Blog

San Luis Obispo Wine Country: Veraison of Pinot Noir

Thursday, July 17th

It’s mid July, and as we look onto our estate vineyards, we see our Pinot Noir clusters turning from a youthful shade of green to its classic purplish hue.  What does this mean in the world of viticulture?  Well, it’s a clear indication that veraison has started.  This French term means the “onset of ripening” in the vineyard.  From here on out, the sugars in the grapes (in the form of glucose and fructose) will start to accumulate, the berries will soften, and the anthocynins (which gives the grapes its red color) will continue developing within the skins.

What’s interesting is just how early verasion has occurred.  This stage of a vineyard’s annual growth cycle typically begins in the later part of July/early August.  Ever since our warm, dry winter the vineyards in the Edna Valley have been ahead of schedule all year.  So it wasn’t much of a surprise when we started noticing signs of versaison around 4^th of July.

Though our young Estate Pinot Noir vineyard is looking healthy, we must continue working in the vineyard to ensure a bountiful harvest.  Our newly appointed Assistant Winemaker, Zack Geers, has been leaf pulling this week to give better ventilation and fruit exposure to each vine.  He has also dropped any excess clusters that might be bunched too closely together.   This is an important process, allowing for vines/fruit to acquire the right amount of nutrients and also reducing the risk of bunch rot.

Vineyard Flowering in the Edna Valley

Thursday, May 15th

Today we are reminded that summer is just around the corner. Temperatures reached 99 degrees here in the Edna Valley today, a record high, just as our Claiborne Vineyard Estate Riesling is finishing up its flowering process. As with bud break this year, the dry and warm winter and spring set the stage for early flowering and fruit set. We figure that at present we are about two and a half weeks ahead of schedule.

Let’s talk flowers. Though a grapevine’s “flowers” are not much to look at, they are an integral part of the vine’s annual cycle, where small flower clusters appear on the tips of the young shoots. At this time pollination and fertilization of the vine take place, resulting in a grape berry.

As seen in the photos below, most of the clusters still have a few flowers left. Once they’ve finished flowering, the grape berries will be set and ready for growth. Harvest begins roughly three and a half months from the time of flowering and fruit set. By the look of these clusters, we’re in for an early yet sizable harvest!

Breaking Bud

Tuesday, April 8th

Anyone who lives in or has visited San Luis Obispo County in January or February knows that these winter months paint our hills with beautifully lush and bright green color.  But this year the lack of rain and a severe drought hindered such landscapes from developing.  During this period, the vineyards throughout the Edna Valley stay dormant, awaiting spring.

So when our Claiborne Vineyard’s buds began to break in March, we welcomed the new growth with open arms.  The term, bud break, is a stage in a vine’s development where the vine buds swell, allowing the first green shoots and leaves to sprout.  Tiny clusters begin to set and the shoots/leaves will grow rapidly in the following weeks.

Due to the warm and dry winter season, bud break started up a couple weeks earlier than usual.  Early bud break increases the risk of frost damage that can occur if temperatures drop to freezing.  Thankfully, our vineyard is nestled in part of the Edna Valley where the cool ocean breeze helps maintain ideal temperatures during this time.

In early May the vineyard’s fruit will be fully set and we will be able to gauge what kind of yields we’ll have this fall.  So much excitement ahead!

Planted in 2006, our Claiborne Vineyard became Claiborne & Churchill’s first ever estate vineyard.  We’ve seen the vineyard mature over the last several years, and we now produce over 200 cases of Estate Dry Riesling from the 2 acre plot.

2013 “Cuvée Elizabeth” Dry Rosé of Pinot Noir

Tuesday, April 1st

Bottling of our 2013 Dry Rosé of Pinot Noir. Available in our tasting room April 23, 2014!