Mountain View
Note - this post was originally published 05.15.2014
For one reason or another we traveled over multiple mountain ranges this week. Luckily for us, vineyards stretch out in every direction. This photo was one of our favorite views on the north end of Napa Valley, well no longer in the valley but up the side of the slope that hugs the valley at over 1000ft in elevation.
Tractor Work
Note - this post was originally published 05.01.2014
The biggest news has probably been the weather. We had a couple chilly, rainy days which gave a lot of people a much needed break/weekend. Then summer roared and we've got a little heat wave with highs in the 90s. Happy first day of May!
Our photo from this week is from our tractor work. Keeping everything clean. There is a wonderfully satisfying feeling of taking care of a vineyard, being stewards of the land, and turning around after a hard day's work and seeing the beautiful, maintained vines.
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:
Suckering Time
Note - this post was originally published 04.09.2014.
Spring has sprung and so have our schedules. We're finding ourselves busier and busier which is exciting. The Russian River Valley grapes are a little ahead of the Napa Valley vines in growth. We started suckering this week and getting excited about this vintage of grapes. Can you see the little clusters to-be in this photo?
Out here suckers are what we call the new growth. And the vine sends out shouts all over, not just the places we've prepared for during pruning. So, suckering is when we remove the extra shoots. Less shoots leaves more resources (nutrients, water, etc) for the grapes to-be and gives us higher quality fruit.
All this lovely green after the last couple of winter/rain. Here's a photo... making wine in the rain and hail last week:
Vineyards: Pest Management
Note - this post was originally published 2/19/2014.
Congrats to Francisco! He is now a licensed private applicator for pesticides. Looking for someone to employ to take care of your vineyards and/or wine? Look no further. Awesome career development and good for personal safety. He can now apply pesticides and teach others about the safety precautions to take when working with pesticides.
There are many strategies for pest management in the vineyards. At some point to protect the grapes though, vineyard owners (even the organically farmed ones) often choose to spray. For example, they might spray a sulfur solution to prevent molds/powdery mildew after summer rains.