Lia's Vineyard - Summer09

Despite the somewhat cool weather at the early part of the growing season and the downright blistering heat in July, things are looking pretty good for the 2009 vintage ... so far. We saw the first hint of color on August 12th - and once color starts to appear, it usually spreads quickly.

We've already dropped fruit throughout the vineyard, targeting about two tons per acre. Clusters were huge, so we dropped more than usual. Leaving only one cluster per shoot in some blocks.

The vines look healthy and those that were showing some moisture stress during the heatwave in July - where we suffered multiple days of temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit - have recovered following a bit over 2/3 inch of rain the other day.

While things are looking good, there is still a long way to go before we put this vintage in barrel. Never count your bottles before the grapes are picked. We still need to have decent weather through at least the end of September - never a given in the North Willamette Valley. And then there will be the sleepless nights as harvest approaches worrying about yellow jackets feasting on grapes and birds becoming inured to the scare tape and and the Bird Gards we use to discourage them from dining on our precious pinot noir and Chardonnay grapes.