"Joe Giller" > wrote in message
...
> Hello All,
> I have about 1.25 acres of ~35 year old Cab Sauvignon vines in the
> Sonoma Valley that I took over tending and this is my first harvest.
> Been checking the Brix roughly each week for the last 3 weeks and it
> seems to be hovering around 19 Brix. I want to harvest this before
> November if possible (when the rain might start coming) and was
> wondering if perhaps grapes reach a certain Brix and stop (because they
> are old or whatever). I don't mind waiting but just wondering if the
> Sugar Fairy will come soon....Some more info: they are dry farmed, head
> pruned, and some of the grapes are showing signs of dimpling and there
> are some vines with raisining due to sun exposure I imagine.
>
> Any info would be appreciated. I would like them to reach 24 or a
> little higher if possible. Don't know much about the farming aspect
though.
> Patience?

I suspect that your sampling may be the problem. This late in the season,
and especially if the fruit is showing dimpling and raisining, the Brix is
probably closer to 24 than 19. You need to pick a number of
_representative_ clusters, crush them up, soak them overnight and _then_
measure the Brix. If you're just picking a berry or two here and there you
won't get a good reading. My 2¢ worth...

Tom S