August 26, 2015 |
Red Mountain, Winemaking |
Charlie Hoppes
Harvest Off to an Early Start
(a note from the editor...harvest is a busy time! we're lucky to get bullet points from Charlie during these months.)
→ Earliest start to harvest for Red Grapes in my 28 years of making wine in the Washington Wine Industry
![](/assets/client/Image/blog/08.24.15 Canyons Merlot.jpg)
Merlot grapes in the Canyons Vineyard, days before picking
→ 2015 is tracking at a higher Growing Degree Day rate than any other recorded year ever causing the extremely early start.
→ We started picking Sauvignon Blanc August 20th from Klipsun Vineyard on Red Mountain & will start picking Merlot from Red Heaven, Scooteney Flats, The Canyons, & Kiona this Thursday, August 27th. We have never picked red grapes for Fidelitas in August, since we have started which was 2000.
→ These vintages can be challenging because of the heat but we are confident we will be able to make some great wines once again.
![](/assets/client/Image/blog/08.24.15 Canyons Merlot View.jpg)
The view looking west from the Canyons: smoky and warm.
→ We should be done picking on Red Mountain by late September at the latest.
![](/assets/client/Image/blog/08.26.15 Scooteney Merlot.jpg)
Scooteney Flats Merlot: picked August 26, 2015