A note from the winemaker
While the forecast is for a warmer than ever summer, so far our vineyards in the Willamette Valley are looking great. A generally warmer spring kept frost damage to a minimum and the weeks of warm but not sweltering weather in June have combined to make the 2016 vintage (so far) almost perfect. Growers in the area are talking of a more normal vintage, with lots of spacing between clusters, unlike the last few years where more clusters and big shoulders made for unusually large harvests.
In the face of a promising 2016 spring, the weather in the Pacific Northwest is trending up with record changes in growing degree days compared to the warm 2015 weather.
The first signs of veraison (the first hints of purple color in the grape skin) looks like our grapes will be showing color in an early (but not super-early) mid-August if the current weather trends continue. Of course, you never know what Mother Nature has to offer!
