Planning for Harvest

I should have my best crop ever this year. I've been selectively thinning the crop to improve overall quality and reduce the demands on the vines. Despite the fact that we've had a dozen or so days with daytime temperatures above 100 degrees I am starting to see hints of powdery mildew appearing in spots in my vineyard. This needs to be corrected early because if it spreads to the clusters you lose those grapes. I came across an old fashioned remedy that appears to work. Mix one part milk with nine parts water and spray directly on the powdery mildew. It apparently kills the mildew on contact and helps prevent repeat appearances. I'll report later on the results.

I expect to get close to 1000 pounds of grapes in this harvest from my vineyard, maybe more. I'm guessing 700 pounds of Zinfandel 200 - 300 pounds of Cabernet Sauvignon, and 100 - 150 pounds of Petite Sirah. This yield would produce about 25 cases of wine 18 months from now, but I plan on buying grapes from a grower in Amador County. I expect to buy some Syrah, and Barbera grapes as well. Probably 500 lbs of each, and I may just get some more Tempranillo, as my first attempt at making wine from this grape was ok, but the potential is there.

When it gets this hot the vines basically shut down so it doesn't really help the grapes ripen. It's supposed to cool off (drop below 100) by tomorrow, so this will help a lot.

It is important to buy grapes in certain lot sizes to accomodate barrel sizes.
1000 lbs fills a 60 gallon barrel, 500 lbs fills a 30 gallon barrel, 250 lbs fills a 15 gallon barrel (although this barrel size is almost impossible to find, and doesn't justify the cost).