Anomaly Vineyards

A Berkeley, California transplant's view of becoming an Accidental Vintner.

Pucker Up

The weather here in the Napa Valley has been "unusual" to say the least! Two weeks ago, it was close to 80 degrees and the winter clothes went to the back of the closet. On Mother's Day, pea-sized hail pelted the Valley and the umbrellas and winter wear came back out. Today is a poster child for the perfect Spring day - sunny, mild, flowers raising their blooms skyward - all is well with the world. What the heck is happening we wonder! And of course, after we wonder, we worry. What does this mean for harvest?

We took a vineyard walk this morning, which will soon become a daily event. I look closely, very closely, at the tiny clusters to see if any flowering has occurred, and all I see are the little puckered faces of the grapes to be. This was a good thing to see, since if those little faces had turned into big grins, flowering would have begun and rain could be devastating, not to mention what hail could do. The word on the street is that some vineyards down valley which grow the white varietals may have had some hail damage as they had already begun to flower. If the flowers are beaten down from rain, they are not able to pollinate and hence, a damaged or reduced crop can occur. I believe we are in the clear now, it is mid-May after all. So tonight we will once again put the umbrellas back into the depths of the closet, pack up our rain boots, cross our fingers, and have a glass of wine to calm our nerves - one of the perks of the job! Chantico.
  • Our website!
  • 1 comments:

    1. sonoma33 said...

      I am certainly ready for typical California Spring weather! The valley is absolutely beautiful today.

      May 11, 2005  

    Post a Comment