Véraison is a French term meaning "the onset of ripening". The official definition of veraison is "change of color of the grape berries." Fête de la Véraison is a medieval festival held in the famous winemaking village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Fète de la Veraison takes place every year the first weekend in August. To celebrate the ripening of their grapes, villagers dress up in medieval costumes for parades, performances and a torch-lit banquet. It sounds like fun. Maybe, we should start having our own Fete de la Veraison, playing flute and dancing in our medieval costumes in our vineyards.
From the beginning of veraison to harvest, the berries will increase in volume, weight, and sugar content (brix). The 2010 growing season has been slightly cool in June and July, with occasional showers. We have had plenty of sunshine during the day which has helped our grapes to start their veraison on schedule. Phenology is the study of plant life cycles. Phenologically, we estimate it to be 5-7 days later than normal for the grapes. Having said that, it is hard to predict when the grapes will reach our desired Brix level. As we know from experience, August and September weather can define a vintage. With rare exception, Ramona Valley generally has hot August weather and sunny, pleasant fall weather. Stay tune for our next veraison to harvest report!
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