harvest reports
Sonoma Mountain
To My Friends:
Spring weather - dry, moderate temperatures.
Bud break - normal, slightly early.
Summer weather - moderate, no extremes, very windy.
Because of relatively moderate weather this summer, grapevines look very healthy. The leaf canopies are great and fruit is in good shape. We have already had good hang times entering into mid-September.
Crop load is at 5% more than last year in the North Coast, but so far we have been picking out light by 5-10%. It is still early. To date, we have harvested about 20-25% of our grapes. We still expect to harvest 5-8% more grapes than 2001.
Because of the general oversupply of grapes, growers and wineries have cooperated like never before to thin out crop and leave only the best grapes. So far, these actions, coupled with good weather, have created a very high quality potential for the harvest of 2002.
We began harvesting on August 23 with Sauvignon Blanc; the exact same date as 2000. This harvest is 10-12 days behind 2001 and similar or slightly behind 2000. A heat spell the week of 9/10-9/15 caught things up a bit.
Cool weather Friday, September 13 through Monday, September 16 was welcome after a hot spell the previous week.
The weather forecast for the next three days is warm temperatures in the 90's. By Saturday through Monday, we should be picking at full speed, mainly Carneros Chardonnay and Merlot from Sonoma Valley, Dry Creek and Alexander Valley.
So far, so great - but, it is early and El Nino is brewing...
Varietal UpdateSauvignon Blanc - 50% complete. Very clean whole fruit. Excellent quality, grapefruit, grass, hay and melon flavors.
Carneros Chardonnay - 15% complete, very good quality. Pear, melon, apple flavors. Good intensity.
Merlot - Alexander Valley 15% complete. Ripe, intense fruit. Looks very good so far. Picking light.
Pinot Noir - Carneros/Sonoma Coast 50% complete. Ripe fruit, higher sugars. Good intensity. Blackberry, plum flavors.
Syrah - Sonoma 10% complete. Big, ripe, good tannins. Smoky berry flavors.
Cabernet Sauvignon - Sonoma - none harvested yet. Looking good on the vine.
Benziger Family Vineyards
Sonoma Mountain, September 18, 2002