Harvest Report 2005

Another growing season draws to a close. We harvested Butterdragon Hill today. Baconbrook was harvested on Monday.

It’s amazing how much energy and worry can go in to having grapes on the vine. Until 2000 when we planted a vineyard, I never worried about the weather beyond wondering whether I should carry an umbrella or not. But what a season! Five years, and I’m still waiting for a “normal” growing season. If you follow these sorts of things, you may remember that the weather in Northern California during the Spring and Summer of 2005 was anything but normal. Typically, our rainy season lasts from sometime in November to March or so. Not the case this year. We got a significant amount of rain in to June!

So how did it all go?

The extra rain thru an extended rainy season meant high farming costs. We had to deal with extreme vine growth and vigor. Vineyard management was a challenge as we tried to take advantage of the natural moisture in the soil (more desirable than irrigation) while avoiding growing simple, fat, watery berries or just a jungle of leaves. It seems we were successful. Although the crops were quite large, complex flavors developed slowly over the long, mild growing season. We’re quite excited about our 2005 vintage.
I’ll post final numbers on this harvest as soon as possible.