Harvest Report Card
BURRELL SCHOOL VINEYARDS HARVEST REPORT FOR 2009
October 1 - As of 1pm we are eagerly awaiting 8 tons of Zinfandel from Ryan Oaks Vineyard in Amador County. Nicole, Ray and crew started picking early—very, very early this morning. The Zin is headed West right now, probably somewhere around Stockton by now.
When the Zin hits the crush pad, we will have 80% of this year’s grapes picked.
Tons to date: 52.4 to fill 147 barrels
Approximately 14.1 tons of fruit yet to pick.
September 23 - The weather is heating up and so is the pace of harvest. This week to date we have picked 6 tons of Pichon Syrah, 2500 pounds of Pichon Cabernet Sauvignon and 9 tons of Estate Chardonnay. Picking continues today with 5 bins of opaque, deep purple-black clusters of Syrah just showing up at the crush pad, 3 more tons to process this afternoon.
The fruit is great quality and yields are far superior to those of last year.
September 12 - Pinot Noir harvest is complete—picked yesterday. Great flavors and sugar readings. Total tonnage, 8 tons now fermenting.
Next up is Syrah. Sugars are now ranging from 23.5 to 24.0° Brix. Ripest blocks will be picked this Tuesday.
Big heat spike this last Thursday and Friday, but moderate weather today through the weekend. Good for the grapes and a thank you to the Weather Gods.
September 8 - Harvest is happening! Started at 7:30am this morning, picking Pinot Noir here at Burrell School. Both clones 05 and 115 completely harvested. Partial harvest of clone 777. Dave is very, very happy with sugar readings and over-all grape quality.
More activity tomorrow. The crew is headed over to the Pichon vineyard to pick the ripest blocks of Syrah. Again, great sugar readings.
More reports tomorrow!
August 31 - Well, harvest is not yet imminent. Our sugar numbers moved a bit from last week, but nothing near what we want. So we are in “watchful waiting” mode. Clone /Brix reading
05 / 23.3
115 / 23.4
667 / 23.2
777 / 23.0
Our Syrah blocks at Pichon Vineyard range anywhere from 19.6° Brix to 23° Brix. And here at the schoolhouse, Chardonnay readings are 20.5 and 20.1° Brix.
Stay tuned for the next report!
August 28 - What a difference a week of hot weather makes in the vineyard!!
Last Friday, amidst our marine-influenced weather, the Pinot was averaging 19.4° Brix and we were thinking harvest was something like 2 weeks away.
Well, this week has brought us down-right hot weather and our sugar readings today indicate harvest starting on Tuesday.
Here are today’s numbers:
Clone / Brix reading
05 / 23.2
115 / 23.1
667 /
23.1
777 / 22.6
By the way, Brix is a standard for determining sugar in our grapes. The higher the reading, the higher the sugar level. We generally aim to pick at between 24-25° Brix.
August 27 - We’re beginning our “Count Down to Harvest 2009” here at the school, eagerly awaiting the arrival of our first new students for the fall semester’s grape crush. Harvest preparations involve protecting our precious students from predatory birds and tracking their progress in ripening.
So far the Pinot Noir grapes are out ahead. The latest samples give us an average of 19.5° Brix (Dave aims to pick at 24-25° Brix) so we’re a good 2-3 weeks from picking.
Check back soon for more harvest updates.