A solitary, May flower.

It's cold, it's wet - very unfortunate weather.  If I were a Pinot grigio flower bud I would not want to make my debut in the meteorological conditions that Vinoland is experiencing right now.  Thankfully, my grapevines do not have the same distaste for precipitation as does their guardian/pruner.  (Which begs the question, what is the exact nature of my relationship with those hundreds of green, fuzzy things out there?)  Mother Nature is in charge and when it is time to flower, it is time to flower.  Rain be damned.

Baby, it's cold outside.

And I'm loving it.  The past five mornings have been white and bright.
After so much rain last Thursday, 3.5 inches fell in just under 5 hours, the sunny, dry, crisp weather has been a more than welcome respite. Of course, all that rain meant there was plenty of moisture about to actually freeze and the resulting 1/8 inch of hoarfrost over every surface, including Vinoland's grapevines, made for some spectacular sugar-sprinkled vistas on my early morning walks with Vinodog 2.  And it made everything seem just that little bit more Christmassy.  Love it.

Steady mercury.

Well, the mercury had been fairly steady in the high 30s °F all autumn, until this morning when it took a nose-dive and reached 22° F.  And that was recorded on the thermometer that is protected below Vinoland's deck: the lowest temperature recorded in Napa was 19° F, and that's quite chilly for here.
Brrr!  Forget the wine, pass me the Cadbury Drinking Chocolate.

Let the grapes begin!

Harvest 2011 may indeed, for many reasons, qualify as an Olympic event, least of all for it's degree of difficulty. Logistically, getting every last grape harvested may prove to be a slightly nightmarish game in the valley this year.

On Monday, at last, the sparkling wine producers of the Napa Valley began to harvest Pinot noir and Chardonnay for their bubbly production. It's always good to see harvest get under way, however this year it is at least two weeks late.

As you can see, the temperature in Vinoland got up to a whopping 75 degrees today - barely hot enough for photosynthesis to take place - not to mention that the marine layer did not burn off until noon. Our Clone 4 Cabernet sauvignon, hailing from the Mendoza region of Argentina, is used to some what warmer temperatures. At this rate it may never ripen. Ho hum!

The fruit of a different vine.

My first, and only, ripe tomato of the season.

Persistant cool temperatures in northern California are not helping with the ripening of my tomatoes. It's a shame because this year's crop looks to be bountiful, but nothing is happening. Now, where did I put that fried green tomato recipe?

I certainly won't be seeing fruit ripening through October like I did in 2008 (the last real summer here), when the nights were seasonably cool, but the days were still in the low 80s.

At least this tomato is not sporting a freakish horn and will eventually make its way into a salad. It seems to be perfectly formed - except that it is supposed to be a cherry tomato and is 3 times bigger than any of its siblings on the same stalk. Overachiever? Mutant? It matters not, as this may be the only tomato that ripens in Vinoland this summer.