The 2013 vintage saved… by a website
From John, November 12th, 2015Inclement weather in the Fall is no joke to those engaged in agricultural pursuits. Hail, rain, wind, cold and heat are all enemies of the grape vine throughout the growing season. But in the Fall, as the perfect clusters are nearing their state of perfection, it is rain and the temperature associated with it that I keep a vigilant eye on.
In this regard there is no better friend than the University of Washington Department of Meteorology! In the latter part of September 2013, through the use of satellite imagery and modeling, they produced a 5-day rolling forecast that caught my attention and left me scrambling for the harvest. The Pinot noir was just entering what I think of as “the ripe zone” which, depending on the year, might have a window of 2 weeks or several days. In this case I saw a major storm sweeping out of the North Pacific generated by a low pressure area. More importantly it was caught by and being swept around a high pressure system to the south, veering north of Hawaii and concentrating its full force straight toward Oregon. It looked like we had less than 5 days to get the Pinot noir picked before it would hit so I started scheduling picking for each of the 5 days.
The final Pinot noir that I was able to get to arrived at 1 pm on a Friday, was unloaded and covered by 1:30. Literally 15 minutes later, warm rain started to fall. The storm increased in intensity over the next several days and dumped several inches of rain in the process.
Hail to the University of Washington Meteorology Dept!
Share ThisRecent News & Rants
The New Prohibition
Cameron Winery would like to encourage everyone to drink moderately and enjoy themselves this holiday season!!
There’s More... >2024 will be a magical vintage!
Mark my word: 2024 will produce some truly magical wines!
There’s More... >old vines, old wines & an old winemaker
One of the advantages of being an “old-timer” in the world of enology and viticulture is that our vines have aged along with me. It is a well known phenomenon in the world of wine that old vines tend to produce superior wine. A recent tasting of 18 vintages of Clos Electrique Blanc magnums proved that adage to be true! Overall, the consensus was that 8-14 years of aging seems to be the absolute “sweet spot” for this magnificent vineyard.
There’s More... >