Harvest Intermezzo Vintage 2023
Hello and Welcome,
We are experiencing a Mother Nature rain event (aka “Time Out”) so we thought we would give you an inside peak at the Great Cluster Pluck, Vintage 2023. Willamette Valley Pinot Noir edition, and Pinot Meunier, too!
The BIG Picture
The last couple days of August gifted us about 0.60 inches of rain. That was a welcome relief as we had not received any precipitation all summer. Most of the moisture was bound up in the top few inches of the soil, and very little made it to the root zone. But where that moisture did accumulate was the fruit zone.
The first couple weeks of September returned to the moderate weather conditions we had been experiencing during this exceptional growing season. However, the moisture that was able to work its way into the center of the tightly packed clusters started a ticking time bomb called Botrytis.
Botrytis, more commonly referred to (and easier to spell) as Bunch Rot, is a late season pathogen that requires moisture to grow. That gift of rain in August was just what it needed. Slowly but surely, the warm September temperatures and moisture inside the cluster provided the ideal conditions for Botrytis to grow undetected. And when that happens, no manner of canopy management is going to save those compromised clusters.
What Does that Mean and Why Should I Care?
It means that we are spending some quality time at the harvest bins sorting out the good wine berries from the bad. This is our first Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HAACP), and it happens BEFORE we get to the winery. If Botrytis makes it into a fermenter, then what you've got yourself there is called drain cleaner. It is not a commercially viable wine.
Hand harvesting is the most inefficient and expensive way to harvest wine berries. But it is also the very best way to ensure that only the uncompromised wine berries make it to the winery. At the winery, we also perform a final sort as we fill the fermenters. We are nothing if not redundant. We’ve said it before and bears repeating here: "You don’t have to be crazy to grow Pinot Noir, but it helps”.
Our Next Move
To date we have harvested about 14 acres, with about 20 left to go. At this point we realize there will be triage in the remaining acreage. Over the weekend and into this week, September 24 - 28, we have received about 3 inches of rain. In Montana parlance, it was kinda like witnessing a cow strategically positioned over a flat rock. Best to observe that from a distance. Wildfire smoke has not been an issue. Maybe this weather pattern put an end to that risk.
The rain is supposed to stop, but this being fall in Willamette Valley wine country, that is an unlikely scenario. The temperatures are expected to cool, which will slow the rate of the Bunch Rot infection. But it is still out there, waiting for us.
Que Captain Kirk looking at the viewer, probing the vast expanse of space. Not knowing exactly what awaits the Enterprise, but knowing full well their future is in peril.
Which reminds us to tell you about the LAST Supermoon of 2023. The Harvest Moon Supermoon will rise Thursday evening. And then the Cluster Plucking will resume forthwith!
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie