This weekend it was time to check in on all the vineyards.
I started at Elandrich. First checking the netting and making any repairs that needed to be made, then taking BRIX readings to check on ripeness. The Zinfandel was at 20.1 and the Merlot was at 22.2. They’ve been gaining about 1 degree per week. I like to harvest each at 25+ so they are still some weeks away.
Next I got a call from Casey Hartlip at Eaglepoint Ranch. He had some Syrah ready to harvest Tuesday, but I couldn’t pick it up just yet. So he’ll call me again in 7-10 days when the next group of Syrah is ripe.
Sunday morning we drove out to Martin Ranch and met Dan and Therese Martin. We wanted to check on where we’ll be dropping off bins, and introduce ourselves. The entire family was busy cleaning bins for 10 tons of Merlot that were coming in. So Stefania and I went out and took our own reading in the vineyard. The upper section Cabernet was at 23.1, the lower section at 22.9. It looked like 2-3 weeks still.
Then we drove over to Uvas Creek. Ted had given my readings earlier in the week, so I wanted to taste the grapes and check on ripeness. These grapes are further along and it looks like maybe 10-14 days.
So starting about October 5th and running through about the 20th, we’ll be very very busy bringing in grapes.
All the vineyards looked really good. The growers we work with are the same as us, they’ve removed any sunburned grapes from this summers heat wave, and have only healthy grapes left on the vines to harvest. Things look really good! Pictures to follow later this week.