Preparing for Harvest

So the preparation for the 2002 harvest is ramping up. I need to contact my trusted advisors and grapegrowers to see how my babies, the grapes, are doing. According to David Coffaro's Monday journal entry, his Dry Creek Zinfandel is ripening:

The zinfandel is looking very ripe...the uneven ripening I saw last week has disappeared. The color and taste of the berries is encouraging. Maybe I am getting too old, but it reminds me of last year.

Also the weather in Dry Creek, where I get my zinfandel grapes, is holding steady. According to Northbayweather.com's Healdsburg station, the past few days have been ideal:

Keep your fingers cross from now until early October: no rain and steady temperatures.

Though the weather is out of my control, some immediate tasks are to call David Bruce, Teldeschi, Dutton. I also to need to solidify Syrah sources, buy all the yeast and nutrients, and get all the barrels.

The next two weeks will be very busy- wrapping my 2001 wines and attending weddings. I need to bottle all my 2001 wines. That means, ordering the corks, working with Patrick on label designs, and buying bottles and foils.