The photo below was taken today, Friday March 23, 2008. The Pinot Noir is definitely flowering, maybe a little later than usual because of a cool April, and the weather is still not co-operating. Today has been cool, in the low 50s, and we are even having a little rain.
A little rain is OK, it is more like heavy mist, but heavy rain or even mildly heavy rain can damage the flowering. So far it has remained misty. This is a critical time in the development of the vine. We never know what the harvest is going to be like until the flowering is over. Once over we can better count the number of clusters and determine how they have ’set’.
This year we know the crop is going to be light — the frost took care of that – but with a decent ’set’ the vine may compensate somewhat. Wind and heavy rain can affect the result and what we need, right now, is mild sunny weather with moderate winds.
For a more detailed view click image to enlarge: 
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