The Weather & Mira’s Harvest

While Europe is seeing the worst vintage in the last 50 years, Napa Valley is experiencing the opposite. The mild Indian Summer we experienced in September carried well into October. We had harvested and fermented our Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir and were patiently waiting for the red Bordeaux varieties as well as our Syrah to reach full maturity. The sunny but cool weather had these vineyards maturing at a snails pace. However, at the end of September and beginning of October, Mother Nature gave us just what we needed: a nice bump in daytime temperatures. In the heart of Napa Valley (Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford) we went from very pleasant low 70’s to hot mid to upper 90’s, all the while maintaining cool nighttime temperatures. Our Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot all went from having slow Brix development, green seeds and unripe flavors to perfect ripeness and healthy vines. The flavors are simply unbelievable. Steve Schweizer, our Cabernet Sauvignon grower in Stags Leap District declared this is the best he has ever seen from his vineyards. Larry Hyde in Carneros expressed similar results.

Though we look very much forward to the wines from this vintage, we still have 30 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon hanging. Today brought the first major storm system, expected to last through Thursday with sunny, mild weather after that. We hope to have enough sunshine and warmth to dry out the remaining vineyards and bring them to full ripeness by months end.

– Gustavo Gonzalez, Mira Winemaker