I noticed this morning that my Marechal Foch grapes were turning
purple already. This seems very early, being late July, but it has
been horribly hot here in Baltimore for the last couple of weeks. Have
any other Foch growers noticed ripening already?

On Jul 24, 8:46*pm, Pavel314 > wrote:
> I noticed this morning that my Marechal Foch grapes were turning
> purple already. This seems very early, being late July, but it has
> been horribly hot here in Baltimore for the last couple of weeks. Have
> any other Foch growers noticed ripening already?

I don't grow it, but heat does hasten ripening. The following is a
report from Lone Oak Winery in Texas dated July 8, regarding Foch's
sibling Leon Millot

"Hey everyone. Just a little watch out. We have already harvested
our
Leon Millot. It came in at 26.7 on July 4. Our Chardonel was at
25.5 this
morning. We didn’t believe it so we got a 100 berry random sample
this
afternoon. It came in at 26.2 degrees Brix!!! Our Shiraz is already
at 20.5 in
Block “B” and 21 in block “A”. Due to the intense heat and drought
all
of our varieties are progressing at 0.5 degrees Brix per day .
Unless we
have a major change in the weather pattern, I am predicting that we
will
harvest our Shiraz and Tempranillo between July 23 and July 30. This
is 3
weeks to one month sooner than our average harvest dates for these
varieties
in North Central Texas. I have checked with other growers and they
are
seeing the same phenomenon. If you are waiting for your first normal
sugar
samples in late July you may want to t ake a peek - like NOW!"