The weather has been quite changeable the last few weeks (global warming), from 14 degree days right up to 34 degrees. From rain all day to hot and dry. Last week was hot, really hot, well into the low to mid thirties, and humid, a risk for Oidium. The days were starting off at 18-20 degrees at 5 am and the sweat was pouring off the brow by 8 am.
Pinot Noir, Ritoznoj
The vines have been getting plenty of water and with the hot days are growing like crazy, it is hard to keep up. The poor weather, especially periods of cold during flowering has caused some problems and fruit set is not perfect. Some bunches are untouched, some have a small percentage of missing berries, and then some bunches are completely ruined. This is not the end of the world for us as we usually reduce the crop anyway, just this year nature is doing some of the work for us.
Not the most focussed of photos (stupid phone). But evidence of problem weather during flowering
Last night saw some hardcore storms, with very heavy rainfall. Hail, and reports of 50mm of rain falling in one and a half hours in the region. We escaped the hail, no damage to report in our vineyards. Though the cellar was flooded, and sunday morning was spent cleaning the winery’s drain (yes, I did smell good after) and evacuating the water, the romance of winemaking.