Fire season.

California is already well into fire season.  In reality, the time of the year that isn't considered fire season, here in tinderbox dry California, is lamentably short.
Yesterday afternoon, in what were eerily familiar conditions, the sun became obscured by smoke, the light quality changed dramatically, the temperature dropped 6°F in a matter of minutes and ash began to fall like snow.  Vinomaker and I sat for a little while, just watching as a thick grey smoke plume headed our way from the northeast, until the ash became too heavy to remain outside.  The fire, now known as the County Fire, began in Yolo County and grew overnight from 8,000 to 16,000 acres.
When I woke up this morning everything was covered in ash (very messy).  I worked for a bit in the Syrah vines this afternoon, but each time I reached for a shoot above my head I was showered with huge flakes of ash.  Not very pleasant.  A strong wind would rid the grapevines of their ashy-coating, but, alas, strong winds are the last thing firefighters need right now.
The fire, as I type, has now burned 32,500 acres and is 0% contained, and it has now spread to Napa County.  Godspeed to the first responders.

Midyear report.

It's the 1st of July already, wow!  Everything in the vineyard looks good. Fruit set in the Syrah, Cabernet sauvignon and Pinot grigio vines looks normal.  The berries are small and hard - still more than a full month away from the onset of veraison.  The past 12 days of toasty weather were not quite hot enough to end the risk of infection from powdery mildew. High temperatures can harm the fungus, but only two days got over 95° F, so sulphur applications will still be necessary for a little while yet.  All in all, I'm pretty pleased with this growing season.  So far, so good.

Last night wine.

Goodbye Blighty, 2015.
That's it, my holiday at home has come to a close.  A trip to the beach; a nice meal with all my family; a lovely English white wine.  What a wonderful last day of my stay.
This bottle of Denbies, 2013 English White Lily, which I purchased in Marks & Spencer for £10.00, was delightful.  Although I would have liked a tad more acid, this white blend of Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau and Seyval blanc was a real hit at dinner.
California here I come.

The superior vena vino.

One down, one to go.

The first day, of two successive days, of bottling in Vinoland was a success. The St. Helena crew reported for duty and were immediately charged with the task of getting their 2009 wine into the bottles that Vinomaker had sourced.

The St. Helena, clone 7 Cabernet sauvignon had been blended with a small percentage of Cabernet franc and Merlot, a blend which Vinomaker and I had decided on prior to today's activities. Blending is a fun, even if at times a little exasperating, exercise and one finds that most wines benefit from a little something different thrown in.

Everything went smoothly and after a quick mid-day repast (with wine), some very happy winegrowers left for home with their trucks heavily loaded up with the fermented version of the fruits of their labour.