This summer’s growing season ranked among the warmest during the last decade, exceeded only by 2015’s bounty of fruit-forward wines. This week’s rains, though predicted to be around 3 inches, were less than expected, diminishing the chances for botrytis bunch rot.
Botrytis is encouraged by berries bursting their skins when too much water soaks the soil after a long drought which, in the most recent period, was about ninety days. Though the variable weather of an Oregon fall may change our plans, we are expecting harvest during the second week in October. Â
For wine club members, we are planning a crush party tentatively tied to the time when we press the fermented pinot noir grapes and fill the barrels. This year, we will be seeking your perceptions of a number of new and current wines as to the descriptors that we publish about each of the wines we serve on our tasting menu. Click here for more information on Helvetia Wine Club.
