Amalie Robert Estate Vintage Update: 2009 August Veraison

Hello,

We will have the little pink berries again this year. They will emerge alone and unafraid in Block 14 (Pommard on Schwarzmann rootstock), which is now being expertly manicured for Mr. Etzel, on August 6, 2009. Congratulations Mike!

Some have suggested the harvest of the year will come early, and for some I am sure this is true. However, every time I am tempted by these "false choices", I remember that Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special where he is falsely coerced into kicking the football. I think this is also called "marketing."

He knows it is the wrong choice, however he is pressured into thinking about the glory to be his when he kicks that football. Not to plagiarize here, but he seems to have the audacity of hope. Alas, it is not to be. Fortunately, he is not seriously injured and returns in a few weeks time with a Christmas Tree, but that is indeed another story.

Personally, I know that I will be harvesting Syrah and Viognier at the last possible moment - in NOVEMBER - with the birds. So if anyone is ready to go early, I will be happy to accommodate.

In the mean time we will build sugars, ripen seeds and begin respiring malic acid.

Ernie