The normal process of flowering, set (I’m a berry!) and shatter (Oops! I’m not a berry, I’m falling off now!) can be short and sweet if the weather cooperates or long and frustrating if the weather is excessively cold, excessively hot or excessively wet.

It was excessively wet weather during bloom this year which has affected set which affects yield which affects the amount of fruit that we can sell. It has taken us until now to begin to determine the final tally of losses because it is just too hard to find clusters without having the leaves removed first which we are now doing as part of our efforts to increase light exposure on just the morning side of the vine rows through leaf removal.

Early Assessment Results:

Cabernet – down 25-35%
Zinfandel – down 25% (this may have also been an issue of damaged fruiting buds during the heat wave that specifically damaged Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel vines last year)
Sauvignon blanc – down 25-45%
Sauvignon musque – down 25-45%
Viognier – down 25-45%

Other Varieties (normal or slightly below normal):

Merlot
Malbec
Petit verdot
Petite sirah
Chardonnay

Unfortunately, I just will not have the abundance of Cabernet to sell that I normally do but there should be enough of other varieties to make everyone happy!