Harvest Report: Grapes are Changing Color

For those interested in how my babies, the grape vines, are doing they are changing color in some regions but not in others.

The grapes in Russian River have been changing colors from green to red (called verasion) this week. According to Vineyard Manager Hector Bedolla at La Crema as of Monday only 1 of his vines on the 93 acres of Pinot Noir had reached veraison. As of Friday, many of the grape vines have turned red. Compared to last year, the timing is just right. Here's a picture of Pinot Noir grapes he posted:

He posted his observations on the Kendall-Jackson website,

The wet Spring caused soils to remain cold. Shoot growth slowed down to a snails pace until mid May. There were windy and rainy conditions during the latter period of bloom in the Russian River region. The much welcomed long period of gentle warm days of June and the heat wave of early July warmed the soils and pushed the vine development forward to nearly clockwork precision.

Mother nature's adjustments in the 2002 season are setting the stage for a great vintage for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Russian River Valley.

Verasion hasn't occured yet in cooler regions, like the southern California appellation of Santa Rita Hills. Wes Hagen posted on the West Coast Wine Network that his Clos Pepe vineyard reports,

No veraison in Santa Rita Hills, which means HANG TIME baby!

Still has not been warmer than low 80's here, and that was only for a day or two. We've been in low-mid 70's for 2 months.