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Weather & Climate

A collection of 284 issues

The stunning 2013 wildflower season

I've never seen a wildflower season like this one. Whether because of all the sun we've had the last two months, because of the work we've been doing with biodynamics to help build up the soil's health, or something else entirely, these

We finally get a little rain, and celebrate

Looking at our rainfall totals for this winter could cause whiplash. We booked over 12 inches by the year's end, but since then, the storms we've had have been duds. We totaled barely an inch in January and less than half an inch in February. The

Photo of the Day: Paso Robles Winter Sunset

This has been a winter of weather blocks. We had a very wet December and a very dry (and cold) January. So far, February looks like more of the same, without much precipitation in the long-term forecast. But despite the dry weather, we've had a couple of days

Enjoying the "Atmospheric River" of Moisture

It's wet out at the vineyard. So far today, we've received over an inch and a quarter of rain, with the heaviest, according to radar, still to come. This is the fifth day in a row we've received significant rainfall, more than five inches

What a difference two weeks makes

Two weeks ago, I posted a series of autumn foliage pics, one of which is below: I walked back past that spot yesterday, on an ultimately fruitless quest to take some good sunset pictures. I was stunned by how much more fall-like the vineyard felt after two weeks that included

Harvest continues under ideal conditions, with high quality and above-average yields

The first half of October is typically our busiest stretch of harvest, and 2012 was no exception. Between October 1st and 15th, we brought in 107 tons off of our estate and another 60 tons of purchased fruit for the Patelin de Tablas line. That's something like 30%

When a little harvest rain is no big deal

This week saw the first truly fall-like weather of the year. And what a relief. We'd been picking at what felt like full speed for nearly three weeks, under terrific conditions but without a break. In the first 10 days of October, we brought in an incredible 98

Harvest update: perfect ripening conditions dominate late September, but we see signs of fall

The second half of September continued to point our way toward a productive, top-notch harvest. Asking for cool (but not cold) nights and warm (but not hot) days, and ample sunshine, is almost a cliche in wine country, but that's exactly what we got, providing excellent ripening conditions

Harvest, weeks one and two: zero to sixty in no time flat

Most vintages, harvest starts slowly, with a few bins the first day, then a little break, then a selective pick off another block, then another break, then finally a larger picking, then another break. Not this year. We started on September 4th with our first lot of Viognier for the

Looking forward to an El Nino winter in 2012-2013

With two weeks of near-100° weather recently in our rear view mirror, and harvest not even yet begun, it's strange to already be thinking about winter weather. But in my email inbox today I received a special alert from the Western Weather Group, the agricultural weather specialists whose