We are really pleased and somewhat surprised to report that the 2018 growing season once nearly ideal once again.
The spring was relatively mild, the summer was hot and dry and then it cooled a bit the second half of August and into September. Harvest commenced in early September, several weeks later than 2017, and lasted through the end of the month, a relatively long harvest season. The yield was lower than last year while quality was consistently high. Also, because of the cooler late growing season, the grapes had considerable hangtime to achieve “optimal” physiological ripeness before picking.
With harvest now behind us, activity at the vineyard has slowed considerably. Harvest marks the beginning of a grapevine’s winter winddown ritual with a switch of vine energy from ripening grapes to sending out new roots to retrieve nutrients from the soil. This is a particularly beautiful and relatively quiet time at the vineyard.
Our surprise noted earlier relates to the consistently warm and relatively dry growing seasons that we’ve experienced now 5 years in a row. Viewed through a longer historical lens, these great consecutive growing seasons are much appreciated. The consistently high quality of fruit from the last five vintages has enabled Knudsen Vineyards to produce exceptional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines of depth, elegance, complexity, and drinkability.
