2010 proved to be another very challenging year in the vineyard, with the weather playing havoc all year long. Unlike 2009 we did manage to get a small harvest this year, but both quality and quantity were well below what we had hoped for.
Merlot grapes being harvested and sorted, harvest 2010.
This year started with a long wet and cool spring season extending into May, but with all the rain we had an amazing display of flowers in and around the vineyard this year. We mowed the vineyard as soon as the ground dried out in early May and had to deal with a cover crop that was nearly 6 ft high. Then as spring turned into “summer” we had cold misty mornings with the coastal mist not lifting until midday, and then afternoon temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s which caused the growing season to be slowed considerable with not enough sun or heat to bring the vines along. We saw veraison with the Cabernet Sauvignon in Mid August and the other varietals even further behind. Normally we would see all the vines in full verasion by the beginning of August. The cold misty mornings also provided the perfect conditions for the formation of powdery mildew. So we had to spray more than normal to keep the mildew under control, as well as remove enough leaves to allow air to get into the grapes to help keep them dry. Then we had an incredible heat spike in late August the “fried “and ruined the exposed fruit. Needless to say between dropping the green unripe fruit at verasion and then having to go back into the vineyard and drop the dried fruit we lost a lot of crop.
Then to finish a really unpleasant year in the vineyard we had really early rains in October and the first signs of mold on the grapes, while the sugars were well below the desired level. We struggled with mold and fruit ripening too slowly through the rest of the harvest season, causing us to only harvest about half the grapes we had expected and far below the desired quality.
All in all one of the most challenging seasons in the vineyard so far.
