Pay attention!

With the vineyard being sprayed for the final time last Thursday, requiring a 48 hour no re-entry time (or re-entry interval, REI), and being distracted by four little feathery chickies, I hadn't noticed the onset of veraison in the Cabernet sauvignon vines.  Well, here we have it.  Whether I am paying attention or not, the grapevines will carry on doing their thing.  Thank goodness.

PG-20.

As I expected, the onset of veraison in the Pinot grigio vines was not too far behind the Syrah.  About a week earlier than in 2019, walking through the vineyard this particular cluster caught my eye due to the dramatic contrast between the deep, grey-blue and the verdant green of some adjacent grapes.
I love the randomness of the change in colour of the grape berries in a given cluster.  Of course, there are some vines that are more advanced than others (they tend to be the strongest vines in perhaps better areas/soil in the vineyard), but that doesn't make veraison's progress any more predictable.  Nope, the vines know the exact sugar accumulating-schedule they are on: it just appears to be haphazard to the casual observer.  Like me.

Get ready, get set, ripen!

Yup, it's that time of year, again.  I know, I start posts about veraison off with the same thing every year.  But really, there is nothing that I could write that would better illuminate the onset of veraison than a snapshot of the little marvel that Mother Nature visits upon grape-growers year after year.  I love it. 
These are the very first berries to begin veraison in Vinoland and, as usual, it is the Syrah (a particular old, gnarly vine on 110R.)  I'm a little more on top of things than last year when I was a little tardy to the party.  Be sure, the Pinot grigio won't be far behind.