Yes, admittedly, it did get a little toasty earlier this month. The mercury climbed to 108 °F in Vinoland and got as high as 114 °F up in Rutherford. Grapevines do not thrive in extremely hot weather, not many plants do. However, with careful canopy management and an effective irrigation programme - throughout the entire growing season, not just when it is hot - most vineyards fare quite well. The vast majority of Napa's growers will have planned ahead to ensure that their vineyards could withstand a heatwave. Consequently, because of these best management practices, vineyards valley-wide saw very little raisining.
My sense of the 2017 growing season is that it has been a rather average one, more normal in many respects. It isn't that unusual to experience changeable weather in any growing period. The vineyards of the Napa Valley may, or may not, encounter bud-killing frosts in late spring, rainy days in early summer and the occasional spell of exceptionally high temperatures, and survive it all. The sky is not falling down.
Curious as to what passes as a 'Good Week' in TIME? Fast food chain, Chipotle, is now serving up a spicy cheese at all of its restaurants. Very hot news indeed.
