We strive to maintain quality in every vineyard activity.

MID-SUMMER VERASION IS THE TIME TO STEP UP QUALITY  

Verasion begins in mid-July in our vineyard.  During this period, the grapes suddenly begin to accumulate sugar at a very rapid rate and the berries begin to turn from green to purple.  During the six-week period from mid-July to the end of August, the sugar in the grapes  moves from about 5° Brix (5% sugar ) to 26° Brix (26% sugar). This ripening process is due to the magic of photosynthesis.   

This is a critical time in the vineyard, and we pay extremely close attention to the grapes during this period.  The grapes need warm days with temperatures between 85 and 95 degrees with no rain. Night time temperatures average between 55 - 65 degrees.  In addition, the irrigation regime must be carefully controlled. Too much water can pump up the bunches with excess moisture and maybe even cause the vines to start growing new leaves and shoots. Too little water can cause the vine to wilt and defoliate.  In the extreme, the vine will stop producing sugar. Sudden hot spells or cold foggy days can also cause serious problems for the ripening bunches.  

Due to the multiple microclimates within our vineyard, after verasion some of the bunches may have significant quantities of green grapes remaining while the rest of the bunches are purple. As a quality requirement, we go through the vineyard in mid-August looking for bunches that are not at least 2/3rds purple. These overly green bunches are cut off and dropped on the ground.  If this were not done the crop wouldn’t have uniform maturity levels.    

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