Countdown

It's hard to remember an August quite like this.

The mornings greet us in the vineyard with dew kissed grape clusters, and overflowing rain gauges (four plus inches on a recent torrential night.)

Breezy afternoons where the thermometer hovers at 70.

Rain gear and jackets that normally wouldn't see the light of day until October are summoned from musty storage.

And so the pleasant work of Veraison, the season when the vines ripen their fruit, carries on in the vineyard.

Our six varietals, August 14, beginning to show their harvest hues.

Imperfect clusters are culled from the vines.

Clusters are gathered, weighed, tasted, and chemically analyzed to track ripening.

Bird netting is installed.

Normally in this season, our concerns are staying hydrated and watching for sun stroke, as we race the clock  to fully dress the vines for harvest.

This year we have to remember to pack an extra jacket, and be on the look out for mold and mildew on the damp vines.

So while it makes a pleasant work day for the vineyard workers, the vines themselves would prefer it much hotter and drier.

If our previous harvest seasons in Canton, Ohio have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected:

And so it is: another unusual season among the vines.

But, what a beautiful season it has been.

Each day forward on the countdown to harvest, we will be posting here a picture or an observation  from the vines.

Labor that began among snow rollers in a Vortex-frozen January vineyard, continues its steady march through an unseasonably cool August.

Anything can yet happen:

Stay tuned, and watch it unfold.

Bushels of imperfect fruit, culled from the vines.