Harvest 2008 has Begun!

As I write this, harvest has begun.  We picked and processed just short of 5 tons of  Pinot Gris grapes and a bit under 4 1/2 tons of Traminette on Monday, August 18th.  They both came in at 22.5 brix, very nice indeed.  Since we can only fit a bit over 4 tons into our press, this meant we had to do three presses.  Not surprisingly, our first day of harvest was also our first 12 hour day. And so the cycle starts all over again.

The grapes are absolutely beautiful again this year.  The 2007 vintage was low in volume due to the drought in North Carolina but very high quality.  And it looks like the 2008 crop will also be excellent due to low rainfall.  The berries are small and the sugar levels are high.  The skin to juice ratio on the reds will be very high and that makes for a more deeply colored, richer wine.

I'll try to give some more updates as harvest continues.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with a picture of some of our Pinot Gris grapes...beautiful!