If you’re going to walk the vineyards in July, you should get an early start. By 10am, the temperature climbs to 90 degrees, and the cliffs conspire to reflect sun rays that somehow missed you, baking you, the earth and vines as you walk the rows. At this early date, every grape on Snipes Mountain is green, regardless of the varietal. To the untrained eye, the only signs of difference hang in the form of yellow tags found sporadically on the end posts of rows. But on a clear summer day, even in the heat, the territorial views are commanding, and it’s easy to imagine the purple and gold fruit ready for fall’s harvest, and the crush that will soon follow.
