On Friday, September 22, we were looking at the prospect of a rain soaked weekend. Although we were spot checking the Brix (sugar content) of our white varieties, Auxerrois, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay we had not done a thorough assessment. We picked representative berries from all of our white varieties which meant walking nearly 2/3rd of the vineyard.
These are the numbers that we got for our white varieties:
| Variety |
Sample Date |
Brix |
pH |
TA |
| Auxerrois |
September 22, 2023 |
18 |
3.25 |
6.3 g/L |
| Chenin Blanc |
September 22, 2023 |
17.5 |
2.89 |
13.5 g/L |
| Chardonnay |
September 22, 2023 |
18 |
3.12 |
8.2 g/L |
As a comparison, we took some numbers for our white varieties a week earlier last year:
| Variety |
Sample Date |
Brix |
pH |
TA |
| Auxerrois |
September 15, 2022 |
19 |
3.02 |
12.2 g/L |
| Chenin Blanc |
September 16, 2022 |
18.8 |
2.82 |
13.8 g/L |
| Chardonnay |
September 15, 2022 |
20.6 |
2.88 |
12.1 g/L |
The comparison shows that the sugar accumulation in the Auxerrois and the Chardonnay are definitely lagging although the pH and the titratable acids (TA) are where we want it to be. The Chenin Blanc appears to be very similar to last years numbers although a week behind.
We have some decisions to make to determine when we will harvest our white varieties. Hoping Mother Nature brings us no more rain!
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