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Remember that part of veraison that begins ripening in general and includes the influx of sugar to the berry? Sugar content of the juice goes from approximately 0 preveraison, to about 25% (a winemaker decision) at harvest. To put that in perspective, a can of cola is about 10% sugar.
So, the grapes kind of taste good to us humans that tend to like sweet. Why not, it is fast energy. Turns out (and for the same reason), we are not the only animals that like sugar. BIRDS, in particular, like the sugary grapes and set their sights on the grapes as soon as they begin to color and accumulate sugar. [Actually this is the whole idea behind the grape putting sugar in the berry. The vine is hoping the sweet berries will attract the birds, the birds will eat the fruit and deposit the seeds elsewhere thus expanding the range of the species. We humans are actually disrupting the natural intent and design. Wine was never part of the plan.] If we feed the birds there will be less if not zero wine. What to do?
There are many approaches tried, recorded bird distress calls, sonic cannons, glittering strands of reflective tape, balloons that look like predators, on and on. Usually, after a couple days, the birds figure out that all those things are not harmful and go back to their party. The only thing we have found that reliably works is the physical barrier of a net.
In today’s photo are Pinot noir grapes at Peake Ranch just after netting.
Jul 29, 2017 at 7:35 AM
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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.
Jul 20, 2017 at 3:57 PM
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On my side of the winemaking equation is the requirement to produce the best grapes from our vineyard sites. This can be a complicated process on sites that differ block-to-block and even within blocks. As in all endeavors we learn from the past AND we hope to contribute knowledge that moves our skill ever forward. While there is no substitute for the time-honored practice of boots on the ground we can add to that with new technologies. Today’s image is an aerial photo of the John Sebastiano Vineyard. First notice how complicated the layout of the individual blocks is, just the physical part of visiting every block is a huge task. Data for the image is collected that allows the analysis of individual wavelengths that can be processed to produce what you see here. This image shows a vegetative index (seen as a range of colors) that lets us know where vines are growing larger and smaller. With this information we can identify areas of concern and fine-tune our visual inspections. Modern technology assisting and adding to tradition.
Jul 13, 2017 at 9:21 AM
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I am using this first post as an introduction. Hello, I am Mike Anderson and you can see my info elsewhere on this website so no reason to spend much time on that. In a nutshell I shepherd the grapes to the winery. My partner in this effort is Emily. Emily was rescued from a South Korean dog farm where she was “on the menu”. She has been with me for a year and a half and is a great vineyard dog / campanion. She is currently interviewing for a job as Daisy’s assistant. We will see, Daisy is picky about her help.
As we enter July I see the vines in very good shape with a moderate crop. The welcome and heavy rainfall we received last winter got the vines off to a very good start and that has had continued benifits. We are now close to entering veraison. This is a viticultural term that indicates the onset of sugar accumulation in the berries (ripening). At veraison the vine shifts its focus from growing vegetation to putting sugar in the fruit. A celebration for the birds and us! This blog will be chronicling the process with regular posts.
Questions and comments are welcome in the comments section below.
For now, good to meet you and I will see you soon.
Jul 3, 2017 at 6:30 AM
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