Different Winter Work
It snowed in the area! We’re not used to seeing snow and enjoying the change of pace. Being careful and helping cut down fallen trees around the vineyards this week:
Retaining Wall
We had a big project this winter repairing and replacing retaining walls in the vineyard. Winter is a chance to update infrastructure in the vineyard.
Signs of Winter
It happened. This year, the winter season kicked off with a few good, heavy pouring, rain storms. For us, winter is the rainy season. It’s just that the past few years have been light on the rain. So after a community, collective sigh of relief that the rain damped any chance of an October fire storm, we sloshed around at all the rain and marveled at seeing water were we haven’t for months. Signs of Winter!
Ripening Olives
Wine country provides a perfect climate for wine grapes and other delicious foods including olives. The olives around here are ripening and getting ready for their own harvest, which generally occurs after the wine grape harvest.
Fall Colors
New England may boast and brag about it’s beautiful forest fall colors, but the vineyards in Northern California do not disappoint. The colors across the fields, against the fall … definitely November vibes.
Last Garden Harvest
Our home garden did not disappoint this year. It was all we could do to keep up with harvest all the goodies, and thanks to some extended warmer weather we harvested well into October, eating the last of it this November. Cheers to green thumbs!
Vineyard view
Sometimes, you just get that chance for a great view from the top. Francisco was working on the roof of a winery one day, and took this photo. Wine country looking good.
Smoky view
We’ve had some smoky days here in wine country. The all two familiar red morning sun and low hanging haze. Here’s a view from one morning in the vineyard:
Rattlesnake
Every season we come across rattlesnakes in the vineyard. It’s one reason we’re so serious about keep the vineyard rows clear and clean - giving the snakes less area to feel comfortable and hang around. Here’s a picture of one we found working the vineyard rows one day we were…
New Vineyard Infrastructure
Laying out and building new vineyard infrastructure is exiting. The new growth and shiny wires. Here are a few photos from when we added trellis wires to help support the new vine growth.
Sunshine in the Vineyard
The sun has been shining strongly; we’ve had heat waves and the vines are soaking it up and reaching to the sky. It’s an exciting time in the vineyard with all the new growth (yes, we’re bias and love being in the vineyard all times of year)!
Suckering vines
As the vines grow, we continue to guide them towards the best growth - funneling their energy towards growth and premium grapes. We’ve been in the vineyards suckering the vines and removing shoots.
Erosion Control
In the vineyard - On a steep hillside vineyard we brought straw before the recent rain storms. Photos from our work below. May it rain again soon!
Weed Whacking
Benefits of weed whacking your property.
Weed whacking - cutting grass and weeds in places that are difficult to reach. Sometimes this means carefully going around the grape vines. Sometimes this means traversing a hillside.
Reasons for keeping your property clean:
It looks nice! There’s a pretty high standard in wine country and plenty of iconic shots with beautiful rows. A well-tended vineyard is obvious. The grape vines and the rows between are neat.
It’s safer for those around. A clean vineyard means less hiding places for critters - in particular rattlesnakes. Seriously. It’s safer for workers and for anyone living close to the vineyard. Check out this article (SF Gate) - rattlesnakes mated earlier this year and we can expect to see baby snakes in the next few weeks.
Fire safety. As we all know, we’ve been experiencing more intense fire seasons over the past few years. And this year our area is already on fire. We’ve have fires in Vacaville, Solano County; Petaluma in Sonoma County, and Contra Costa County. There is also an active fire in Yorkville in Mendocino County. We don’t want to add fuel to the fire - literally, so cutting back grasses is part of the prevention. It helps create your defensible space zone.
‘Tis the season. Here’s to keeping the vineyard clean! Some photos from weed whacking in the vineyard:
Nets
Note - this post was originally published 8.07.2014
The grapes have undergone veraison – the onset of ripening when the color of the berries (grapes) change color. Until now both the red and white varieties have been green. Literally.
In some of the vineyards we take care of, we’ve had to net the vines against local birds who have also noticed the ripening fruit.
California Sunshine
Note - this post was originally published 04.23.2014
Everyone talks about it. People fly thousands of miles for the guarantee of soaking up some of the rays. What we find amazing is the growth it inspires. It's April and we've been eating pints of super lush, sweet, large strawberries by the pint this week. And of course, the grapes. The vines have sent out shoots and now we're just trying to keep up:
Another Wet and Gloomy Day
Note - this post was originally published 2/5/2014.
There’s no thunder, but the sounds strike you with awe nonetheless. Listening to the rain pound the earth in waves. It’s beautiful. Rain’s not just for the ducks and the vines. It brings life and makes us happy too. Another wet and gloomy day under the blanket of clouds… Yippee!
Some day we'll have our own little weather station, but for now the best data we could find online for this area was based out of Santa Rosa - Sonoma County (west over the Mayacama mountain range from Napa Valley). We haven't gone for a driving tour, but here's betting there's a good bit of flooding around the vines in the Russian River Valley. We did run into a little flooding ourselves while out for a walk:
Winter Found Us
Note - this post was originally published 2/3/2014.
Who knew we would be so excited to welcome winter? The weather has chilled and the clouds moved in for a good down pour and crisp wind. On the Vaca Mountains (the mountain range on the eastern side of Napa Valley) there was even some snow!
Rain Drops
Note - this post was originally published 1/30/2014.
It rained. .. a little. January is usually the wettest month of the year. This year we are in a governor-declared drought emergency.
In the image above, Napa and Sonoma Counties (North Bay) are in extreme drought. There’s only one more drought level higher. But it rained, just enough to get the roads wet and slippery and hang the mountains and valleys in the clouds.
My husband was out taping vines despite the consistent rain drops. We tape the new vines to the trellis (the tape is green in the photos below) to train the vines to grow straight and encourage more fruit production. We also tape older vines to the wires of the trellis to support them, so when they bear fruit the vines can hold up their own weight.
I had the opportunity to take a trip up Spring Mountain, which straddles Sonoma and Napa counties as part of the Mayacama range. I brought my camera, hoping I might get up above the clouds far enough to take a nice photo for you, but no luck. I could barely see where my car was parked. As I came back down the mountain, I did see seven deer and three turkeys. Only a little water and life is slowly returning.
The cool cloudy weather inspired warm comforting soup for dinner:
“Broccoli and Potato Soup
1 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs olive oil
½ white onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into coins
1 bay leaf
3 Russet potatoes, peeled, washed, and chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
4 cups vegetable broth (I used boiling water and added two boullion cubes to the soup)
Over medium-high heat, melt the butter and oil together in a large pot. Add onions, garlic, and carrot. Stir to mix with oil, but then allow to cook 4 minutes over medium heat – want the onions to start to become translucent, not burn. Add bay leaf, potatoes, broccoli, and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. That’s it!
Adapated from this recipe I found online.”