Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Final prep-work nip and tuck in vyd

Last Friday, I made one last swing through sites to make decisions on the last tweaks to crop loads, leaf removal, and canopy management before the "Great Wait 2011". The pix below were taken on Sept 16th at four of our vineyards.

Barring a little leaf removal and some light thinning passes that happened yesterday and today, the vineyards are in pristine shape to just sit in the sun and slowly ripen and develop flavor over the next 6 weeks.

Tasting through the 2010 wines last week got me excited for another late fall. Even without calendar days between bloom and harvest, there's something about the late picking years that produces dark, layered, interesting flavors!





Above: The Walnut Hill site high in the Eola-Amity Hills (~550 ft, okay, so it's high for Oregon). Color change at 50-60%. Best guess harvest date Oct 27th.






Above: Stoller Vineyard at the South tip of the Dundee Hills. This block is on the West side of the vineyard. Planted to 667 clone. Maybe 40% color here.





Above: The block of 115 clone at Stoller Vineyard. Much better color progression here. Probably 60-75% on average.



Above: Hirschy Vineyard in Yamhill-Carlton. This is our block of 114 clone Pinot Noir. This was about 95% colored up. This will likely be our first pick of 2011...Oct 23rd?


 Above: Wadenswil block at Shea Vineyard. Maybe 50% color. Would expect nothing less from the aromatrically beautiful, but late ripening, clone.



Above: Block 11 at Shea Vineyard (Dijon 115 clone). Note how the clusters are hanging out in the breeze after an excellent round of leaf removal. The airflow in and around the clusters will help the fruit dry out and resist the development of rot if/when we get rain before harvest.

Below: Sometimes I have to defocus a bit and realize the beauty of where I'm standing. This was taken from the middle of one of our blocks at Stoller Vineyard.
 









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