Hail! Oh No!

This picture, taken by  Elyse Perry, Asst. Winemaker for Bokisch Vineyards, shows storm clouds over Terra Alta Vineyard.  We all know that California needs the water, but at this time of year, new growth is more susceptible to damage from excessive rain and especially hail.    And there was heavy rain and hail. 

Watch a video
Markus Bokisch took this video of hail falling in April/2015 at  his home near Las Cerezas Vineyard

You can bet Markus Bokisch and his crew were out to assess the damage as soon as the storm subsided.  New shoots and buds can be scarred or knocked off by the hail.  This can wreak havoc on this year’s fruit production.  So far, the assessment looks promising for our vineyards.  The hail event didn’t last very long and it appears to have done minimal damage.

In some of our vineyards, our crews have been busy shoot thinning.  This is a process where they select the best two shoots and remove others from the spur (branch).  This is a manual process done by experienced hands.  The selection of shoots will play heavily into the quality of our grapes.

Bokisch Ranches farms over 2500 acres of wine grapes.  A fraction of those will be used to make Bokisch Vineyards and Tizona wines.  The rest will be used by client wineries all over California.