The cooler weather forecast for this week could set the vintage back even further. Sunshine is more important for ripening than heat, so fog would slow down ripening more than a cooling trend. Fog is unusual in San Felipe this time of year, so we’ll see how the rest of the week plays out. Our crop is relatively small, which will be an advantage: the vines should be able to fully ripen a smaller crop before they start shutting down for winter.

One advantage of cooler weather at this point is that the fruit should hold its acidity longer, ensuring a good acid balance at picking. It’s always a tradeoff to wait for fuller, riper flavors while the acidity naturally drops as the grapes mature. We should see some vibrant wines this vintage that present good ripe flavors combined with a lively structure.

Another issue throughout the wine region this year is an uneven crop. Veraison was very long and uneven, and we still have some green clusters that never turned color. We’ll go through the vineyard this week to thin out those clusters, as well as the small second crop, which will allow the vines to focus on ripening the main crop and give us a more consistent flavor profile from cluster to cluster.