To Paul B. (and anyone who cares to read the post)

Please stop sending your Canadian weather to NY.

<sigh> over here (just north of Albany) it's been raining - yet again - almost all day. Though the sun just teased with a brief a ppearance a few minutes ago.

Soggy and too cool.

Thomas! If you only knew ... I went camping this weekend with a bunch of buddies and we had everything - I mean everything: drizzle, rain, hail, wet snow, cold wind and no more than an hour of sunshine the whole weekend. This is nuts for the end of May. If things don't warm up soon, I'm afraid this might turn out to be a poor vintage for us!

Paul,

I am told we are coming out of this crappy weather on Wednesday. As John Z pointed out earlier, we need a lot of elevated degree days and fast.

As for plants, I've got a cold frame full of vegetable seedlings clinging to the plastic door and sides begging for light and warmth. And, I've got a bunch of fruit trees with various leaf problems that I cannot help because it's too cold to spray neem oil.

The vineyards are at least semi-dromant--way late, but not in danger.

Anyway, all of this is Canada's fault. I must believe that or I would have no excuse for remaining in this part of the states...

1st we take the weather, then we take Lord Stanley's cup-----------Go SABRES!

Seriously Thomas, if we have a warm summer is this cool Spring overcomable? I mean is a great vintage out of reach?

Ed,

A great vintage is never out of reach--just ask the Bordelais, who have a vintage of the century every other year...

It all depends on degree days. One of the marvels of plants like grapevines is how they can catch up, or compensate. Last year was one of those examples. I remember potential frost in May, and a late start in the bud break. But, the season heated up and the degree days built up so much that vines caught up and compensated for the late start.

The potential problem for this year may be less heat and more water. We have had a lot of dampness but not a lot of rain. However, dampness through the whole season also means no sun, and no sun means poor development and poor maturity. 2004 was like that.

I guess this is a long-winded response just to say that it's too early to tell anything about the vintage.