (Barbera) before Sept 1st.


..and they are this year?


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## ovjock (Aug 12, 2021)

Ah, I should have been clear. They have no plans to harvest early.


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## ibglowin (Aug 12, 2021)

I would go with option 2 since you have water and can keep the vines and berries hydrated. Let them hang as long as possible.

BTW, beautiful sunset photo!


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 12, 2021)

My inclination would be to let them hang, but dang, it's a tough call. You could gamble and win or lose. Pick now and you're guaranteed a decent crop. Wait and it could be glorious, or it may go to sh*t. I kinda like @VinesnBines approach.


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## Khristyjeff (Aug 12, 2021)

NorCal said:


>


Is this heaven?


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## Joe B. (Aug 12, 2021)

My Barbera is just about done turning and the Zin just finished they are ahead of normal but no where near ready and I've been dealing with this heat like you. What are you varieties? Rootstock?


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## NorCal (Aug 13, 2021)

Joe B. said:


> My Barbera is just about done turning and the Zin just finished they are ahead of normal but no where near ready and I've been dealing with this heat like you. What are you varieties? Rootstock?



Newcastle CA, rootstock unknown. Zin, Cab, Syrah.


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## NorCal (Aug 13, 2021)

Khristyjeff said:


> Is this heaven?


No filters used. I can see having land is work, but rewarding as well. I bought this box blade off of Craigslist for a few hundred bucks. I took all the bent up 1/2“ thick support arms (reason it was so cheap) to a local blacksmith, who straighten them for $20. Some paint to match the Kubota and it’s now ready for service.


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## Khristyjeff (Aug 13, 2021)

California is a beautiful state. I'm actually excited for you in your new venture. Really neat. Farming any crop to me can be very rewarding. Although I'm more in the decorative side now with landscaping, I still help my dad raising corn and soybeans.


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## Joe B. (Aug 13, 2021)

I'm in Tuolumne county about 2000 foot elevation. If you decide to wait you may want to use some shade cloth on southern or westerly exposed clusters. They will fry first. I clip small pieces to the bird netting over the cluster only they will dehydrate. I plan on giving mine plenty of water and let them hang then water back the must. I bet it's your Syrah that is giving you those Brix numbers. Good luck


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## NorCal (Aug 13, 2021)

My plan for the weekend is to assess the grapes row by row and by variety. Brix, pH, estimate cluster count and weight, animal damage, cluster consistency as well as overall assessment of ripeness. Can anyone think of anything else?


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## bjoll001 (Aug 13, 2021)

NorCal said:


> I'm not sure what a normal grape growing season is like anymore, this year in the Sierra Foothills in Nor Cal seems to be similar to last year; heat spikes with threat of smoke.
> 
> We have had two heat spikes (3-5 days >100 degrees) and a third happening this week. Sugar accumulation at this point is running 3 weeks earlier than last year. At some temperature above 100 degrees, the plants just shut down and sugar accumulation stalls and you run into the threat of dehydration.
> 
> ...


Depends what you want in the finished wine. If you prefer over ripe, high alcohol, fuller body but possibly flabby wine that will need acid adjustment, let ha itng. If you prefer a wine with more finesse, go by balanced Brix and acid levels in the grapes as long as verasion has happened. May get more balanced wine with less need for adjustment but not as big and bold. Longer hang times has been a CA thing for a while to make those big, fruity over ripe wines with higher alcohol that people love but there are plenty of incredible wines that are made with less hang time and have great balance and complexity. The hardest wine I have made to date due to needed acid adjustments was from grapes out of Paso Robles where they wanted long hang time to get higher Brix but the pH was 4 along with low TA and the adjustments with tartaric acid were a nightmare to get it to stable pH giving the wine an over acidified taste that has taken years to calm down with aging. This reduced the quality of the wine and I wish they would have picked earlier with more stable acid levels. 

Also, tastes the grapes yourself to get a sense of sweetness, acidity and phenolic content in the skin. This may help a lot.


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## Cynewulf (Aug 13, 2021)

NorCal said:


> I can see having land is work, but rewarding as well.
> View attachment 77465


I’m looking forward to your pruning update in winter/spring!


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## NorCal (Aug 13, 2021)

bjoll001 said:


> Depends what you want in the finished wine. If you prefer over ripe, high alcohol, fuller body but possibly flabby wine that will need acid adjustment, let ha itng. If you prefer a wine with more finesse, go by balanced Brix and acid levels in the grapes as long as verasion has happened. May get more balanced wine with less need for adjustment but not as big and bold. Longer hang times has been a CA thing for a while to make those big, fruity over ripe wines with higher alcohol that people love but there are plenty of incredible wines that are made with less hang time and have great balance and complexity. The hardest wine I have made to date due to needed acid adjustments was from grapes out of Paso Robles where they wanted long hang time to get higher Brix but the pH was 4 along with low TA and the adjustments with tartaric acid were a nightmare to get it to stable pH giving the wine an over acidified taste that has taken years to calm down with aging. This reduced the quality of the wine and I wish they would have picked earlier with more stable acid levels.
> 
> Also, tastes the grapes yourself to get a sense of sweetness, acidity and phenolic content in the skin. This may help a lot.


Great post! Yes, I've found that timing decision of when to harvest is one of the biggest decisions influencing the end taste profile of the wine. I've made very nice 23 brix wine and different, but equally as nice 28 brix, watered back to 26 brix wine. For me, it depends on the varietal if the wine would be better erring on the early side vs. later side. I see Zin, Cab, Syrah as varietals that can stand up to the higher brix. If it were Pinot or Grenache, I thinik the decision would be easy.
Our climate in the Sierra Foothills is similar to Paso Robles, hot days and warm evenings. With the exception of Barbera, all the wine I've made has to contend with high pH. Just par for the course and 1 pound of tartaric per 1,000 pounds will move the needle .2 - .3 of pH. I rarely do any adjustments post ferment, as it is too easy to make the wine worse than improve it.


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## VinesnBines (Aug 13, 2021)

NorCal said:


> I can see having land is work, but rewarding as well.


AMEN! I shake my head when people think/say they wish they had land/acreage/vineyard. I roll my eyes when they say "How wonderful it would be to sit on my porch with a glass of _______ and admire my land/acreage/vineyard." The best remark was "Once you get it planted, that should be most of your investment." If you don't have property, you have no idea the work/expense involved. It is rewarding if you can stay awake long enough to enjoy the results. I wouldn't trade it for anything.


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## NorCal (Aug 13, 2021)

Cynewulf said:


> I’m looking forward to your pruning update in winter/spring!



I've cared for and pruned a number of vineyards over the past 10 years, I know what I've taken on.


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## balatonwine (Aug 14, 2021)

VinesnBines said:


> If you don't have property, you have no idea the work/expense involved.



When we bought our first vineyard in Hungary, the average person drove Trabants, and the "rich" drove a Skoda. Some people had a personal 2500 sq. m. vineyard to make wine for themselves. We bought one of these 20 years ago. I now in total have a bit more.

In the past two or three years gentrification has happened here at a rapid rate. Property prices have gone up 800% to 1000% in just a few years. If a car goes by, it is now most likely a BMV, Audi, or Mercedes. Even a Tesla or two around. Such land owners do not care about the work (they have others do it) or the expense (it is all part of social status to have property here now). The only finger they lift, it seems, is their pinky when they drink tea....


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## balatonwine (Aug 14, 2021)

NorCal said:


> I'm not sure what a normal grape growing season is like anymoreű



In 20 years in owning vineyards in Central Europe, I have never known a "normal" year. Every year is different. Sometimes drastically different. Ergo, a vintage.

But... I was born and raised in CA, so I also know CA weather, and I have to say California has (had) it sweet, as the weather was (in recent memory) reasonably predictable, and the massive irrigation projects mitigated "average" events like droughts for a while -- even at the expense of others (there is no longer an Owens Lake, etc.).

But now, which was predicted, the world is experience more extreme weather. Even I have had more extreme variation in the past 4 years. And CA is no longer immune from this. So not "normal" will be the new "normal" even for CA.

As irrigation becomes more and more expensive, and weather becomes more and more variable, my suggestions are to consider more dry farming methods and making yearly vintage wine. That is, every year will not be "the best wine you like", but you can still make the best wine you can given that year's proclivities.

All IMHO.

Hope this helps.


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## Snafflebit (Aug 15, 2021)

I am surprised how fast my Cab Sauv is ripening this year in San Jose. I already had crunchy brown seeds last week, but also I have millerandage in several clusters which makes me not want to pick any time soon. And I had a lot of shatter, so a smaller yield also. I will irrigate and let the fruit hang


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## Booty Juice (Aug 15, 2021)

A bit strange in SLO / Paso / Santa Barbara as I'm hearing everything from "60% of normal" in Paso to "looks about right" the further south you go (Santa Barbara). Overall, I think 2021 will be very much lower yielding (which sucks for farmers), but that normally means nice concentrated flavors. From three different SLO vineyards yesterday, all PN.


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## NorCal (Aug 16, 2021)

I did the vineyard assessment over the weekend. Overall, the fruit is hit and miss. There are some really nice clusters and other area where the vineyard neglect is reflected in the fruit. This season will be an “_it is, what it is_” vintage. I’ll be selective on what I harvest and will most likely ferment and make each variety separate, even though I’m guessing I’ll only make one, two, three max carboys of each.

Zin: 60 vines, 75% usable fruit, 25 brix/3.5 pH. Improperly pruned, not sprayed or irrigated early in the season. A mix of fruit load by vine; excessive fruit on some vines, inconsistent ripening, some bird/bee damage. Some signs of mildew.






Cab: 65 vines, 85% usable fruit, 23 brix/3.2 pH. Improperly pruned, not sprayed or irrigated early in the season. Light crop load across the vines, no signs of mildew, some bird/bee damage. Fruit actually looked pretty good, but not a lot of it.



Syrah: 47 vines, 70% usable fruit, 23.5 brix / 3.5 pH. Improperly pruned, not sprayed or irrigated early in the season. Significant mildew (dropped in pic below) on the end vines that look to be getting more water than the other. Like the Zin, it has signs of mildew, excessive fruit on some vines, inconsistent ripening, some bird/bee and other animal damage on the low hanging fruit.





I’ll keep an eye on the fruit over the next few weeks, watching mostly for dehydration, animal damage. The target date would be to harvest everything 2 ½ weeks from now. This will allow the Syrah and the Cab to increase brix and give additional hang time. It also works out logistically with the Labor Day weekend.


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## ibglowin (Aug 16, 2021)

Sounds like a solid plan for this year.


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## sour_grapes (Aug 16, 2021)

NorCal said:


> I did the vineyard assessment over the weekend. Overall, the fruit is hit and miss.  There are some really nice clusters and other area where the vineyard neglect is reflected in the fruit. This season will be an *“it is, what it is”* vintage.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


_

So, you mean, "Que Syrah, Syrah"? _


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## VinesnBines (Aug 16, 2021)

I had high hopes for our Virginia crop but the rains have set in from Fred (hurricane). I'm hoping my grapes are going to be late enough to have a hot and dry September. There is very little I can do about the weather.


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## Nebbiolo020 (Aug 16, 2021)

This year is certainly a lower yielding year, I have a friend whom I obtain grapes from yearly and this year is the lowest yielding year for the past 8 years about 50% the normal yield. Which is unfortunate because I normally get 2,000 pounds of grapes out of the vineyard but it’s probably 1000-1200 this year. The grapes are also coming in a full week earlier than normal. Brix as of yesterday was 23-25. So I figure maybe 3-4 more days and they will be harvested.


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## Obbnw (Aug 17, 2021)

NorCal said:


> Improperly pruned, not sprayed or irrigated early in the season. A mix of fruit load by vine; excessive fruit on some vines, inconsistent ripening.



Wait, did you buy my place? ; )

I'm pretty sure that is what any real vinter would say about my grapes.


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## Snafflebit (Aug 17, 2021)

Snafflebit said:


> I am surprised how fast my Cab Sauv is ripening this year in San Jose. I already had crunchy brown seeds last week, but also I have millerandage in several clusters which makes me not want to pick any time soon. And I had a lot of shatter, so a smaller yield also. I will irrigate and let the fruit hang



maybe I worry too much. It seems that one vineyard has Cab all in 18-21 Brix, but the Merlot is hitting 24. I think the Merlot is dehydrated—I’m turning on the water. Merlot has been dry cropped all year.

some good some bad Cab clusters.


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## Nebbiolo020 (Aug 17, 2021)

Snafflebit said:


> maybe I worry too much. It seems that one vineyard has Cab all in 18-21 Brix, but the Merlot is hitting 24. I think the Merlot is dehydrated—I’m turning on the water. Merlot has been dry cropped all year.
> 
> some good some bad Cab clusters.
> View attachment 77648


Nice grapes, I’ve got some cab that’s coming in probably first week of September right now the Sangiovese from about 50 miles north of me is in and I’m harvesting tommorrow. This has been a weird year because a lot of growers are seeing grapes early and lower than normal yields some vineyards are seeing just half of what they normally would expect.


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## 4score (Aug 18, 2021)

ovjock said:


> FWIW, I had an email chat today with a vineyard in Fiddletown. They said they have never picked (Barbera) before Sept 1st.


The vineyard I source Barbera from has consistently hit ripeness and harvested Labor Day weekend....at least for the last three years. This year things are running a little earlier. Measurements from 8/13 had Brix of 24.5 - 25.0, pH of 3.2. We want to get pH up to 3.3-3.5 and can water back the Brix. With the weather we've had, pH increases of .1 per week and Brix increases of .5-1.0 per week are expected. Target harvest is 8/24 or 25.


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## JustJoe (Aug 18, 2021)

Amazing! Here in Minnesota I am harvesting grapes at the same time as California. My Marquettes were at 24.5. These are new vines and this is the first year that they produced fruit so I pruned off all but 1 cluster per vine. I don't know if that could have affected ripening time but this spring, I was hoping they would reach 21 or 22 before the first frost hit is.


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## Nebbiolo020 (Aug 19, 2021)

4score said:


> The vineyard I source Barbera from has consistently hit ripeness and harvested Labor Day weekend....at least for the last three years. This year things are running a little earlier. Measurements from 8/13 had Brix of 24.5 - 25.0, pH of 3.2. We want to get pH up to 3.3-3.5 and can water back the Brix. With the weather we've had, pH increases of .1 per week and Brix increases of .5-1.0 per week are expected. Target harvest is 8/24 or 25.


That’s a good brix, the Sangiovese I harvested hit 25-26 brix ph of 3.6. Good stuff, pretty much textbook for what it’s supposed to be.
Also huge fan of barbera it’s a good grape!


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## Booty Juice (Aug 26, 2021)

This overheated blue marble is warmer than it used to be, so expecting current wines to age the way the wines in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s did is a bit crazy. Burgundy had 5 vintages in 20 harvests this century where picking began in August. After averaging 1 per century for 6 centuries.


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