Muns
Vineyard
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The Spring has thus far brought more rain, stored in the soil for the growing season. Bud break is even later than 2010, our theretofore latest year. We declared bud break on 4 April (normal is 10-15 March) but there are still large parts of the vineyard where buds are only swollen. We are entering the danger zone of potential frost nights that could occur through May. As of early June, the shoots are 12-18" and lime-green in color, indicating minimal nutrient uptake by the vines due to the cool temperatures. Bloom has not started, which is a good thing since heavy rains can reduce fruit set. Summer, so far, has been relatively mild with lower than "normal" temperatures in the past decade. Last year was also exceptionally cool and this year more so. The vine cycle is about 2 weeks behind last year, so harvest is forecast for October again. We had two unusually late rains, at the beginning of June and another 1" on 29 June. The second rain came right in the middle of bloom which caused a bit of shatter (unfertilized flowers/berries). We estimate a 30% smaller crop load this year, and we fruit-thinned to reduce it even further. This will hopefully shorten the ripening time so that we can properly finish the grapes and harvest before the fall rains start in again. Veraison has started throughout the vineyard, but very slowly. We expect to net the vine rows by the end of August to protect against bird damage loss. Fall arrived a couple weeks after netting the vines for bird protection and the first blocks were ideally ripe for harvesting at the beginning of October. Then, the season's first rain came in via back-to-back storms during 4-6 October. Hopefully, we'll get a day of sunshine and light breezes to dry out the clusters so harvest can begin on Saturday, 8 October. Despite having to dodge the rain, the fruit is nicely ripe with great flavors, but at a significantly lower Brix (sugar content) this year. We are looking forward to a lower alcohol wine with all the quality attributes of the cool growing season for Pinot Noir. The Syrah is not much further behind and already has tremendous flavor, so it will be harvested soon after the Pinot Noir is finished. |
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