Even though I believe in dry farming Pinot Noir to manage yields, to encourage deep rooting and to help ensure physiological ripeness, there are times when drip irrigation can be an extremely useful tool that will help you keep your vines happy and healthy while under extreme temperature conditions.
This past week and a half was one of those periods, with temperatures routinely above 95 degrees in the vineyard. We ran a block by block drip cycle all through the heat wave and our vines have pulled through nicely. Happily, according to this article it seems most other growers in the county have managed as well.
Thankfully temps are back down to the low 80’s with a nice layer of morning fog and cool temps in the 50s at night. In other words, we’re back to Russian River weather and I couldn’t be happier.
