The 2016 growing season began about the same as in 2015, with bud-break and bloom times very similar. Veraison, however, is different in 2016. The white varietals seem to have about the same veraison time as in 2015, but the red varietals are later to hit veraison in 2016 compared to last year. This should be good news for winemakers because there should be more separation in ripening dates between the white grapes and red grapes than last year. The harvest of 2015 was very difficult due to the white and red grape varietals ripening close together. So this year’s harvest should be a little more relaxed.
The separation between the white varietals and reds this year can be somewhat explained by the differences in heat patterns. April, May and June were very warm in both 2015 and 2016, but July 2016 was much cooler than last year.
- July 2016 maximum temperatures averaged 84.4 with average minimum temperatures of 59.3.
- July 2015 maximum temperatures averaged 89.5 with average minimum temperatures of 63.4
That is a lot of heat difference! Additionally, July 2016 had multiple rain showers, higher humidity and less wind than in July 2015. This is likely the reason for greater separation in white and red varietals at veraison.
August has turned warm — hot actually — so we will see what happens for harvest. The weather is supposed to be in the upper 80’s this week and lower 80’s next week, perfect weather for photosynthesis. If this weather keeps up, look for grapes to ripen at a good pace.
We are now adjusting crop loads around the vineyard. Cluster sizes seem more or less normal so we are using cluster counts similar to last year. Skin color looks good and the vine canopies are strong. This should be a very good year for Stillwater Creek fruit.
We just ran our first set of grapes samples so everyone should be looking to the website for harvest data. The Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot are showing brix of 22, so we will likely sample again early next week. PHOTOS