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This report came in yesterday from Mitchell Klug, our Director of Vineyard Management. The short version is that things are looking very good at this point. For those of us geeky enough to really get into viticulture, read on!
One of the most influential and uncontrollable things growers deal with is the weather. Luckily, it’s been cooperative. A result of our collective good fortune has been a significant progression of bloom from last week.
Blocks on several properties for the earlier ripening varietals are now through bloom and have completed fruit set. If the weather stays as predicted, we should have very good fruit set in 2009. Between fruit set and veraison, lay a critical period where we can affect the berry size by how we work the vines. Managing the leaf canopy and soil moisture will play key roles in the final cluster appearance and chemistry.
I am seeing good leaf color on Bordeaux varietals. Pinot Noir also looks good and we should see the Chardonnay leaves move out of the yellow phase shortly. Syrah looks very good. Overall, the shoot length is a little short for being this close to bloom, but definitely adequate for the vine to be able to complete fruit set. I suspect we will have our desired shoot length relatively soon. Because of the May rains, I see many varietals are now pushing laterals. Growers will need to manage their canopies to prevent them from closing in and causing too much shade in the vine’s interior. That would reduce fertility for next year and increase disease pressure. Additionally, on some varietals, having a canopy closed in may prolong the problem of methoxypyrazine, which produces vegetal character in wine.
Many vineyards that use a VSP or vertical shoot positioning system have moved the first set of moveable wires in place to train the vines and a few sites have even moved the second set of wires in place.
I am optimistic in what I’m seeing at the sites and the next few weeks will show us a lot about the vines.
Mitchell
Two Rosés from Halter Ranch
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