2018
2018 started out with déjà vu all over again. Winter was cold with a dusting of snow Christmas day and a bigger storm after Valentine’s day. It was cool and wet intermittently through bud break in mid-April, then warmed up rapidly, accelerating vine growth with flowering already beginning the first week of June. There were no remarkable heat spikes, but temperatures were generally hotter than “average” with many warmer nights. We saw the first hint of veraison August 5th, followed by several weeks of perfect, dry weather for final ripening. The first grapes were harvested September 15th, with the Pinot Noir coming in a week later on September 23rd. Surprisingly, the Syrah and viognier came in the next day, Sept 24. The Tempranillo was allowed to ripen two more weeks with great weather before being harvested October 6.