Vino In My Dino

The Turning Point

June 25, 2019 15:00

The Turning Point

July always marks a turning point during growing season in our vineyard. From March to June the vines start with budbreak, flower and set the crop all the while growing by leaps and bounds. Shoots measuring 6 inches in April are now 2 feet in length by the end of June. The turning point in the growth of grape bunches is when we begin to see the first shades of purple in our red wine grapes or the pale yellow-green as the white wine grapes soften and devleop-and that is called veraison.

We are about two weeks behind since bud break was late and there is no ‘catching up’ in the vineyard. As a result, veraison will be a bit later this month and I’ve heard grape growers around here predicting a ‘normal’ harvest start date-which means at this point the end of August. Rule of thumb among the vineyard growers is six weeks to harvest from the time veraison begins. We'll see the white wine grapes like our Sauvignon Blanc come in first followed by red wine grapes like Pinot Noir and Zinfandel, the early reds, coming in a week or two later. This, of course, is dependent on the weather we receive in the next two months, once again deferring to Mother Nature and what she has in store for us.

Tags: Veraison, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Growing Season, July
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