Have to say … I am really uncomfortable with the Tex and Casey attacks on Merrill. Merrill has always been lovely to me, I’ve enjoyed the bottles I have bought from her and I appreciate her notes on weather. I have no idea what “Ray Ray” style activities you are hinting at but this hinting and trashing without at least making a specific claim that can be analyzed and countered is just sleazy. And having seen Casey do this before, it always reads particularly sexist for sure.
104 in Glen Ellen. Am at an AirBNB, and it is hot A.F. Air conditioner here not up to par, house still in mid 80s. With these temps, and no inside tasting rooms open, looks like we’re going to be sipping rose by the pool the next 5 days.
What’s with bashing Merrill? i’m sipping a 2011 Black Cat special edition at this very moment and its some good stuff. Hard to believe it’s even from an “off” vintage. And in a thread about the weather, of all things? WTF people?
Yeah, add me to the list - I am a big fan of Merrill’s – she’s been lovely to me, too – and really don’t understand what’s going on.
From what I’m seeing, lots of folks are pushing up harvest due to the heat wave. 90s and 100s in the immediate Bay Area, so can only imagine what it’s like up in Napa and Sonoma.
And I’m so bored of people like Rath and Landreth on this forum causing drama. Don’t you Boomers/retirees have anything better to do with your time than post on WB?
This weather talk is fascinating!
Question: just how much heat does it take to become hot hot heat and affect a vintage?
Is 2020 a strategically different event?
(No innuendo, etc, intended. There are multiple strings within the thread. I am only talking temp/harvest,)
Having an opinion on what grape variety grows better and makes better wine is sexist?
Just in from a quick survey of my vineyard on my small ranch. Happy to report that there are no signs of sunburn on my fruit. No end to 100 degree afternoons in sight, but Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as of this moment look to be the worst.
I have stopped culling fruit I don’t want in the bottle - those pink berries just might catch up in this heat, and I may well be dropping sunburned clusters to the ground.
I’m going to continue reporting on my experiences in my vineyard and neighboring vineyards over on the Weather and Farming thread on Cellar Rats. There, other farmers and other interested folks post all year long. There is more to a vintage than one brutal heat wave! See you over there!
I have a very nice location where I can see what’s happening at other Cabernet farmers’ vineyards. Within a stones throw are the famous Eisele Vineyard, Frediani Vineyards, Fisher, Kenefick, Luvisi. And a quick ride up the street and I can see what’s going on at Kelly Fleming’s place. Hundred Acre is up there, but hidden on the hillside behind gates so not visible. Some awfully nice labels producing awfully nice Cabernet in my neighborhood!
We have no AC at our place here in Santa Rosa and instead rely on good insulation and cool nights to bring us back down to baseline. Overnight we only got back down to 76 degrees in here. Looks like we’ll really be cookin’ by Wednesday.
We didn’t have anything anywhere near this hot for anywhere near as long in 2018 or 2019. 2019 we had a heat spike in late September - so a lot of earlier-ripening stuff was picked out by then anyway - but it only topped 100 degrees for 2 days and the weather on either side was much cooler.
Couldn’t agree more, Merrill. Add to this illustrious list Levy & McClellan, Amoenus (Maybach & Turnbull), Larkmead (which sells fruit to many great brands including Rivers Marie), Hourglass, The Grade, Realm, etc.
Cabernet Sauvignon clearly does quite well in many parts of Calistoga. Of course, not all vineyards in Calistoga are equal, but that is also true everywhere else in the world.
We purchased an extraordinary little 25 year old Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in the Chalk Hill Gap, right next to Turnbull’s Amoenus Vineyard. It’s always a late pick due to the westerly breezes through the gap. In fact, it was the last vineyard to be picked last year. Terrifc quality.
Keep making your beautiful wines & thanks for sharing your insights.
Patrice
Thank you, Patrice. As I pull what will likely be the first Cabernet to go in Napa Valley, your new vineyard (congratulations…now you, too, can be the object of envy!) will be the last to go. No right or wrong…every site is different and every winemaker has a different vision for his or her wines. My vineyard is hanging heavy this year, so if I lose some to sunburn, then it is just part of the course of owning and managing a vineyard. Each year I lose some to frost (not this year), birds, sunburn, etc. It’s all part of the exciting and lovely game some of us get to play!
…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM
PDT SUNDAY for the entire Bay Area due to lightning that could
cause new fire starts…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN San Francisco has issued a Red
Flag Warning…WHICH IS IN EFFECT from 11 PM this evening to 11 AM
PDT Sunday. The Fire Weather Watch IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
-
AFFECTED AREA…The entire San Francisco Bay region including
the Santa Cruz Mountains, the South Bay, East Bay Hills and
North Bay. -
THUNDERSTORMS…Thunderstorms are forecast to develop over the
South Bay and Santa Cruz region before midnight and then spread
northward overnight. Not all locations will see thunderstorms
but any lightning strikes will likely lead to new fire starts
given the current heat wave. -
WIND…Light wind except for breezy onshore winds in the
afternoon near the coast. Locally gusty winds possible near any
thunderstorms. -
HUMIDITY…Minimum humidity mid 10s to mid 20s percent across
the higher elevations and interior & 30 to 50 percent
nearshore and lower elevation for today. Recoveries Saturday
night in the 30s to 50s across the interior and 60s to 90s
alongshore. -
IMPACTS…Increase in wildfire starts in proximity to
thunderstorms due to lightning. Fires may spread rapidly due to
dry fuels and, if nearshore, breezy onshore winds.
People don’t want to admit that most of California is a desert.
No worries CA with those night time temps. We make And sell lots of sweet wine here in Ohio. Should we all be buying Okanagan land?
I hope you get your coolidge back fast!
Wait, is this wrong thread?
How Bush league of me.
Because it’s not. I think they said something to that effect in Chinatown about Southern California but that still isn’t true. A large swath of the southeastern part of the state is desert. Most of the state is considered Mediterranean climate which is not the same as desert.
This of course could change in a few decades.
There is a reference map here:
What Roger Bohmrich was talking about was a complete change in the varietals planted in Napa. He felt that Cab would not be king much longer. Looking at Portuguese and Spanish Varietals like Touriga Nacional that might survive the heat. And I don’t understand anyone attacking Merrill. Why?
I’ll grant you that nothing trumps lincoln two threads with the same bad pun to filmore space.
And that is why I love, you, man. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
It’s why I keep your picture in a frame on my van buren.
Truman, tru!