This will be the 50th year since I planted my first vine in Santa Barbara County. Growing grapes hasn’t changed too much since then but each year’s experience has added to a better understanding of the needs of each region. Weather, soil, and care still dictates what kind of grapes we grow, and ultimately what kind of wine we make. 

It has been a cool summer with sporadic heat and  morning fog. We don’t usually see fog past June but this year has been different. As a result, the crop is late by about 10 days. 

Sixty days until harvest. It seems like yesterday that we were pruning and being thankful for the terrific rains that we had. The vines this year are a little larger than normal thanks to the wet winter.