Harvest 2008 Is Just Around The Corner

Well, after being away for six weeks, I am now just getting back up to speed on how my grapes are doing and am planning to do some vineyard visits over the next couple of weeks. Although there was a late frost in April and some showers and high winds during bloom (when the grape buds start to flower), the summer has been pretty perfect with temperatures in the 80’s helping the grapes to ripen evenly. The Napa Valley Grapegrowers held a press conference yesterday and they are predicting “an exceptional vintage of pristine grapes with lower than average yields in a year marked by extreme growing conditions.” (Click hear to read their full press release) Sounds pretty impressive! I’m sure some of it is marketing hype, but I’m not one to complain. Great grapes make great wine and from what I have already seen, I have to agree that 2008 has the potential to be an excellent vintage. You’ll just have to stay tuned to see how it evolves over the next few months.

I expect my grapes from Furlong Estates Vineyard in the Alexander Valley to be ready for harvest probably around the first week in September whereas the grapes from Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa and St. Mark’s Vineyard in the Russian River Valley probably wont ripen until sometime in mid to late October. I’ll post an update with pictures sometime in the next few weeks.

So, let’s all raise a glass to the start of Harvest 2008.

On another note, my sister Kylie has started blogging for SBS - a multicultural broadcasting service in Australia. If you want to read her post on BritDoc 2008 (a conference on documentary films) then follow this link.