Brix 21, wet weather, Marquette

farmer1 · Sep 8, 2018

My Marquette grapes are at 21 brix - I would like to get to 23-24 before picking. If sunshine and 85F weather were predicted, I would certainly wait. We have a week of damp/not so warm (70-80F) weather on tap. I have made the decision to wait another week. The grapes look OK for the most part - some black rot on stems and downed clusters, but most are doing OK. Any thoughts on waiting for a better brix, or picking now and probably not getting great wine.

mfzona · Sep 8, 2018

I’d wait a couple weeks. With my Marquette, I wait for the acid to drop to get the pH into the 3.4s. This usually gets my brix to 24-26, but I’m more a fan of adding acidulated water to drop the brix, than trying to drop the acid.

Masbustelo · Sep 8, 2018

I know that some people would mix potassium metabisulphite with water and spray the clusters themselves in this situation.

farmer1 · Sep 9, 2018

Thank you for your suggestions. I will wait a week or 2 more. My clusters are in light cloth bags - the best way I have found to limit damage from birds. I found netting way to cumbersome - a nightmare to pull off at harvest time.

BigH · Sep 10, 2018

Boy, does this sound familiar. Have you measured pH or TA?

H

farmer1 · Sep 10, 2018

Rain rain rain for a few days! I have not checked pH or TA yet - if the brix hits 23 this weekend, I'll harvest and check then. I have a very small vineyard, so I don't check pH/TA until I've harvested all the grapes. The main part of the vineyard is only 2-3 years old (about 45 vines) - next year should be my first big year (14 vines are 5 years old).

CTDrew · Sep 12, 2018

If your growing season was anywhere near as wet as it was in New England(my vineyard had 11 inches of rain in August!), the wine quality will not be the best this year no matter what decision you make. Good luck with your harvest whenever you take them in!

farmer1 · Sep 12, 2018

Yes, I'm in Massachusetts - and has rained here for 3 days - a couple of inches - and a very wet August as well. Flash flood warning now. Oh well - there is always next year. Glad I'm not in North Carolina.