Today was harvest day at the Chateau! All the Sangiovese was harvested for Rosato and for Estate Sangiovese. Average brix was about 22 and the final acidity and ph will be forthcoming from the lab later today. These were the last grapes for the season and 2007 harvest is officially complete for Chateau Julien Wine Estate.
Just an update:
Alright, I have not been as diligent in getting the weekly pictures as you would expect. However, I am the author of the Blog and I love to make the postings. So, The top picture shows the intensity of the fruit for this years Sangiovese. Don't get confused, I do, some of this vineyard goes to Rosato (for a great Rose' Wine) and the balance goes to Sangiovese, or Italian Chianti. Check it out!
Week 23 of the growing season finally brought some color to the grapes. The process ,called verasion, is the coloring of the fruit and the softening of the berries. We are at about 15 brix and need to harvest at 23+. The overall vineyard is healthy and green.
Week 21, brought some sizing in the berries, but little else. These green berries will slowly start to turn red (called verasion). Hopefully in the next few weeks we will see the change. We are probably a week or two behind last year in measuring the maturity of the grapes.
Week Number 19 brought a few new changes to the vineyard. We brought in a crew to pull the leaves and open the fruit to the sunshine. This is a very labor intensive event that took a few days. The grapes are now directly exposed to the sunshine and we are enjoying a sunshine filled July. The leaves are dropped to the ground and will be disc'd into the soil at a later date.
Week 18 of the 2007 growing season brought cool mornings and warm afternoons. The vine vigor was so great that we hedged this week so we can get into the vineyard rows. Our tractor has the ability to hedge the vines back and open up the canopy. The pictures show how neatly this process works. As you can also see, the grapes are sizing and the weather is perfect.
Well, Week 17 of the 2007 harvest season is in full swing. The crop is growing, set is complete and mother nature must now do her job. As you can tell, the vine is putting energy into both vine growth (increased canopy) and fruit maturation.
Week 16 brought incredible cane growth. As you can tell the vineyard rows are filling in with green. During week 15, bloom was is full swing. The vineyard is properly manicured and has a great feel of harvest coming. The clusters are beginning to size and the harvest looks smaller than usual. We will keep you informed!
Week 14 brought on rapid growth. You could almost hear and see the vines growing. We finally got our warmest days of the year, so far. It was 87 degrees this morning, a new high for the year. Bloom "Flowering" has almost finished and we now are looking at a crop. 
