Jeff’s Corner 6-5-18

Greetings Once Again,

A few days ago, Chelsea posted some images of our oldest (planted in May ’07) Montepulciano vines just entering veraison. I love this time of year, to me it reinforces the cyclical nature of our lives and how they are in rhythm with the vines. I took this snap shot in our Montepulciano block July 10, 2013.

 Veraison (vay-ray-ZON) marks the turning point in the two cycles of a grape clusters’ journey to harvest. The first cycle is a growth phase, and ends when the grape reaches full size and cell division in the skin stops. During the growth cycle, all grapes (red and white) are the same color (the Lima bean green you see) and are hard (like a marble) in texture.

Once the grapes reach full size, the ripening phase begins with veraison, which translates from French as “change of color of the grape berries”. They also begin to soften and become pliant when squeezed.

For the next six weeks or so, the sugars will increase as the acids decrease, and harvest will occur when the sugars are about 25% of the juice, or 25 degrees brix in wine lingo.

I got lucky with the sunlight in this pic; the kaleidoscope of color and light is stunning.It reminds me of these inspiring lines from William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence”:

“To see a world in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.”