*The values shown are
the mean of two independent samples from the whole primitivo or barbera field.

**Chemistry of separate clones of remaining barbera with
over 80% picked.  M2=Montevina clone,
rows 36-37; 1B=clone 02; rows 21-27; 1A=Block 1, rows 1-12

*The values shown are
the mean of two independent samples from the whole primitivo or barbera field.

**Chemistry of separate clones of remaining barbera with
over 80% picked.  M2=Montevina clone,
rows 36-37; 1B=clone 02; rows 21-27.

 *The values shown are the mean of two independent samples from the whole primitivo or barbera field.

**Chemistry of separate clones of remaining barbera with over 80% picked.  M2=Montevina clone, rows 36-37; 1B=clone 02; rows 21-27.

Comments:

We got hit with some unexpected and measurable rainfall on Monday, which may have partially undone our efforts to not irrigate our remaining grapes in the last week.  However, we still saw a general rise in brix in the face of that, which was welcome if unexplained.  We’re still waiting for the day that the data makes perfect sense…

Most of the barbera was picked in the last week, so the apparent rise in TA in the remainder we’d have to attribute to some combination of 1) the fact that we picked what we assumed to be the ripest fruit first, thus biasing this week’s sample with the less ripe balance; 2) net dehydration since the big rain of the prior week, which would tend to inflate brix and TA.  What is clear is that the 02 clone sample had notably higher brix and slightly lower TA than the Montevina clone sample, which is typical of what we observe when we have looked at the two clones separately.  The pH of the samples was similar and slightly higher than last week’s whole vineyard sampling. We generally try to get our clients a blend of the two clones, though with the remaining rows at the current time, the 02 looks riper. 

The Quinta touriga nacional gave us a pleasant surprise on brix, making back the lost ground of the prior week and adding more to just reach 25.0.  The TA ticked up slightly, while the pH made progress to 3.30–a similar pattern as the barbera.  The brix progress could not have come at a better time, as this fruit should make up the backbone of the Quinta harvest on Saturday. 

We did some berry sampling (~15 berries) of the supporting cast of varietals in the Quinta, with the following outcome on brix as measured by refractometry:

Tempranillo:  22.4 +/- 1.7

Tinto Cao:  24.7 +/- 1.0

Tinta Amarella:  23.2 +/- 2.1

Souzao:  22.4 +/- 1.3

Particularly surprised by the tempranillo, which had registered higher before, we did our first and only cluster sampling of this fruit given the limited quantities, with results as shown in the table above.  The 23.5 brix reading as measured by hydrometer was a little more like it, and the TA low (0.38) and the pH high (3.60) as we’d expect at this late juncture for tempranillo. 

The touriga (09) added 1 brix of sugar with practically no change in TA or pH.  This represents progress, but we’re still going to need help from Mother Nature in the form of some warm, dry weather in the next few weeks to get the brix where we want. 

 *The values for 9-9-11 are the mean of two independent samples from the whole primitivo field

**These values are the mean of two independent samples from the whole barbera field.

The first big rain of the season had been widely anticipated and, unfortunately, it finally came on Wednesday.  We have received almost 2 inches of rain at Shaker Ridge in the last 36 hours, and an intermittent drizzle continues.  Temperatures have been relatively cool for several days, though conditions were mostly sunny this past week until Tuesday. With the vast majority of this rain behind us, we performed our weekly sampling this morning (Thursday), being careful to drain rain water from the sample buckets before crushing.

Anticipating that this would be a critical week for our barbera, we collected two independent samples of the whole vineyard–good exercise for the sampler and, we hope, good science.  The data showed no net change in sugar–still holding in the mid-25’s brix, no change to a surprising slight decline in pH, and another healthy drop in TA to a mean of 0.95.  We suspect that our grapes took up some water from the considerable rain, likely contributing to the drop in TA, but the increased ratio of brix/TA ratio suggests further real progress in ripening.  This is consistent with the flavors of the juice, which are no longer overtly tart but mostly sweet-tasting.  We think this is the most in balance we’ve seen our barbera of any vintage.  In the coming week, we plan not to irrigate, and with sunshine, warmer temperatures, and mostly green foliage we should be able to bump the brix a little.  However, the wet, relatively tight and large barbera clusters are at risk for mildew/rot with the rain, so there is some risk in waiting to harvest.  We would suggest that the fruit is ripe and that the time is right for harvest in the next week. 

The Quinta touriga nacional showed an apparent slight decline in sugar, which we attribute to water uptake from the significant rain–we have barely irrigated this block in the past week.  However, like the barbera, a disproportionately large drop in TA was observed, again suggesting some real ripening.  The pH was baffling–we can’t account for the slight decline.  The Quinta will receive no irrigation in the coming week, and we’ll see if we can get the brix up by harvest on the 15th.  Given some large clusters particularly in the very ripe tempranillo and ripe tinta amarela and the risk of rot from the recent rain, we wouldn’t hazard harvesting any later than planned.

The touriga nacional (2009) showed no siginficant change in brix, but a sizable drop in TA, and managed a slight rise in pH, suggesting nice ripening progress.  This fruit is coming along, and with sunshine and no further irrigation in this block, we can hopefully get the brix to a respectable level with time.