First-picked 2019 Chardonnay grapes shown here. Fingers crossed for drier weather. Click on the tag to find last week's despatch from Samantha Cole-Johnson, in the lower ranks of an Oregon winery.
On Wednesday, it rained. Between fog, humidity and drizzle, it feels like we haven’t had a fully dry day for a couple of weeks, and while everybody in Portland rejoices and pulls out their fuzzy socks and rainslickers, winemakers and vineyard managers in the Willamette pull out their Anton Paars (in this case a device for measuring sugar in Brix or specific gravity) and pH meters.
Rain means swollen grapes –...