Well, 2020 started out as a normal year… Winter was unseasonably dry and clear with no snow and mild temperatures. Unaware of the emerging pandemic, the vines awakened in April and we had a beautiful, dry spring. After a damp, humid May, summer returned with consistent warm, dry weather and no rain. Flowering proceeded in June and everything was on pace for a special year and then…the dry conditions conspired with hot East winds over Labor Day to ignite the entire state, including the Bald Peak fire on the summit above the winery. Unfortunately, it was too much smoke, too close to the vines for the Pinot Noir. There was a general consensus that white wines would not suffer from the smoke damage, so we waited for the smoke to clear to allow final ripening. We harvested Chardonnay on October 1.