Vino In My Dino

Next stop: Harvest

July 26, 2018 08:54

Veraison is the foreteller of harvest. Once the grapes begin turning color (from dark green to pale yellow in white wine grapes and from green to purple in red wine grapes) we know harvest is about six weeks away-ish. It all depends on what the next 75 days brings to the vineyard whether it be high heat and cool nights or, heaven forefend, rain and cool weather.

This is also the most exciting phase of fruit development as the process involves the color change, the softening of the berry, the ripening toward more sugar as well as less acidity. Can you imagine taking a bite of a green berry? I did! When I was a kid running through the vineyard one day I stopped at a green bunch of grapes and popped it into my mouth. Boy was I surprised. It wasn’t very sweet, almost crunchy and full of bitter seeds. I spit it out wondering what the big deal was about these grapes. The other day as I was walking the vineyard with Dirk I revisited the experience in our Mother Clone Zinfandel vineyard and plucked a green berry off the bunch. Still pretty tart but I could detect a hint of sweetness and a hint of the grape flavor I love in our Zinfandel-just hints but we have a month and a half before harvest and the vine has its’ work cut out for to ripen as best it can give the hot summer days and cool evenings. Right now the temperatures are hovering in the low 90s and going down to the low 50s at night. The perfect weather frame for harvest 2018.

Our Mother Clone Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon are featured here in order. Taken July 27th.

Mother Clone Veraison Sauvignon Blanc Veraison Cabernet Sauvignon Veraison