Véraison is here!

Some Pinot Noir vines of the Swan clone  are almost totally colored!

Finally, the long awaited véraison has arrived; that's when the red grapes turn dark and the white grapes become soft and translucent. The season is definitely behind, although not as much as last year. And the weather is beautiful right now, sunny and warm but not beyond the mid-90s.  We are anxiously awaiting the grapes to ripen, so we can munch on them while walking in the vineyard with Mom! On this vineyard walk we tried a few of the red grapes, but no way -- they are far from being ripe. With the arrival of véraison, the powdery mildew risk disappears -- which makes us very happy. Now it is botrytis we have to fear, but as long as the weather stays nice and warm we should not have any problems. This could indeed be a great vintage!

I was not at all interested in the Chardonnay grapes -- they are just starting to soften up and turn translucent, which is the beginning of véraison for the whites.	And I was totally uninterested in the Albariño grapes -- I wouldn't even look at them! Those haven't yet begun véraison and are still hard as rocks.