Wine growing is not for the individual seeking instant gratification.

After nearly three years we are approaching a milestone, the harvesting of our first crop.  After that it's wait a few years for the wine to mature and develop its character. This weekend we dropped approx 75 lbs. of fruit (cluster thinning) and netted the vineyard.  The netting is to keep the birds away as the vineyard goes through veriason and the grapes sweeten going from green to dark purple.

We have been waiting three years to net a crop and it was a very exciting hard working Saturday.

The first dropping of fruit is done to ensure the best fruit remains on the vine and will come to ripeness. Fruit that is on small shoots, or too many clusters on a shoot will reduce the fruit quality for wine making.  We will do a second dropping of fruit at the finish of veraison.  Any clusters that are lagging and still mostly green when the rest of the crop has finished veraison will be dropped.  This is done to ensure an even brix and acid level at harvest preventing an herbavacious or bitter taste to the finished wine. We are under no illusions of great wine but as winegrowers we want to do everything in our power (rather limited)  to insure the highest quality wine possible. The rest is up to the earth and the grape.

After all the dropping of fruit (approx 100-200lbs,) we project a harvest of between 600 and 800 lbs of Brunello VCR-06 grapes.   To put it another way, between 300 and 400 bottles of finished wine.

A great weekend at Herons' Flight  Vineyard.