A very good year

This year has been another great year for growing wine grapes in Sonoma. “Vintage 2014” looks as if it may even be better than our great “Vintage 2013.”

So the question is, what has made it so great so far?

First of all, we had a cool Springtime with little precipitation, allowing the grapevine to set an abundant crop. Our summer has been warm, with only a few hot days so far. Harvest will come early this year mostly due to the warm Spring and Summer.

In most vineyards this time of year you will see some leaves yellowing and the once lush, green canopy begin to lighten in color. Many of the tendrils and shoot tips begin to droop as well. This is a common occurrence and is part of the cycle of a grapevine’s life. Most of the vine’s energy is being used to ripen its crop, with very little energy expended just to keep it alive.

Having a season where the vine has been able to grow strong helps them deal with these stresses.

Wine grapes need to be stressed to produce a quality wine grape, but there is a balance when dealing with a stressed vine. Too much crop load can affect the vines ability to ripen its crop in a timely matter. Too little of a crop and the vine turns that energy into its canopy growth and second crop. (Second crop is a grape cluster that forms outside the fruit zone and is high up in the canopy). This unwanted growth can cause an unbalanced fruit ripening to occur in the plant and cause inferior grapes.

So to answer the question “What has made this year so great so far” can be answered easily with one word: balance. Our season so far has created a balanced vine which in return will create a quality grape.

Any grape grower would tell you that it is better to have more fruit than less fruit. Mainly because this gives us the ability to remove the undesired fruit and leave the great best on the vine. In great wine grape growing years like these, a plant can carry a little more of a crop load and produce a high quality wine. So in the end it is a win-win situation for everyone — the grape grower, the winemaker and most importantly, the wine consumer.

If the great weather continues we may be harvesting a week earlier than last year and have the benefit of leaving the grapes on the vines for a little longer, for quality purposes, without concerns of late rains causing any damage. For now let’s keep our fingers crossed and our wine glasses ready for “Vintage 2014.”