harvest reports
California Bloom
To My Friends:
The 2002 vintage is starting to establish its own special identity - early Winter rains, dry in later Winter, overall cool weather the entire Spring. Donner Pass was closed May 20, because of blizzard conditions. In Sonoma on that date, we had significant hail, funnel clouds were spotted and almost three inches of rain fell. We did not see anything that would compromise quality, because nothing critical was going on in the vineyards.
The key attributes of this vintage so far:
- Vigorous, but even shoot growth. Vines are very healthy.
- Potentially larger than average harvest.
- We are two weeks behind 2001 (137 heat units behind 2001)
- We had twenty frost protection days (twice as many as 2001 with only minor damage.)
- Bloom is taking place slowly, over an extended period of time slightly increasing the chances of uneven ripening later in the year.
- Last year I wrote the Bloom Newsletter on May 21 (today is May 31). At that time, I wrote that Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot were almost through bloom. Cabernet Sauvignon was well into it.
As of today, May 31 - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are three quarters done. Merlot is about half done with bloom. Cabernet Sauvignon is anywhere from 0% to 50% done. Two weeks behind is about right.
Just as a reminder, bloom is when the grapes flower and pollination occurs. Grapes contain both the male and female reproductive parts. Grapes depend on nice weather to move the pollen around not the birds or the bees. Therefore, the most successful bloom happens in good weather with no extreme conditions; i.e. not hot, not cold, not too windy, not wet--not too much of anything. Extremes cause shatter, which is missed pollination - no grape will form and we lose crop. When a grape has completed pollination, we call it fruit set. It then starts to size up and its next critical phase is veraison which will occur in 60 to 120 days.
Full Bloom
Berry Set - Post Bloom
Benziger Family Vineyards
Sonoma Mountain, May 30, 2002