The Wine Knows

This morning, I found the first evidence of impending harvest: veraison.

A few berries on each vine of my humble backyard Sangiovese "vineyard" (nine vines) showed a bit of pinkish red, the first color change I've noticed this summer.

Seeing as it's Aug. 3, I would estimate that my vines are fewer than five days behind last year. That's a remarkable amount of catching up after our long, cool spring in the Columbia Valley.

However, temperatures this week are expected to reach into the high 90s and low 100s, and that will not help. When the mercury goes above about 95 degrees, vines go into survival mode, shutting down any growth to get through the heat. Thus, we will see ripening for fewer hours per day.

Temperatures are expected to return to highs in the mid-90s by next weekend, but we will have at least four days in which we reach triple digits.