And it begins

[Obbnw]

I'll probably pick my Tempranillo on Sunday. They are at about 22 brix now and gaining about 2 per week. My Malbecs are around 16 brix.

The west is supposed to have a warm fall, https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/off15_temp.gif

You may be OK.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Too dry is not good, and too cool is not beneficial either. Do you not have irrigation? I start my harvest Wednesday.

 

[Sage]

I watered 2 days ago. Been watering every 7-10 days. About 2-3 gallons per vine. I will be cutting that back when I see color. I have noticed much less vine growth since last trimming. I usually cut back on water in September.

 

[Sage]

Finally!!! Some very limited amount of color showed.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

I have finished harvest and the buckets are bubbling away. Jelly is in process.

 

[Sage]

In keeping with my first of the month photos, here's 10/1/2020

 

[Obbnw]

I've been waiting for the next update. They look good, and October is still looking warm. Hopefully they will ripen up.

I picked my last couple of vines the other day, the one vine could have gone for another week but it looked like the birds were starting to find them and I didn't want them to learn that they were a reliable food source. The last one was at 22 Brix, most of the others were about 24 when picked. I was surprised at how much the ripening slowed down in September.

We had a huge wind storm a few weeks back that "flash froze" some of my garden. Luckily most of the vines are pretty well protected from the wind but there were tons of branches down in the neighborhood and some trees were just pulled right out of the ground. The "flash freeze" was interesting. We got just a little rain before the winds hit and it looks like anything that was wet froze the leaves as the wind evaporated the water. Temps never got below freezing and my okra is still producing today. The last 2 vines picked are also the 2 most exposed to the wind. I can't decide if the slowdown in ripening was from the wind event and damage or just the shorter days and cooler nights.

 

[Sage]

You're quite a bit ahead of me. I think my Syrah and Merlot vines are at least 3 weeks out. I will run my first Brix tests either today or tomorrow. Carmenere looking early this year. Usually more like Cabs.

The Cabs look at least 4 or more weeks out. Seem quite slow this year.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

We was close to frost last night (34 degrees), and the weekend looks to be quite chilly. Hope you have no frost, but there's always the possibility of ice wine if we do.

 

[Sage]

Well, I was way off!!

This is most unusual, but all varieties had a Brix range of 14-18 with most tests being 16-17.

I've never had all 4 varieties ready to harvest at the same time. It will be interesting to see how they mature. Seeds were showing hints of browning.

All had a green taste, even the odd ball high one that hit 20.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

The brix on mine was low this year, which I attribute to low rain fall. This was a moderately dry year, according to the weather person I listened to just today.

 

[Sage]

I'm still trying to figure out the Cabs being early. Best answer I've come up with is they have a light crop and small clusters. More energy into less grapes.

 

[Obbnw]

We was close to frost last night (34 degrees), and the weekend looks to be quite chilly. Hope you have no frost, but there's always the possibility of ice wine if we do.

Record warm temperatures here this week, low 80's in the day, low 50's overnight.

Often, when it's cold in the midwest and east, it's hot in the west.

 

[Sage]

7 days, on average, picked up between 2 and 3 points on the Brix scale. Temps have been in the low 80's to upper 70's. But, colder this week....60's-70's. Currently, rain and 54 degrees.

 

[Sage]

Never got over 55 today, now in the 40's. Staying cool for at least 4 more days. 40' - 50's now forecast and some rain.

 

[Obbnw]

And it ends?

Looks like some cold weather settling in throughout the interior west. I'm hoping for some good fall color on the vines this year.

Looks like like the garden will freeze this weekend. I still have Okra producing. Some years I try to protect the garden for the first freeze but this year I think I'm done. First freeze threat is much later than normal, days are getting short, the tomatoes are losing flavor and I am tired of Okra.

 

[Sage]

That was going to be my next post.

Starting to pick today. Will finish tommorow just before the predicted 10 degree night temp. Cabs and Merlot have made mid 20s Brix. Syrah and Carmenere are low 20s Brix. I was hoping for another week.......

Finished picking apples yesterday. Garden is done. Might try to pick some of the remaining apples for cider.

 

[Obbnw]

Nice to see how well your grapes turned out.

10 degrees! You must be farther north or higher than I thought. For whatever reason I pictured your spot somewhere in a triangle between Boise - Lewiston -Pendelton. Not that I need to know....

Last year our grapes where almost the same. I was surprised that they were so different this year.

Not too many of us trying to grow vinifera in the higher parts of the intermountain west.

 

[Sage]

I'm 9 miles S of Dayton, between Walla Walla (30 miles) and Lewiston (65 miles). Tricities are also 65 miles. I'm in the Blue Mnts at 2600 ft elevation.

 

[Obbnw]

This system is colder than I realized and is tracking a little north of us. Our forecast for the next wave dropped to 20 for Sunday night.

You must have been on the cold side of every cold front this year. You are finishing 4 weeks later than we did even though our bud break and flowering were very close.

We did have an exceptionally warm August and July was perfect weather.

"A last-day cooldown couldn't stop 2020 from becoming the warmest August on record in Salt Lake City. August 2020's average temperature was 83.1 degrees — about 0.4 degrees ahead of the previous record set in 2013, according to National Weather Service's preliminary climate data and climate books. "