July is the Busiest Month

Every year, we know what to expect but every year, we find outselves at this point. July! This is especially true for this July as we have had periods of rain punctuated with some sunshine. We have never seen the canopy look so lush and tall! The good news is that the leaves at the top of the canopy are large, green, are great photosynthetic factories for sugar making and are relatively resistant to fungal disease. The bad news is that the canopy will need to be hedged soon before the vines really get out of control.

The grapes of the different varieties that we grow are putting on some weight. This is the first growth spurt.

Variety	Photo
Auxerrois
Chenin Blanc
Chardonnay
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Franc
Barbera

It is interesting to compare these photos with the photos of the grapes taken about 2 weeks ago when I blogged about Vintage 2021: Vineyard is at Berry Formation. We have about a month to go before the first of our varieties, the Auxerrois enters the next phase of the Modified Eicchorn-Lorenz stage of berry ripening.
We have some work to do!