Autumn updates, part 1

In early September, I cut my losses. I dropped fruit from petit verdot. There was too much sour rot and too much hornet damage to even think about *pressing* on. However, with further investigation into local vineyards, I noticed there wasn't much difference between my fruit versus the professional vineyards. 2011 was a very tough year.
I learned that I need a better spray mechanism. My fungus burden was exceptionally high. My backpack sprayer just isn't sufficient to penetrate the canopy. I need overall better pest control.
In early September, I was not sure if I would find any fruit for crush. This was the low point of the 2011 season.