I said I would keep you up to date with harvest in the region. I am reporting to you some findings from the past two weeks.
It looks like the weather has put us slightly behind from last year at this time. When the grapes were first tested the end of August some were actually pre-veraison with bix in the single digits. Tested a week later, the grapes are coming along with brix rising nicely and acid dropping.
So you understand – brix is the sugar level in the grapes.
Just to compare – week ending August 31 the brix for Chardonnay were 15.4 and last week they clocked in at 16.7. Foch brix were 19.4 and remained the same the following week. Pinot Noir brix were 15.6 end of August and16.8 last week. Riesling was 14.4 end of August and 16 last week. Traminette was 10 brix the end of August and varied between 13.3 and 13.8 at two vineyards locally.
What does all this mean. It means there is still ways to go before some of these grapes can be harvested. I don’t know what the impending raining week will hold either. This is not the time of year you want to see rain. It will make the berries fill up and possibly burst or dilute the flavor. We can only hope for the best.
