Last post I talked about imminent veraison, well here it is! Veraison doesn’t occur in all grapes at the same moment so we talk about % veraison – I am going to say this is 35%. There are 5 events through the season that mark significant signposts on the road to harvest. These are known as phenologic (the study of cyclic natural phenomena) events. We mark with great interest budbreak, bloom, berry set, veraison and harvest. Veraison is easiest to see in red pigmented grapes (it, of course, also occurs in white fruit but it is a little harder to see) such as these Pinot noir at John Sebastiano Vineyard. As I discussed previously, not only is there the change in color but an immediate influx of sugar to the grape – we are now on the way to harvest! Winemakers begin to take more interest in the vineyard and the grapes are already edible (a bit tart though). We will choose a couple blocks next week to monitor for this chronicle to follow to harvest. Gonna be fun.
