I also wanted to show a series of clusters that would demonstrate just how much fruit is hanging in the vineyard this year. Last year Scott and Lisa cut back the fruit to one cluster per vertical vine. That is not the case this year. There are two clusters on most and three on some. The clusters are not as full as they were last year, but it is still a lot of fruit. Abby's block is the only section of the vineyard that still has fruit on it. It is the last section to get ripe and it is nice to have this warm weather to allow it to hang for a while longer than the rest. After my efforts to try and find a group of grape clusters, I head down the hill and across the street to see what the light looks like from below the vineyard in the evening. I stopped last night on my way home, but by six the light was too far gone. The trees at the edges of the vineyard cast long shadows well before the sun actually goes down.
In the photo to the right you can see the signature oak tree at the upper right of the photo. Usually I'm shooting it from above, and it was fun to see a view from below. That is Tallulah's Run South in the foreground. As I'm taking my photos the truck with the fruit arrives. I hoof it up the hill and am totally out of wind by the time I get there. I have to ask Scott how many feet of elevation it is from the bottom of the vineyard to the tasting room. It just can't be that much. I must just be out of shape. As I'm climbing the hill I can also see the rock up through the rows of Abby's block. There is also a clear image of why the rows are planted exactly as far apart as they are.
In the photo to the left you can see the evening shadows growing across the space between the vines. These rows are planted exactly far enough apart so that the evening light will still be able to clear the vine to the west of it, keeping the grapes in the light as long as possible. In most years this last evening light is incredibly valuable in order to get the fruit ripe. This year we have had an abundance of sunlight. I must be a true Oregonian because I'm almost looking forward to a little bit of rain. I won't be saying that in a few months, but right now I'm missing the moisture and how clean the air feels after it rains. We start processing the fruit around 6:00 PM and aren't finished until about 9:00. I head in and warm up a few of the tamales that were left over from lunch on Monday. Scott joins me and we get to have a great conversation about our families and life in general. Tomorrow we will be getting fruit early and often. The wineries are all now in a hurry to get in their fruit before the rains begin. Harvest is drawing to a close, and it will not end quietly, but with a bang. 