2018 vintage lingo: Water Berry
Water berry shown in gloved hand - healthy clusters of Pinot Gris in background of photo. As we approach harvest here in the Willamette valley all the talk has been about water berry...or pink berry. As far as I can tell it's the same thing. It's an affliction affecting wine grape clusters that causes them to stop developing sugar, acid, and flavor. This can be a major problem in the winery as sugar, acid, and flavors are measured pre-harvest with field berry or whole cluster samplings. If you have an area of the vineyard that has more of a concentration and that doesn't come through with your composite samplings you can get a surprise when you get all the grapes in and start testing the juice. This can also often be too late to make some major decisions about what type of wine you're making. For example, a Rose of Pinot Noir or a red Pinot Noir. Water berry shown center surrounded by healthy clusters of Pinot Noir (828 clone) I've been reading up online
