Veraison is underway and appears to be a little earlier than last year. The grapes are ripening rapidly.
We are now adjusting crop loads and have completed the first pass on all the white grapes and are through most of the Merlot. We leave more grapes on the vines than we want at harvest on this first pass and will return to make a final adjustment before picking. During this first pass, we drop clusters from short shoots, balled fruit, fruit that is very green and begin adjusting to near target yields. We will return later and make a final adjustment to the crop load, leaving the best fruit to harvest.
If you are interested in veraison data, follow this link to check the date each block reaches 100%.