After all the early season challenges we’re happy to report that two of the varieties have been picked and made it safely to the wineries where the winemakers are working their magic.
The Sauvignon Blanc for Lost Oak Winery was first up and as in previous seasons we picked it in two phases since the south end tends to ripen faster. The first harvest was on August 7, we had 10 people here and picked 1,610 lbs by 9:40 am. The second harvest on August 14 came in at 3,410 lbs. A total of 30 volunteers dispersed into the vines and picked them clean by 9:10 am, wow! It turns out the Sauvignon Blanc did have some damage to the primary buds from the February freeze so many of the clusters were from the secondary buds and therefore smaller in size. Our overall yield was 5,020 lbs (2.52 tons) which was down this season by about 40%, but the quality was excellent so we’ll take that as a win.
We harvested the Malvasia Bianca for Wintergrass Winery today (August 22). It was also a lower yield than normal but very good quality. With the fast fingers of 20 volunteers it was off the vines and in the bins in just over one hour.
The harvest volunteers have been absolutely stellar. It’s a great feeling to see the beautiful hand harvested clusters piled in the bins and it’s even better when the work is done before the heat of the Texas day gets into full swing. You’re all amazing and we can’t thank you enough!
