Wines I'm Making: Harvest 2019—Not Quite Yet

Thinking our backyard grapes might be ready to harvest, I did my first full testing of their ripeness today. A sample from the Cabernet vines showed brix at 23.5, which is very close to ideal (24 brix is where I normally like to pick), but with the pH a bit on the low side (pH 3.34). PH squared x brix = 262, which, according to Jeff Cox's From Vines to Wines (Storey Books, 1999), means they are ready for picking (the goal by this measure is 260 for a red wine), but the seeds in many of the grapes are still a touch green and another week on the vines will be perfect, I suspect. The problem is the raccoons—or whatever it is that steals grapes in the night. Ideal ripeness has to be balanced against potential animal losses. Happily, this year, almost none of the grapes will be lost to mildew, so I feel like waiting another week is the way to go. Thus, harvest 2019 is projected for October 5.

The Sangiovese, from which we normally make rosé (and last year used to make a little sparking wine, even), tested at only 19 brix and a pH of 3.31—on the low side (pH squared x brix = 208, again, within the acceptable range, according to Cox's measure (for whites and rosé 200 is the goal), but I think we can get a little more ripeness). I like to pick the Sangiovese for rosé at 22 brix. Although 19 brix would probably be just right for sparkling wine, I'm not equipped with enough of the right kind of bottles to make the whole Sangiovese harvest into sparkling wine, so I will wait to pick the Sangiovese as well. Today, I will check the integrity of the nets and make sure the electric fence is working and hope the animals are deterred as much as possible....

Wines I'm Making: Grapes Netted (August 12, 2019)

This year, I treated the grapes against mildew by dusting them with sulfur rather than wetting the sulfur powder and spraying them. Now, weeks after applying sulfur dust, I can report that dusting seems to work much better than spraying. Usually, by this time of the season, the grapes that are most shaded in our little vineyard are already showing some damage from mildew. In bad years, I've lost as much as 20% of the Sangiovese to mildew. Right now there is virtually no mildew on the grapes, which is wonderful. Removal of the trees behind the vineyard that were in my neighbor's yard has helped and this year I did not put up the reed fencing on the back fence that we usually have there, so I think they are getting more light and air as well, which helps against the mildew. In any case, the grapes are looking very good.

The berries are just beginning to turn color. I finished netting them against the raccoons yesterday. The next task will be to water them for the first time this season. I typically water at the end of July, the end of August and the end of September, although, I suspect they could be completely dry farmed now. That said, the Sangiovese shows signs of water stress well before the Cabernet. They need a little drink. There's a complication this year. I put down weed cloth under the vines this spring for the first time, to try to make the job of weeding the vineyard easier. It's worked very well, but, now, when I turn on the irrigation, the water mostly beads up on top of the cloth. I'm not confident it's getting into the soil. I'll probably have to go out and cut holes where the drippers drip.

Grapes So Far Unmolested (August 30, 2012)

It's almost September. We haven't lost a single grape yet. So far my strategy has worked. In past years I've usually protected the grapes in the back yard in response to the first depredations of the season, when the grapes have taken on color but are still far from ripe. This year, I determined to net the grapes and turn on the electric fence that surrounds them before the grapes started to turn purple, and the idea seems to have worked. My aim was to make the grapes inaccessible before they became attractive to raccoons etc. Still about six weeks to harvest, if we harvest on a typical date (usually around the second week of October). The summer has been so cool, though, that harvest may be later than usual. We'll see.

Wines I'm Making: Vines Netted (August 10, 2012)

I've more or less finished netting the grapes vines. A few rocks have to be repositioned to hold down the margins. The electric fence will soon be on. I'm hoping this year to shut out the animals before they figure out there's anything of interest hanging on the vines. In the past I've generally thrown the nets on in a hurry--in response to mangled branches and missing grapes. It seemed wise to get them on before the grapes take on color and become tempting. The Sangiovese grapes are just beginning to turn. The Cabernet grapes are still green. Hoping for the best....

Wines I'm Making: The Critters Are at it again (September 8, 2011)

I had hoped this year to completely foil the critters (probably raccoons--although I've never been able to catch anyone in the act), but I looked at the grapes this morning and found about 25 clusters of Sangiovese mostly stripped of grapes and the Cabernet disturbed in a few places as well. It's so discouraging.....

That said, it's my own fault. While I netted the grapes a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't finished completely securing all the possible entry points, particularly at the top of the vines, and I hadn't yet turned on the electric fence. Needless to say, I'll be doing both today, securing things (I hope) before nightfall.

I checked some of the fallen grapes with my refractometer. They tested between 15.5 and 17 brix. I aim to harvest at about 24.5 brix, so we still have about a month to go, I'm guessing, but the grapes are (obviously) already ripe enough to attract animals. Past experience has taught me that about 14 brix is sweet enough for a raccoon to find a grape attractive.

Looking back at old posts about the ongoing fight with the various animals that want my grapes as much as I do, I see that I've put the nets on as early as August 12th in the past. I think I need a new rule--ALWAYS get the electric fence on and the nets secure (including the top nets that cover the seam in the nets that run lengthwise along the rows) by August 1. That way (one hopes) all access is denied long before the animals have any reason to pay attention to the fruit. I'll try it next year. The problem with winemaking is that you do it all only once a year. It's easy to forget from year to year what works and what doesn't.

Wines I'm Making: Grapes Netted (August 24, 2011)

I got the nets on the grapes today. The berries started to take color about a week or so ago (both the Sangiovese and the Cabernet Sauvignon)--maybe a trifle earlier. As the grapes take on color and begin to gain a little sweetness, they become attractive to raccoons and other animals. I've noticed that a sugar level of around 14 brix is enough to please a raccoon, although to make wine that will please a human, the sugar  needs to be at around 24 brix. I think this is the first year I've succeeded in getting up a physical barrier before losing any grapes. The sulfur I used this year seemed to mix better in the sprayer and create a heavier layer on the grapes, so they are virtually mildew-free as well. I'm very much hoping to lose almost none of the grapes on the vines at the moment, but harvest is still about six weeks away.

Wines I'm Making: Electric Fence On

Turned on the electric fence around the grapes yesterday. Will try to put on the nets today, to keep away the various varmints that eat the fruit. Looking at the grapes yesterday, the crop will be small. Fruit set was pretty poor because of the cool, wet weather we had around flowering. The Sangiovese has done better than the Cabernet. In fact, I should drop some of the fruit on the Sangiovese vines.

[Update] Got the nets on yesterday, the 13th. Already lost some fruit, despite the electric fence. I'm hoping the nets and the fence together will protect the rest. I tested a few berries for ripeness. I was surprised to find them already at 17 brix.