I just got back to the vineyards today after 2 weeks of camping and vacation. Whew it has been hot and some of the vines are taking back that precious moisture from the grapes. I am seeing some shrivel. So, ALERT ALERT harvest begins this weekend!
Brix is all over the map. Merlots are in the 28-29's. Ugh. But last year's merlot came in at 27 and has plenty of acidity. Fingers crossed and some backwatering is in order.
The Cab Sauv ranges from 19 to 25. I did not irrigate as much as I did last year when I was trying to bring these sick and mysterious vineyards back on-line. So, this year's brix may be exposing the weak versus strong vines. Hopefully things will even out over time.
Here is some slight shrivel, mostly there are soft grapes, which are perfect for wine. But a couple of weak vines are basically making raisins this year.
I will be pulling fewer leaves next year because I see shrivel mainly in the overexposed clusters.
Brix is all over the map. Merlots are in the 28-29's. Ugh. But last year's merlot came in at 27 and has plenty of acidity. Fingers crossed and some backwatering is in order.
The Cab Sauv ranges from 19 to 25. I did not irrigate as much as I did last year when I was trying to bring these sick and mysterious vineyards back on-line. So, this year's brix may be exposing the weak versus strong vines. Hopefully things will even out over time.
Here is some slight shrivel, mostly there are soft grapes, which are perfect for wine. But a couple of weak vines are basically making raisins this year.
I will be pulling fewer leaves next year because I see shrivel mainly in the overexposed clusters.
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