My Vineyard Notes 2022 vs 2023 (Northern CA) - 1 month delayed

[NorCal]

A much different year!!!

3/8/22	Start of bud break. 10% of vines
3/25/22	All the vines have shoots, started mini suckering.
3/28/22	Suckering pass all vines
3/31/22	First spray sulphur
4/4/22	continuous suckering and mowing

Versus

4/5/23

Buds are swelling but no bud break anywhere in the vineyard

We are a good one month behind last year.

 

[ChuckD]

Did you get a lot of the snow that walloped the sierras? Yesterday was the first snow-free day for my vineyard.

 

[NorCal]

I did not get any snow at my 1000 foot elevation, but it has been very very wet and colder than the norm.

 

[CDrew]

I don't live too far from Norcal and we have had a cool and wet winter all the way around. But snow here is a once in 20 years kind of thing. Last year it was already getting warm in late Feb. This year, it still has not warmed up in early April.

Anyway, it would be nice to get back to the late September and October picks of years past. I'm going to cross my fingers that I can pick Sauvignon Blanc after September 9th and the reds after that!

 

[GSMChris]

While I don’t have a track record given my vineyard will be starting second leaf, just swollen buds here in Templeton. Most vineyards around me and in the parts of Paso Robles I’ve driven through are in a similar state - no bud break thus far. It has been a long cold wet winter and spring really didn’t start until this week. Warm - meaning mid 70s - expected for the weekend so hopefully that will get things moving.

 

[winemaker81]

Although I'm not a grape grower and don't expect to be, I follow threads like this for fun. I see the value of tracking of growing details from year-to-year. I know from my winemaking notes that my memory can be hazy ... or totally incorrect. Notes are good!

 

[NorCal]

The forecast I have heard for this year is that it will be a full and good crop, but delayed past the recent decade norm. There are some varieties that are always last to ripen in the vineyard and those are the varieties that have to be managed closely. Reducing crop load and watching irrigation will be key. My little 200 vine vineyard won't have any issues ripening and 1/2 the crop will be made into Rose, so I don't foresee any issues personally.

 

[ChuckD]

The forecast I have heard for this year is that it will be a full and good crop, but delayed past the recent decade norm. There are some varieties that are always last to ripen in the vineyard and those are the varieties that have to be managed closely. Reducing crop load and watching irrigation will be key. My little 200 vine vineyard won't have any issues ripening and 1/2 the crop will be made into Rose, so I don't foresee any issues personally.

At least you are going into the growing season with abundant soil moisture. Hopefully you can avoid the scorching mid-summer heat.

We’re supposed to be sunny and 60’s next week so I’ll probably be doing my pruning next weekend. My babies were only planted last summer.

 

[balatonwine]

Bud break on my earliest to break, and to harvest, Turán grapes today, April 7 (ISO 2023-04-07). Which is within "normal" range for this grape for me over the years.

 

[Snafflebit]

I didn’t prune until mid-April and it was fine. I was surprised. Haven’t been to the vineyard to check on suckers yet. Sooooo busy with a new house

 

[crushday]

@NorCal - any updates on the vineyard progress?

 

[NorCal]

I’m one suckering pass and one spraying into the season. Excellent fruit set and all the moisture in the soil and the rise in temperature has made for strong shoot growth. I see a big crop this year. Still trailing last year; at this time last year shoots were 3-5 feet, now they are 1.5-2 feet. Still tells me that harvest will be later than usual this season.

 

[crushday]

I’m one suckering pass and one spraying into the season. Excellent fruit set and all the moisture in the soil and the rise in temperature has made for strong shoot growth. I see a big crop this year. Still trailing last year; at this time last year shoots were 3-5 feet, now they are 1.5-2 feet. Still tells me that harvest will be later than usual this season.
View attachment 101101

All of this is throwing a wrench in my Hawaiian Habitat Build - I fly to Kaua'i on September 29th... Return 8 days later...

 

[Nebbiolo020]

A much different year!!!

3/8/22	Start of bud break. 10% of vines
3/25/22	All the vines have shoots, started mini suckering.
3/28/22	Suckering pass all vines
3/31/22	First spray sulphur
4/4/22	continuous suckering and mowing

Versus

4/5/23

Buds are swelling but no bud break anywhere in the vineyard

We are a good one month behind last year.

I’m a good month and a half ahead of everyone else I had budbreak in late feb which for where I live is nuts early, usually late march early April at the earliest. I actually have reasonably sized clusters on the vines right now they are probably a good month into solid cluster development.

 

[NorCal]

The vines are very healthy and the foliage is full of vigor. I need to retie and clean up the vines every two weeks. I will say I have had a more laissez faire attitude this year and was not real aggressive on my pruning or suckering. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite me. I’ve done 3 sprayings so far this season.

 

[wood1954]

They look great, nice and vigorous

 

[Nebbiolo020]

The vines are very healthy and the foliage is full of vigor. I need to retie and clean up the vines every two weeks. I will say I have had a more laissez faire attitude this year and was not real aggressive on my pruning or suckering. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite me. I’ve done 3 sprayings so far this season. View attachment 101886

Nice looking vines, don’t worry about pruning too much it’s just another disease vector so I don’t prune or sucker much untill I have to.

 

[NorCal]

Looks like we are still behind, about 2-3 weeks from last year.

 

[NorCal]

Just so happens I heard on the local news a vineyard owner in Amador saying, he has a big crop that is running later than last year. He just started veraison as well.

 

[Snafflebit]

In the entire vineyard, I saw two grapes on one cluster turning red today. Does that count as véraison? I will put that as a yes in my notes.

I have great, green vigor all over the vineyard this year, but it may be a mixed blessing because I also have more mildew pressure.