2002 Winegrower's Notes

It's over! By any measure, this vintage was an odd one. Everything was on track for a great vintage when a late frost struck May 18th. It dropped to 31^oF in the vineyard, which was enough to damage nearly all the shoots and destroy almost all primary crop. Our site is not very susceptible to radiation frosts but this 100-year event proved the exception. From then on, vineyard management became the viticultural equivalent of a "calf scramble." 

The Frost was followed by a deep drought, which was followed by a post-veraison period of warm, wet, humid weather, followed by generally cold, wet weather. We tried to dodge the worst of the weather and picked about 2.2 Tons of fruit during the October 10th through 20th window. This amounted to an underwhelming 0.6 tons per acre yield! As a result, 2002 Kinkead Vineyard Estate wines will be in short supply.

On the bright side, I am really happy with the vineyard performance. I am not original in making the observation that superb sites show their real advantage in difficult vintages. This is a superb site and this was a difficult vintage. A lesser site would have not held up under the onslaught of rainfall.

Thanks to a better understanding of nutrient balance and specifically magnesium deficiency in the vineyard, the propensity for fruit rot was reduced and general vineyard health improved. We are grateful for a picking crew who did an excellent job of selectively picking fruit for quality, while braving the weather. The results are "in the tank". A little Riesling and a small amount of a red wine blend are what we have to show for this year. I am happy with both wines so far and look forward to next year. 

Nancy punching down the cap