So, the sun is shining again and everything is rosy. The 10-day forecast is promising, and flavors are developing nicely in the vineyards. As Martha is quick to remind me, however, it was just days ago that the gloomy skies and depressing drizzle had me feeling like we’d never see the sun again, and that all was lost. Welcome to the rollercoaster called Vintage 2011 in the Willamette Valley.

A beautiful morning at Ribbon Ridge Vineyard

I have remained optimistic throughout, because that’s my nature, but I do admit to times of woeful despair and anguish. When all is said and done, we’ll make the best out of what we’ve got, and what we’ve got could still be quite excellent if there’s a shred of truth to the 10-day forecast. I just got back from sampling at Azana and Ribbon Ridge. The warm wind is blowing out of the north, which is usually a good sign, as it brings warmer temperatures and allows all the fruit and vegetation to get nice and dry. It might also dehydrate the grapes a bit, increasing concentration of flavor and the perception of ripeness. So, we shall see…

Our all female harvest crew is in place, and Kelley, Bella and Anna have the winery ready to rock when needed. (Jean-Charles from Beaune was a last-minute cancellation, due to a random skateboard accident in Burgundy! We miss him and wish him a speedy recovery.) I’m hoping we really need it on October 30 & 31 – both “fruit” days on the Biodynamic calendar, ideal days to harvest if the fruit is ready. Now back onto the carousel…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 6:46 pm and is filed under Scott's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.