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Rain then Heatwave – How Are the Grapes?

This has been one odd week of weather for Sonoma County. Sunday kicked off a three day warm-ish storm with around a half an inch of rainfall. Wednesday started to dry out and here we are on Friday and it’s 100 degrees. We thought California was home to predictable sunny & warm conditions! (As locals we know this isn’t true, but this weather even has us wondering about the grapes…) Because of this late rain and now this heatwave, we asked Winemaker Matt Smith: Will this weird late rainstorm affect the grapes? If so, how? If not, why not?

Winemaker Matt replied: “Yes, potentially. One thing we are concerned about is rain and humidity at this time, followed by high heat. This provides very fertile conditions for mildew growth. Ideally, we want some strong winds to kick in to help dry out the vineyards. The past few weeks (or more) have been atypically windy for our area. So if that trend continues, the grapes and leaves will dry out and mildew shouldn’t be a big problem.”

The ups & downs of agriculture continue. Have a question for Winemaker Matt? Leave your comment below!