We've come almost to the close of 2021. It's time to review what this vintage was like. Work in the vineyard usually begins in March, unless February is "warm" enough for us to begin pruning. We began pruning duties on March 3, but that included cutting the wire holding down last year's canes, removing the tendrils and the Agfast. Those manipulations were necessary in order to free up last year's growth for pruning. Although we began pruning duties on March 3, we didn't actually finish pruning until May 1st! Our take home lesson from that experience was that we must remove the wire, cut the tendrils and remove the Agfast before pruning season begins.
When spring came, we had a typical budbreak which began at the end of April for the Chardonnay and continued with the rest of our varieties into the first week of May. After budbreak, bloom occurs around mid-June and then fruitset shortly after that. Although the activity in the vineyard is busy, I feel as if July is the busiest month. This year, Mother Nature "blessed" us with abundant rainfall, so that although we had rented a generator for the purposes of irrigation, we did not need to turn it on at all. July 2021 was the third wettest in Connecticut since they began keeping records, with 19 of the 31 days with some kind of rain event!
Our July and August was filled with shoot tucking, hedging and netting duties. The netting duties lasted until October 14, just ahead of the Chenin Blanc harvest which occurred on October 17 and 18.
Here are links to the Vintage 2021 blogposts:
Vintage 2021
Vintage 2021: January Update
Vintage 2021: Ground Hog Day
Vintage 2021: March Pruning Time
Vintage 2021: Pruning Update
Vintage 2021: April Update
Vintage 2021: Budbreak in the Vineyard
Vintage 2021: May Vineyard Tasks
Vintage 2021: June Heat Wave
Vintage 2021: June Work Fun Balance
Vintage 2021: Approaching the End of June
Vintage 2021: Vineyard is at Berry Formation
Vintage 2021: August Heat Wave
Vintage 2021: August Aftermath of Hurricane Henri
Vintage 2021: Summer Recap
Vintage 2021: Auxerrois Harvest
Vintage 2021: Chardonnay Harvest---Part 1
Vintage 2021: Chardonnay Harvest---Part 2
Vintage 2021: Chenin Blanc Harvest - Part 1
Vintage 2021: Chenin Blanc Harvest - Part 2
Vintage 2021: Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc Harvest
Vintage 2021: Barbera Harvest
Vintage 2021: Our 2021 Harvest at a Glance
Overall, I will remember Vintage 2021 as a rainy year which lead to a slightly lower than expected harvest. In spite of all of the rain, we were good farmers and our grapes didn't suffer from too much rot. Our harvesters diligently cut out all the rot from those bunches that did suffer and the wines are coming along fine.
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