Early veraison in Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon
Malbec ripening at Robert Hall Winery
Will harvest come early this year for Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietals? All indicators point to yes, but by varying degrees. One such indicator is veraison, the moment the grapes begin to ripen.
For white varietals, the hard green berries begin to turn golden, the flesh softens, sugar levels increase and acid drops. For the red varietals, a similar process happens and the green berries turn to purple. For the average person, and certainly for photographers, viewing veraison is exciting. The individual berries in a cluster change at varying rates — the mix of color in a cluster and across a vine is like a piece of art.
In the vineyard, veraison visually signals development en route to harvest and the completion of another growth cycle. For the winery, veraison is a heart-quickening indicator that the arrival of a new crop and the start of another round of wine to craft is just around the corner. In 2013, Robert Hall Winery harvested the first grapes in the Paso Robles AVA on August 15th when their Sauvignon Blanc came in a week earlier that in past years. All indicators point to an even earlier harvest this year.
“We noticed veraison in our Malbec on July seventh when we were doing cluster counts in the vineyard. That puts us a good seven to 10 days days ahead of last year. Unless the weather cools, it will be an extremely early harvest – as early as the first week in August. That could be a good thing since we will be able to get all the fruit in the winery prior to any rain. With predictions of an El Niño this year a late harvest would cause problems.”
Don Brady, Winemaker
Robert Hall Winery
Brady also indicated that he is anticipating a very good vintage. The fruit set well and clusters size is down. For high-quality red wine, a small berry is a good thing and with grapes ripening early they can be harvested long before any threatening weather arrives. On the flip side it does mean winemaking teams are now scrambling to complete bottling, make room in the cellar and finish all of the pre-harvest activities.
“I’m getting some veraison in my Cabernet Sauvignon before my Merlot. If I had to guess, the Merlot will ripen the second week of September, which is actually very consistent with prior years. The Cabernet, though, won’t ripen before October eighth, which is our early-ripening record. We’ve had this vineyard since 1989, and that was the earliest we ever harvested Cabernet. It has to be pretty ripe before we pick; it might be 24 Brix in September, but we want 27 or 28 Brix. I hope we are a bit early, though, because there’s talk of rain in October.”
Patti Bello, Owner and Winemaker
B & E Vineyard
