Today at 12 Noon EDT, 9AM PDT the Harvest Report

[David M. Bueker]

Randy - far be it from me to suggest involving the EBob'ers, but several grapegrowers/winemakers participate in a weather/harvest thread over there. I know you have an account & perhaps one or two might be willing to call in if you send them a private message through the board. One of the key participants in the thread is Casey Hartlip who provides grapes for one of Steve Edmunds' wines.

Hi, Randy. I got my first grapes the same day they started in Champagne. We had established a planting of Gamay in granite a couple years ago, and these were the first grapes from that planting, and first of '07. The site is at around 3,000 feet elevation, near Camino, a few miles east of Placerville. In general things in the foothills are a couple weeks earlier this year than last, due to a mild spell late last winter that got things off to an early start. The season itself has been generally pretty nice, pretty even. The grapes we've brought in thus far, Gamay, Pinot Gris, Vermentino and Grenache Blanc (from a new planting) and a bit of Syrah all seem very good. Expecting more Syrah, and some Grenache within a week or so. Keeping my fingers crossed.
David; Casey indicated this morning (on WCWN) that his harvest is essentially completely normal, vis a vis timing, this year. He won't be picking for another couple of weeks, at the earliest.
Steve

[David M. Bueker]

Very warm April gave the vines a jump start. But many producers won't be harvesting for a while yet. Just because the harvest has been started doesn't mean everyone is harvesting.

[Robin Garr]

This looks ugly ...

Wet weather takes toll on French wine harvest
2 hours ago

PARIS (AFP) — France is bracing for one of its smallest grape harvests in 20 years, hit by a summer of storms and plant diseases brought on by wet weather, the national winegrowers' office said Tuesday.

National production is expected to plunge seven percent compared to 2006, reaching 49.1 million hectolitres (1.3 billion US gallons), the French national office of fruit, wine and horticulture, VINIFLHOR, said.

The 2007 harvest is set to fall 3.8 million hectolitres short of its average over the last five years, to its worst level since the devastating European heatwave of 2003.

A string of storms and rainy periods disturbed the process of flower and fruit formation, while all French vineyards reported outbreaks of mildew and millerandage, when grapes in a bunch mature at different rates, the office said.

It noted the poor French harvest was part of a trend across southern Europe, with drops in grape production also predicted in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece. Only central European countries are expecting grape volumes to rise.

Grape harvesting kicked off late last month in most French regions, and is set to continue through September.

Agence-France-Presse report

For any one interested in Spain and having some direct contact this is a nerv wracking harvest.

After a cool and rainy period weather Spain is now getting cold weather from the north.

Harvest is in most areas 15 days after normal with few grapes on the vines.

If weather will be good this can in many cases mean we are heading for exceptional wines!!! However botrytis is the enemy and it is spreading. How bad will it be? That depends on the weather.

If they get a reasonably sunny September and little rain. 2007 can be great. If not we look at a potential 2002, which by the way was excellent in certain micro climates:

Best
Fredrik Svensson

Lyle Fass was telling me that his sources are hyping the potential of this vintage in Germany.

Although that is probably a constant as far as pre-vintage gossip goes I guess..

[David M. Bueker]

The one constant is that outside of a total disaster (e.g. 2002 in Barolo or Chateauneuf) the great producers will still make wonderful wines, just not much wine. They will select like crazy for something to declare as vintage of the eternity.

[David M. Bueker]

Lyle Fass was telling me that his sources are hyping the potential of this vintage in Germany.

Although that is probably a constant as far as pre-vintage gossip goes I guess..

By the way Rahsaan - be sure that's not just Lyle hyping the vintage.

By the way Rahsaan - be sure that's not just Lyle hyping the vintage.

I think the rigorous-selection issue is correct.

As of last Thursday, the harvest in Piedmont was 2-plus weeks ahead of normal, quality seems at least good. Anna Maria Abbona tells me that she'll be picking Dolcetto this week; I saw some beautiful Barbera grapes in the Asti area

I understand in Amador County, California, harvesting whites started a week ago and reds this week, which I would guess puts them a week or two ahead of schedule. Yields on the whites (in this case, Sauvignon Blanc but I understand it to be true generally in the area) are down but quality is said to be very good.

[David M. Bueker]

From the sounds of the weather forecasts there will be rigorous selection required everywhere.

I know that with careful selection great estates can make great wine, but that does not make it a great vintage. The hype has outlived it usefulness and sense. I know Robert Weil or Leoville Las Cases or Mugneret-Gibourg will make wonderful wines. They do it every year. That does not make every year a vintage of the century.

The overall level of hype that surrounds even the most mediocre growing seasons makes buying wine distatseful.

David,

What are they supposed to do? Tell you the unshaded truth? Come on.

When was the last time you bought a car, or a house, or went to a restaurant, or shopped for clothes? Marketing makes the world go around.

If you want to know the truth, taste the wine. But you knew that already.

[David M. Bueker]

If marketing makes the world go 'round then I'll take my chances off-planet.

You do raise a point though. It actually is the truth that Robert Weil or Donnhoff or Leoville Las Cases (to name a few examples) will make very good (at the bare minimum) to outstanding wine almost no matter what the conditions. The problem is that then the less distinguished estates use their performance as an excuse to tout the vintage and raise prices.

It's sad.

Just my personal observations from where I live. This would include Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and the Niagara Escarpment in NY State. I believe the Finger Lakes and Lake Erie would be similar. This Summer has been a warmer than average, sunnier than average and dryer than average. If the weather continues like this is would be a great vintage for the area, especially for Pinot Noir, Cab Franc, Merlot and other reds. More intense and lower acid whites should be expected also. Perhaps better than the 2005.

I have all of 4 vines of Steubens put in 3 years ago. This is the first year they are bearing fruit. A couple of months ago I thought black rot had set in, but now things are looking very good. Big bunches of increasingly purple grapes.

I don't have a refractometer(sp.?) so I can't say exactly how far along things are. I'll taste a few in a couple of days, provided the racoons haven't struck by then. The word is they wait untilt about 18 Brix.