After one of the driest summers for years, the weather finally broke during the last week of August. Since then we have had a few days of rain; not excessively heavy, but enough to have some impact. Under normal circumstances we would be cursing wet weather at this time, but after such a long, dry spell this actually helps. Over time the bunches become a little dusty, and so this rain will help to clean the fruit before picking. Also, the small amounts that will have been absorbed into the soil will help to fill-out the fruit a little. The berries were quite small and almost a little dehydrated, so this should help to plump them up without being too detrimental to the quality.

The long and short of it is that we will start picking this Friday, 5th September (it had been my opinion for a month or two that we would start in the first week of September). The cellar is now almost completely ready, all equipment thoroughly cleaned and all machines serviced and (hopefully) ready to go. In the next few days the cellar will be filled with the constant drone of the presses, which is always the sign that harvest is upon us!