My Vineyard Blog August 2009

August Heatwave

The heat is not letting up and we are already seeing some damage to the grapes, especially among the newly planted vines and the Trincadeira 2000, much of which is planted on relatively shallow soils. If the grapes start to raisinize the sugar levels rise rapidly which will make for unbalanced wines. It looks as though we are going to have to start picking along with everyone else at the start of September to save the crop from the heat.

I promised myself not to talk about the weather...

I made a promise to myself that I would not talk too much about the weather but this year is proving to be unusual to say the least. Up until the early part of this month the summer has been relatively cool and not without rain but now the thermometer has  shot up into the high 30s. The heat is relentless (even at night time) and unless it cools down we are heading for a very early vintage which will be a challenge for all concerned.