Amalie Robert Estate Vintage Update: 2008 Flowers aka Bloom

Hello,

I wanted to let everyone know that we in fact do have flowers in the vineyard this year. I spotted the first flowers of the year on June 21, in the Wadenswil clone Pinot Noir. This is certainly behind the historical average of June 15, and about 2 weeks later than 2007.  The weather forecast is looking to be warm to very warm over the next 10 days. Hopefully this will result in a bountiful fruit set, that we can ripen within a reasonable harvest window.

To this point in the growing season, I think the conditions have favored Powdery Mildew. If the weather continues to be warm and muggy, we may have elevated risk of not only Powdery Mildew, but also Botrytis. We are continuing with Sulfur applications every 7 days. Toward the end of bloom, we will tank mix sulfur with a product such as Flint, Pristine, or Scala to provide control of both pathogens.

Our first set of catch wires are up and clipped into place. We have begun removing suckers from our least vigorous and coolest blocks. The attempted mutiny by the Wild Garlic has been put down. Last year’s report is below for comparison.

Ernie