The dog days of summer

I know that technically it is already Fall. That is what the calendar says. But right now it feels like the dog-days of Summer. The mornings are cold but clear. The sunrise is amazing. Usually we only glimpse the sunrise if we are lucky enough to be on our way to the airport for an early flight, or the baby couldn’t sleep or we are stuck in traffic on the way to an early job. But when you take the time to pause and look at the event itself as it happens, it is quite breathtaking.

We have been lucky enough this harvest to see several inspiring sunrises. The Willamette Valley is usually drenched with fog and the Douglass Fir trees poke up through the mist like ships at sea.

The days right now though are warm; in the low 70’s. And it feels like summer is still with us.

We have harvested all of the Bergstrom Vineyard and the fruit was magnificent. We enter the de Lancellotti Vineyard on Saturday and Monday to hand-harvest the remaining fruit off of 12 acres and it looks very very promising.

Shea Vineyard still has the Pommard and Dijon-828 blocks to pick which will happen on Monday. Hyland, Temperance Hill and Nysa are still hanging fruit and will probably hang through the next rain event to further build their flavors. No Riesling has entered the building although we are almost finished with our Chardonnay. Anderson Family Vineyard Chardonnay came in yesterday and looked and tasted absolutely gorgeous.