Dropping fruit on the ground... Intentionally!

There is an activity underway around the valley that I find mildly disturbing. Workers are cutting grape clusters off the vines and dropping them on the ground, intentionally.  It happens every year around this time.  There are two major reasons this is done.  Fruit that is obviously not maturing on the same schedule as the other clusters is cut off.  In the picture above, this would apply to the greenest clusters. But some of those other clusters don't look too bad. 

Those decent looking clusters are being cut off just to reduce the overall crop load.  If the overall crop load is too heavy, it will stress the vine and all the clusters may not fully ripen. I think most winemakers would agree their definition of ripeness is not just a measure of color & sugar content anymore. Many years ago, most grapes in the valley were deemed ready to harvest based solely on the % of sugar content.  That is no longer the case. I venture to say that most grapes being harvested in the Napa Valley these days are picked when the winemaker is happy with the flavors of the grapes.  This is winemaker directed harvesting.  It can drive growers crazy when the grapes are at say, 24 or even 25% brix, but the winemaker says "They're not ready yet".

Several of the vineyards farmed by Piña Vineyard Management for delivery to Piña Napa Valley, will have less fruit dropped on the ground this year. That's the good news.  The bad news is that the reason there will be less fruit dropped, is because there is less fruit on the vines than in past years.  Vines that were pelted with rain while in their "bloom" stage have a poor fruit "set".  For these vineyards, we're anticipating a light harvest this year.  It's a gambling business.  Always has been. 

What did we do to deserve dogs?

 Hawkeye lays by the casket during the funeral of his owner,

Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson, on August 19.

For those of you that haven't read the article and seen the above picture, here is the link:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44271018/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/?GT1=43001

By Scott Stump

TODAY.com contributor

Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson lay in a coffin, draped in an American flag, in front of a tearful audience mourning his death in Afghanistan. Soon an old friend appeared, and like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind.

Tumilson’s Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, was photographed lying by Tumilson’s casket in a heart-wrenching image taken at the funeral service in Tumilson’s hometown of Rockford, Iowa, earlier this week. Hawkeye walked up to the casket at the beginning of the service and then dropped down with a heaving sigh as about 1,500 mourners witnessed a dog accompanying his master until the end, reported CBS.

AP

Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson was killed along with other SEALs on Aug. 6 in Afghanistan.

The photo was snapped by Tumilson’s cousin, Lisa Pembleton, and posted on her Facebook page in memory of the San Diego resident. Tumilson, 35, was one of 30 American troops, including 22 Navy SEALs, who were killed when a Taliban insurgent shot down a Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade on Aug. 6.

===============================

What did we do to deserve dogs?

"My goal is to someday be the person my dog thinks I am." -   Author Unknown

Winery Dog Yogi, Part 4 – Yogi's window on the world at the beach

Yogi makes another friend!

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Yogi was included in an Orvis video with his head sticking out the hole that the little girl is looking through in the top picture.

Our trailer at the beach is located at a busy intersection. Almost everybody that passes by takes the time to say Hello to Yogi, or give him a pat on the head.

Children will even stop and call for him if he's not there looking out his hole.

He's popular at the winery, too!

Yogi's a lucky dog, and we're lucky to have him!