I'm alive! Grape growing 2023 begins

[Snafflebit]

The nets are on. Rolling out and draping nets is never a fun chore.

The clusters are in the 18 - 19 Brix range, sooner than I expected, and they are becoming a temptation. The owner's dogs were in the vineyard nibbling on the tips of dangling clusters like Tantalus and I had to stop that. I get a regular annual earful of how grapes are toxic for dogs, yet I never find any dead dogs laying around these vines.



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[Nebbiolo020]

The nets are on. Rolling out and draping nets is never a fun chore.

The clusters are in the 18 - 19 Brix range, sooner than I expected, and they are becoming a temptation. The owner's dogs were in the vineyard nibbling on the tips of dangling clusters like Tantalus and I had to stop that. I get a regular annual earful of how grapes are toxic for dogs, yet I never find any dead dogs laying around these vines.



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Raisins are grapes are not toxic, it’s only a issue once the grapes go to raisins

 

[ibglowin]

Or Coyotes for that matter. Our two Golden Retriever's have snacked on grapes for years from low hanging fruit on my vines in the backyard. Never caused an issue at all. Perhaps if they ate 100lbs in one sitting.........

I get a regular annual earful of how grapes are toxic for dogs, yet I never find any dead dogs laying around these vines.



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[Snafflebit]

Brix update: I have values from 16 to 21 throughout the vineyard, that is quite a large spread. Ripeness is varying throughout the vineyard and the vines. Most years I would be preparing for harvest next week. Maybe late September harvest is actually normal and the drought has been pushing my harvests earlier than normal. We have had unusually cool nights due to hurricane Hillary.

I have places in the GW vineyard where hen and chicks are prevalent in the clusters. This Cab looks like Zin clusters currently. I HOPE they catch up. I needed to drop a few solid green clusters today. There are many ugly vines in here this year.




Now regarding the vines that suffered powdery mildew. I expect that these grapes are a total loss. The clusters are losing integrity and shriveling. Inside the berries, the seeds are still green. Not worth my efforts at this point.



And these vines are confused now and pushing out flowers. Nice try, thanks.



In the M vineyard, the Merlot look wonderful and the clusters have closed. Their neighbor Cab look good as well.

 

[Snafflebit]

The grapes are about two weeks behind compared to last year. I usually start measuring sugar around 8/1 but I couldn't be bothered to test green grapes.

2023


2022



I have culled about 20 piles of grapes this size off the GW vines, the are quite ugly in hindsight. I shoulda dropped them earlier.



I have owned a benchtop refractometer from Hanna Instruments for a few years that I barely used. I did not want to take it to the field. That was silly of me. This machine is so much more accurate for Brix measurement. The field refractometer is best reserved for spot checks.

 

[Snafflebit]

Still loving the Hanna refractometer.

Latest Brix update. Sugar change rate for 2023 has stalled. Compared to the last 3 years, this is amazing.
My assumption now is that the drought conditions were dehydrating the vines in 2020-2022 and increasing the sugar concentration in the berries.



I may get an actual Fall harvest in 2023

 

[Maheesh]

Have you checked your Hanna against a standard? I have one and always wonder

 

[Snafflebit]

No. I only zero with distilled water. But, it should be easy enough to create a standard with sucrose and distilled water. 1Brix is equivalent to 1 gram sucrose in 100g water, essentially percentage by weight

 

[Snafflebit]

Four days later and maybe half a Brix increase? My autumn harvest is starting to look like a reality

 

[Snafflebit]

The brix has moved up to 22 on average. But parts of the GW vineyard are problematic. It is ripening unevenly. Here are two grapes from the same cluster. I will just have to live with what crop I get. (it probably would have been a good year to try making rosé)



The M vineyard is looking great, both merlot and cab.

 

[Cynewulf]

Way over here on the east coast I’ve had similar, very uneven ripening with both my hybrids and my Cabernet Franc this year. I don’t see how there could be any correlation with what you’re experiencing over there, but it’s a strange coincidence.

 

[Snafflebit]

My guess is powdery mildew really took a toll on my vineyards, unlike I have ever seen before, and in ways that are still showing up. I clearly have been spoiled by good weather in the past. Nature teaches us to be humble