March 2008

The weather during the 2007 vintage led us into a comfortable, smooth running harvest. With the low spring rainfall and the warm temperatures of April and May, we were looking at a fairly early vintage from the start. Early bud break, early bloom and early veraison verified our predictions.

August was a fine ripening month with sunny warm days and cool mornings dominating. The last few days of August and the first couple of days of September heated up and pushed us over the edge. We began harvesting Chardonnay at the end of August, and Cabernet the first week of September, weeks ahead of the 2005 and 2006 vintages.

The weather through the remainder of harvest maintained an even keel for the most part. This allowed us to schedule and pick the grapes as they reached their full flavor potential. The last of the Cabernet was harvested on October 6, about 10 days earlier than the typical vintage.

The cumulative rainfall for 2007 was approximately 24 inches. Most of the precipitation fell before March and relatively little rainfall occurred during the spring. This is about two thirds of normal, and was cause for concern if the downward trend were to continue.

Fortunately, we received more than 3 inches of rainfall in October of 2007 alone. This did a fine job of germinating our cover crop and wild mustard seed. November and December dropped a so-so 6 inches of rain, but January came on strong with more than 11 inches. February 2008 has already delivered around 3 inches, and I am confident that we are not going to get less rainfall than last year - just one less thing to worry about as we go about pruning the vines in preparation for the upcoming growing season.

The wild mustard crop has grown into a spectacular sea of yellow this year. In many blocks the mustard has risen above the actual vines themselves. This looks great, but it is not in the best interests of the vines once the shoots begin to grow. So as the ground has been drying out we have begun to mow, trying to expose enough soil to the suns warming rays. This warmth, as it is radiating from the soil on those cold frosty nights during the growing season, can make the difference between a good year and catastrophic crop loss.