Summer Summary

It's been a busy summer. The COVID dominos fall every which way. But it is time to post some happenings because harvest is here and the wine is already being made. 

We like to see one new fruit every year and this year it is Pitomba (Eugenia luschnathiana). The fruit is the size of a cherry, texture of an apricot, but aromatic and moderately sweet. Hoping for more than one next year. 

Just before Jake's graduation from medical school we hosted him and two friends at the chalet. We went out on the big lake and brought back a decent haul of fish. I've never been a fan of lake trout frozen, then thawed and cooked in the usual way but I found a terrific smoked lake trout recipe which is delicious. 

The greenhouse is at least half empty and production has been variable. We had a good crop of jaboticabas, but the dragon fruit has disappointed. We did get a couple of softball sized dragon fruit that made a delicious dragon fruit salsa. 

In the vineyard, I replanted 5 Frontenac gris, 10 Itasca, and 10 LaCrescent. From the 2020 vintage, the Chambourcin is terrific, by far the best dry red grape wine I've ever made. It was eye opening for me because I almost didn't pick the fruit. I let it hang a long time, long enough that no adjustments to the must were needed. It seems that letting the fruit hang is, well, kind of important. That lesson has been remembered this year, as you will later see. 

Lisa got me a drone for my birthday.

We took the drone to the chalet for Sharon and Bob's 60th anniversary party 

Itasca, Foch, and Frontenac are out of the vineyard and so far, no adjustments needed on any of them. Vidal will start coming out tomorrow. 

Fruit is Coming!

Normally by this time of the summer we are dragging hose and just trying to keep enough water on plants to keep them alive. But so far this year we've stayed wet enough to keep plants looking good and rain barrels in the greenhouse topped up. Growing degree days started accumulating late and despite some really warm temps over the past week, haven't really caught up too much. We're at 1842 since April 16 (average bud break). Also, climate change:

Despite two trips out of town, we largely stayed ahead of the beetle damage so far. We have veraison on Foch and Frontenac, but not Chambourcin:

 

Speaking of trips, we spent a few days at the Chalet. Bob and Sharon visited, and the weather and company was great.

Upon our return, we had water issues in the greenhouse. The point of failure with my demand pump is the pressure switch. The diagnosis was easy, as this has happened before. Feeling clever, I ordered not one, but three replacement switches. I didn't feel that clever when, after receiving my shipment, I found 2 more extra switches from my order the last time it failed. 

The GFCI outlet the pump uses also failed. In the process of fixing that, I fixed a stripped screw hole in the cover, making it watertight for the first time in a couple of years. The repairs were more satisfying that one would imagine.

This time of year lots of stuff fruits. Not only are grapes coming on, but we've finally got enough jaboticaba for a batch of wine. 

First time ever for a Second crop of Grumichama

Lemondrop Mangosteen

Dragonfruit

Not pictured are blackberries, because I'm embarrassed by the fact that the patch is completely overgrown. More pawpaws again this year, but I suspect it will be another month before they are ripe. 

Some of the Nortons are still struggling but we haven't lost any more vines. And in some really exciting news, we have about 5 of the cuttings take root.

Lisa and I had to work all week, but Allie and Joe were here and got some work done as well. We really enjoyed the visit, hope they did too!

A Good Food Day

Last weekend we went to the Chalet. Lake Michigan showed its many different faces. Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Bob came on Friday, when the Lake was angry, and so the afternoon was spent poking around St. Joseph.

Saturday the Lake calmed down and we stayed home. We had a delicious Bit of Swiss breakfast, followed by a nice walk. Lunch was tasty Vietnamese-style vegetarian sandwiches. The afternoon was spent on the beach (Lisa and Robert) and hanging out at the Chalet (Sharon and Bob). We broke out the wine early, starting with the 2016 Pinot grigio. Lisa and Sharon love it, but I still get the faintest hint of hay or a barnyard. Next we moved to appetizers and 2016 blueberry rosé. All agreed this was good wine, even better at the end of the bottle. Dinner was flat iron steak with tomato-fregola warm salad, accompanied by 2016 blackberry wine. I'm satisfied that this year's blackberry does not suffer the flaws of 2015. More Bit of Swiss for desert. Sharon declared it "a good food day." Indeed.