The propane cannon is working just often enough to scare a robin out of the vineyard while not so often that the neighbors are at the door with pitchforks and torches. The deer and elk are at bay though the elk are mighty anxious to take out the woven wire gate that separates them from the pinot noir which are now no longer green but have taken on the dark colors of harvest.
While the merlot we purchased from Richland, WA afew weeks ago is about to be pressed to produce a full-bodied red and its lighter fractions are fermenting as rose’, our own pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot gris are still low in sugars and high in acids.
Our Weather Wizard, Kyle Dittmer, and the National Weather Service agree that showery, cool weather starts Friday and continues through next week. Fortunately, we made it through the last rainy period without any damage and the same is likely for the next episode. But watch for the third big rain of the fall season. That’s the one that will bring in the birds and finish the 2017 harvest so stay tuned.
