Veraison finally happening

St Pepin at Sampson Valley Vineyard Aug 28, 2009

Wow things are late this year!! I think we are about 3 weeks behind 2007. Foch is about 80% through veraison. Vinifera is just starting (merlot, cab franc, and cab sauv)

The first grapes ready will probably be La Crescent. Based on taste alone, I think those will be ready in about 2 weeks. The rest are at least 3 -5 weeks away.

Looks like I will have a nice harvest of St Pepin, and LaCrosse. LaCrescent will be not as much as I thought due to rose chafers eating the blossoms during bloom. In general those three white varieties look like they will be good quality grapes. I still have a few hundred pounds available for sale that aren't already spoken for.

Unripe Foch, from crop thinning in mid August.

I will have a small foch harvest, but last year, this year, and next year look to be a rebuilding years. I already picked about 70 lbs of green foch grapes prior to verasion a couple of weeks ago. I didn't want to over stress some of the vines.

This year the vinifera experiment in the high tunnel will go a long way of telling me if it is feasible to grow grapes this way. Right now harvest looks like it will be Early October.