Harvest is in the Air
We put out air cannons this morning to scare off nosy birds looking to pilfer our crop. That’s a sign that harvest is coming because the sugar levels in the grapes are high enough to attract starlings, robins and cedar waxwings. It’s completely understandable why the birds like our grapes; I can’t even walk by a vine without snatching a few berries myself.
The 2007 vintage looks promising so far, though it’s still much too early to say for sure. We’ve dropped about 40% of the crop to make sure that we get the perfect combination of ripeness, concentration and intensity. We’re seeing what we call “hens and chicks” – smaller clusters with varying sizes of berries ranging from quite small to rather large. (See the 8-20-07 blog by Winemaker, Russ Rosner)
The 90 degree days and high East winds that we’ve had the past few days have not helped. Today is much cooler (mid-80’s), and we can only hope that this kind of weather continues. A bit of rain would even be welcome. The longer the fruit can hang on the vine, the better!
Bloom started June 4 and normally harvest follows 100 days later – September 12, which is today. We’re obviously not harvesting today and expect to start late next week.