Amazing how that saying “Don’t sweat the small stuff” does not seem to apply to wine growing. So, you can see in the picture above that the grapes on the top right are not deep purple. In this case they are “wings” of a bigger cluster. You have to remove these or they will suck away the ripening power to the rest of the clusters…..so I did this last week. I pulled up the net where I had to cut and removed them.

In other cases, the entire vine or an entire section of the vineyard may not ripen. In this case you have to do a second pick or remove leaves in the cluster zone to hasten the ripening along. Of course, this could backfire and you might sunburn them if you have a hot spell.

Now I know why my Grandfather in Nebraska always worried about the weather when we came to visit.