Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger.

Dan Berger is back on California Wine Country after some vacation travel and today he joins Steve Jaxon with some thoughts about harvest time and some wines to taste.

Dan Berger and Steve Jaxon will talk about harvest time today and taste some wines that Dan has brought.  We were going to have Deborah Del Fiorentino on to talk about her organization of wine competitions including the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. But we will have to reschedule her. In the meantime, Dan Berger has brought some wines from his extensive personal cellar.

This year Spring was cool and the vines matured more slowly than usual. It took a long time for the vines to come out of hibernations. Then, after bud break, we had come brutally warm weather, then cool again. There wasn’t enough rain to do any damage. Then late summer, we had 100 degree days but much colder at night, which favors retention of acid.

Growers and winemakers are facing a choice. Either pick early, save acidity and hope for flavor, or pick late and need to adjust later. With all the variables in play, Dan says, “…it will be a chicken with three legs.”

Here is a California Wine Country bonus track, it’s Buddy Hackett on Carson in the ‘70s on the subject of a 3-legged chicken.

Some Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will be harvested early. But if you are a winery purchasing fruit from a grower for the first time, “…you’re on your own,” says Dan. The decision of when to pick may also be affected by a labor shortage.

They taste a vineyard-designated Pinot Noir from Etude Vineyards, grown at Hallberg vineyards.