Rain, Rain Go Away

I use to say this when I was young. So why on a beautiful fall day with an abundance of bright sunshine would I utter, “rain, rain go away” here in Maryland?

I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of grapes from California. At Vint Hill Craft Winery the grapes are coming from Sonoma and at Tin Lizzie Wineworks the grapes are coming from Napa. Right now both Napa and Sonoma are having torrential rain. This is not good for the grapes that will act like a sponge and absorb the water. Hopefully the ground won’t absorb all the multiple inches of rain called for. Of course the grapes will loose some of the water over the next week or so, but then there is the concern of rot. I’m getting Cabernet Sauvignon grapes so this is less of a concern than with white wine grapes, however . . .

I can hope that the vineyards just happened to have harvested the grapes before the rain started. They were scheduled to be harvested this week. So I am in a wait and see mode. The grapes are at the mercy of the weather. Weather must drive growers nuts. Do they harvest early or wait. What are the consequences for both decisions? If my grapes weren’t harvested before the rains started, hopefully they will have an opportunity to loose the water they absorbed before some other harmful tragedy sets in.