Noel and I went up to Coeur de Terre Vineyard today to look around. The sun has come out again, and it looks like the gamble to hold off on harvest may pay off. I walked through the Syrah block to see how it's progressing. Coeur de Terre makes a cold weather Syrah. On cooler years they create a Rose out of it. In hotter years (about every four years or so) they make an actual red wine. I can't tell you how it's going to go this year. You can see in the photo above that the leaves are starting to change colors. Syrah is a warm weather grape and the vines don't seem to tolerate this colder weather we've been having. Once they change colors the vines shut down and the grapes stop ripening.
Some of the Syrah clusters still have ruby colored grapes on them. They are not yet ripe. The Pinot Noir is looking really good, but a taste of one of the clusters shows that they need some additional time on the vine. It looks as though Scott's gamble is going to pay off. The weather forecast (at least right now) looks good. Partly sunny and temperatures in the 60's.
While we were up at the vineyard I wanted to look at the new plantings at the top of the hill. The photo above is as high as I have ever been at Coeur de Terre. I think the new block is planted in Riesling vines. That makes sense. The temperatures will be coolest at the top of the hill, and Rieslings tolerate cold temperatures very well. In future years we'll probably be able to see the vineyard ripen from the bottom up to the very top.
These vines were planted last year. They systematically removed all of the fruit from the vines this year. They'll do the same next year. They might harvest a small crop from them the third year. Vineyards are a long term investment. They are also a huge investment of time. Think about the time it took to stretch all of that wire to make the trellises for the new vineyard. Then think about bending over all day and placing those vines in the ground. It's no wonder Jesus uses vineyards just about every time he tells a story about workers.
After I climb up to the top of the vineyard I am totally worn out. They are steep. In a few weeks workers will arrive to pick the grapes. They'll be climbing up and down these slopes all day long. They get paid by the bucket so they move quickly. I hope they find the time to stop and look around. They will be standing in a place of amazing beauty.
