Millerandage

I love the way millerandage, a French wine growing term is pronounced [mil-ROHN-dahdzh] but what it actual is in grapes is not so lovely. We have some of that happening on our grapes and that condition is a direct reflection on what it was like when the flowers were beginning to bloom and pollinated.
In looking back to a blogpost I wrote on June 28, The Sight of One Flower Blooming, on June 20 we saw very little flowers in bloom and then on Monday, June 22, we saw many flowers in bloom. Sandwiched between those two days was Sunday, a day that brought 3/4-inch of rain. Rain during flowering as well as cold weather can lead to millerandage, otherwise known as "hens and chicks" or shot berries.
The thing with millerandage is that the smaller berries will not ripen at the same time that the larger berries will ripen and there is a chance for having green flavors in the resultant wine. We will not have this problem because we only have 366 clusters of grapes and I am thinking of hand destemming each cluster. (NOT....but may be).
The Wikipedia has a very good explanation on Millerandage that is worth checking out.