09-28 - Can you believe how hot it is?

For some odd reason, there are a slew of articles showing up in prominent newspapers around the country about how the 2005 vintage is "going to be the best" seen in a long time. How presumptuous of these writers! By and large, these exclamations are based on the quality and ageability of Cabernet Sauvignon yet this is a grape that, for the most part, has yet to be picked by ANYBODY!

Granted, Sauvignon Blanc and sparkling wine grapes began their harvest several weeks ago. Many wineries are in mid-harvest, bringing in Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes. But by-and-large, Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are still out there, soaking up the warm rays of the late fall sun. The other important factor is that over the last weekend, yet another freak storm blew through the valley -- almost monsoon-like with its thunder and lightening -- and in some locations, dropped upwards of two inches of rain.

Readers can see that the vines and grapes have not changed much since I last was able to photograph them. They are getting a bit more concentrated in their sugar levels, but we are still two or three weeks away from harvesting. For the sake of the vine, you can see that the ground underneath Vine 2 has been cleared of all extraneous brush. There began a deluge of weeds and wildflowers and instead of having the nutrients from the soil go into those plants, by plowing it under and removing all ground cover, the plant gets all the soil has to offer.

The grapes are beautiful and after the funny thunderstorms, we have wallowing in 90-degree-plus temperatures. This is what the grapes have needed for some time and I wouldn't be surprised if I saw some scrambling to harvest across the valley. The heat spikes on the valley floor will escalate sugar levels in grapes and if there are some vineyards that were just teetering on readiness, this heat will easily expedite their readiness.