The Countdown to Color...

It's that time of year--the countdown to color is here!

Reports of the first blushes of purple and red are being reported in Carneros, Russian River and Alexander Valleys. This stage in the ripening process is called "verasion" and is an exciting point in the season. As the grapes begin to color, they also begin to plump up to almost double their size!

We are keeping a lookout at the Mission Vineyard, which is contiguous to the winery property. This photo is of the block of Malbec in the Mission Vineyard. A classic Bordeaux varietal, Malbec often is one of the last grapes to ripen. For this reason, verasion will start a bit later than other earlier-ripening varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. So far, the grapes are still green and small, but hopefully within the next week the first signs of verasion will be evident.

Stay tuned!