Any impact from early rains?

Sonoma and Napa are getting light early rain, and I wonder what fruit is still on the vines.

I read a winemaker in one of the long threads say that in Burgundy (probably other traditional regions in Europe too), some modest rains in the last month before harvest are common, and it’s not necessarily a problem.

I expect that if they wait for the sun to come back out for a couple of days before picking, it will be fine. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, though.

I think it’s only a problem if you have unfavorable conditions, like cold and overcast so it doesn’t dry out, or warm and humid which can favor mold and rot of various kinds. Today is dry, clear, slightly breezy, good conditions after a rain. I have vines in my back yard, got 1/4 inch of pretty heavy rain yesterday, everything is clean and dry now.

How’s 2019 looking for domaine de la Rath

Terroir is real. I have none, lol. I just grow them for fun and education. Made wine once, it was abysmal.

Rained hard out here in Napa/Sonoma area, but with the wind and heat all is good. Shouldn’t be an issue at all in majority of vineyards.

you know what they always say Alan

Producer, producer, producer

Ha, maybe Mugnier or Roumier could make something drinkable from my fruit. I’ll ask them [wow.gif]

Got completely soaked yesterday during pick in El Dorado County. Started sprinkling during pick, but got torrential when I was loading grapes onto truck. Think I managed to cover the bins just in time with tarps and other bins, but high stakes nevertheless.

Now we are about to get a heat spike. What does the year look like to our producers?

Barring a hurricane or multiple tornadoes, I’m pretty confident the weather flip flops we are having will not reduce the quantity nor quality of the wine this vintage. Might hit 100 degrees on Tuesday in case anybody is having trouble getting their brix high enough and cool it down for three days if they need to be left on the vine a little longer. For the last three days I’ve seen truck after truck hauling bins of red grapes both north and south on Silverado Trail, so many are picking.

We have seen no ill effects from the rain, it’s just important to let the grapes re-balance afterwards. With some heat on Tues and dry, warm conditions we will pick a lot of grapes over the next two days.

Helped sort Mindego Ridge PN (just north of Alpine Vyd., same soil type) Wednesday for a friend’s winery. No rain effect. Fruit looked great. We’ll have to do a comparative tasting in a few years. Rhys Alpine Vyd. and Mindego Vyds. from Mindego, Fogarty, Sandar & Hem and Kutch.

What variety(ies)?

Syrah

My fruit is in. It was an easy growing season. I brought mine in after the rain and when the vines had time to dry out. With a canopy like mine, the rain never truly hits the fruit, unless it is windy. No rain in the next few days in the forecast, but they are calling for high temps and plenty of wind.