Growing Season Is Here
It’s hard to pick a favorite time of the growing season. As a winemaker, you live for the excitement, camaraderie, and semi-controlled chaos of harvest. As a grapegrower, it is not quite so simple. Every little segment of the season has its own beautiful intricacies. That being said, it is truly hard to think of a better time of year in the vineyard than right now. The days are warm, clear and long with an almost constant coastal breeze moderating the temperature. The hillsides are green and lush and all around us, life is buzzing and bustling along. Amongst this backdrop, one of the most amazing parts of the grape growing process is occurring: flowering.
Grapevine’s flowers may not be as big and spectacular as some roses but what they lack in size they more than make up for in fragrance. The vineyard at full bloom is filled with the beautiful aroma of thousands upon thousands of tiny flowers. It is a time of the year that is as delicate as it is beautiful because our fruit production depends on successful pollination. We walk every block daily to monitor for signs of stress and alter our cultural practices accordingly so as not to disrupt this process. It is truly incredible to watch the inflorescences transform from what look like tiny berries into minuscule white flowers only to then turn into true clusters of grapes.
Prior to flowering, our days were filled with a process called shoot-thinning and suckering. This process entails removing all the excess growth that the vine has pushed from locations other than the buds we left at pruning. Many of these extra shoots (suckers) will suck energy from the vine without producing any fruit and need to be removed so the vine can focus its resources on fruiting, hence the name “suckering”. In some cases, however, these extra shoots may be growing in such an ideal position that they warrant being kept. By doing this early in the season, the benefits are twofold. First, we are able to remove the young shoots which saves the plant from having more cuts later in the season. Secondly, we are able to focus the vine’s energy and resources on the positions most likely to yield us quality fruit for this year and good canes for next year.
From a farming perspective, over the past year we have transitioned the vineyard to a fully organic spray schedule. It means more work, as we must monitor the vineyards more closely and spray more frequently. Still, from a qualitative perspective and a philosophical one it is more than worth it for us. On a similar end we are trying to move closer and closer to our eventual goal of dry-farming our vineyards. Dry-farming will allow us to produce more characteristic and concentrated wines while preserving one of our most precious resources. A drought year with half of our average rainfall makes this an especially demanding challenge, but with close monitoring, the use of some biodynamic sprays and available water should we feel it is absolutely necessary to irrigate, our hopes are high.
All in all, things at the ranch are pretty great. We have had some great visits from family and dear friends and ranch improvement projects continue at a steady pace. We have refurbished some of the old barns and will soon be applying a fresh coat of paint to really make this place shine. Our guardian dogs, Luca and Lola started work this week with their first mission being to protect our chickens and the 3 baby calves currently on property. It’s amazing to think that next month will mark the one year anniversary of moving out here and starting to farm the ranch. It’s been a fantastic ride so far, and we are so happy to be able to share it with all of you.
Cheers,
-Greg & Sydney