Dry and early start to the Season

 

It's been an early start to the season.  Bud break was in the first week of May (about a week earlier than average, and 2nd earliest in 18 years.   The vines are happy and healthy with very little disease pressure due to the dry weather.   Bloom completed by June 19, and even the Rose Chafer pressure was lower than in the past.

We have not used any Round Up/herbicide for over 5 years, so the drier weather has helped us keep down the grass and weeds beneath the vines, but I think even the mature vines could use a drink.   We also planted a small block of Itasca this year, so we are having to give those little guys a drink fairly often in this dry weather using buckets and hoses where they reach.

Crop load looks very high this year.   I think the vines went into the winter in the best condition in years after an excellent weather year in 2020.   The 2020 vintage while small, was perhaps the best quality since 2012.  By the way the 2020 Wisecco Rosé and 2020 Pet Nats are in high demand, so if you want to get your hands on one, order soon.

Very late Friday night, my son and I were out in the vineyard trying to capture some astrophotography pictures over the vineyard using my cheap smart phone.  It's amazing what these little devices can do, check out the pictures below.  There were no enhancements, or recoloring by me, just using the default astrophotography settings.

Cheers,

Jerrold