2010 J. Lohr Tower Road Petite Sirah

2010 was the coolest vintage Paso Robles has seen in a decade. With winter rainfall nearly 50% above normal, and very cool summer temperatures, there were concerns that Petite Sirah may not get fully ripe before late season rains set in. This cool vintage provided an ideal challenge for our newest evolution in vineyard irrigation strategy, which involves stopping irrigation in mid-June, just after fruitset. With weekly measurements of vine water status, we determined precisely when soil profiles had dried out and were in need of watering. We were expecting that a 3 to 5 week “dry-down” would be possible, but were impressed that most of our deep rooted vines did not experience water stress until a full 2 months had passed without irrigation. This dramatic approach in our growing strategy forced vines from their vegetative growth stage to a reproductive stage early in the season. This hastened seed maturity and the