Author: Paul

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Rain – Panic – Calm

It’s raining in Northern California.  You may have read newspaper articles about the rain or even seen the occasional TV report.  Those reports usually give an air of panic and desperation as wineries try and rush in grapes before they are ‘ruined’ by the rain.  Hooey!

We have a rain event every year.  Well almost every year.  In 2006 there was no October rain, otherwise it’s an annual thing.  We do try and bring in the thinned skinned grapes like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay before the rains come.  The thick skinned grapes like Mourvedre (in the picture) and Cabernet Sauvignon though will go just fine through the rain.

The key is to let the grapes dry out after the rain and before you pick them.  In the picture you can see Mourvedre in our front yard and there are little drops of water on the grapes.  Those little drops add up and can dilute the wine, lowering alcohol by as much as 2-3%.  That’s why it’s important to let the grapes get some sun and dry out.

We had been scheduled to pick the Haut Tubee vineyards tomorrow, including Red Hen, the Church, and Home vineyards but I just sent a message to Millie and we are postponing until Tuesday.  We’ll still go on with Crimson Clover on Sunday as we have 2 days of sun coming and that will be enough to dry out the grapes.

Then what’s next?  Do we panic and bring in all the Cabernet out there before it rains again?  No, we go to New Orleans for a week to avoid all the panic going on.  The Cabs will be ready after October 20th from our testing.  Some vineyards will actually be ready around the 31st.  That’s normal for us, the warm September helped get us back to normal, so it’s best to stay calm and wait it out.

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First Harvest of the Year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning we were out for our fist harvest of the year. I took the traditional photo of the time and temperature from the FJ Cruiser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next photo is also a traditional stop for us now.  Sam’s Donuts around the corner from our house.  We get a dozen donuts or so for the crew and volunteers.

The vineyard we harvested is new for us this year.  It’s the Brauns or Under a Lucky Star Vineyard.  There are 400 Pinot Noir plants above Los Altos in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived on site just as the sun was coming up and the crew had already started working.    In 2005 we tried harvesting earlier in a couple vineyards using lights.  This sounds really cool and is trendy, but I figured quickly it’s a complete waste of time.  The crew moves at about 50% of normal speed and you end up having to go back through anyway and get what you missed when the sun comes out.  All we really accomplished was sleep deprivation and a higher risk of injury so we don’t do that anymore.

We used the ‘A Team’ for this pick since it was out first time in the vineyard to harvest.  Jerry, Gil, Estella and Ysidro made up the professional crew and we had Wes, Ingrid, Joan and Ron come as volunteers.  Everyone picking was an experienced picker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picking went very quickly and we were done well before 9AM.  Total harvest was just about 900 pounds which is the most ever for this site we were told.  There had been animal and bird issues in the past.  We used a double netting system and sealed the net bottoms with chop sticks as we normally do.  This is different from most vineyards but we’ve learned this method is key for our suburban vineyards.

The fruit looked excellent and I took the picture below of the soil in the vineyard.  Stefania and I love this red volcanic dirt.  There’s a small band through out the Santa Cruz Mountains and grapes do very well on it.  The same band also cuts through Crimson Clover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took just about 25 minutes to get to the winery and then only about 10 minutes to process the fruit.  There was a little drama with the pump that I had to tend to and then the winemaking so I didn’t take any pictures of the actual crush.  Stefania took readings and the numbers were Brix 23.9, pH 3.7 and TA .61.  Really great for a first time in this vineyard.

The juice went into a single bin and will ferment on native yeast.  We used 1/3 whole clusters and I’ll only do two punch downs a day to avoid getting to much tannin extracted.  We’re really excited about this vineyard and wine.

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Harvest is Upon Us

It has been a combination of getting used to the new blogging tool and being really busy that’s limited our writing. Neither Stefania nor I are really comfortable yet with the new blogging interface so we’re not writing much. Hopefully we’ll pick it up some in the next few weeks.

We did get to Vegas and had a fantastic time at Rock and Roll Wine.  Train was much better than I expected.  The concert was a blast and we partied and hung out in the cabana all night.  The next day we swam and sunned and watched the football games outside.  If you can make it to Vegas next year for the event, it’s highly recommended.

Offer letters have gone out and orders are humming in.  Almost everyone seems to want more Haut Tubee and I don’t think we’ll have enough to go around.

We’ve also been out checking on all the vineyards.  It looks like Pinot Noir will be first up this Saturday, then the Crimson Clover vineyard next weekend.  Stefania and I will be in the winery Friday getting everything cleaned, prepared and ready to go.

We’ll try and pick up the blogging some more as we harvest and work over the next few weeks.

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Fall Release

Stefania is working away in the office on offer letters for our Fall Release. Letter will start to go out on the 15th. We’re expecting that the wine we have available will sell out very quickly. It could be as fast as two weeks. I’ve just updated the Wine section of the site with details on the three wines being released.

2008 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon, Harvest Moon Vineyard, ‘Special Reserve’, Santa Cruz Mountains

Mailing List Price: $44 per bottle. Total Production 66 cases.

2009 Stefania Syrah, Split Rail Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains

Mailing List Price: $36 per bottle. Total production 96 cases

2009 Stefania Haut Tubee California

Mailing List Price: $20 per bottle. Total production 145 cases

LIBRARY RELEASE:

2006 Stefania Syrah, Eaglepoint Ranch, Mendocino County:

Mailing List Price: $38 per bottle (Total cases available: 12)

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One More Bottling Day Down

Bottling has always been a chore for us.  It’s the hardest thing we do in the winery.  There are lots of moving pieces and lots of vendors to work with and coordinate.  Then there’s the bottling line itself which can be prone to all kinds of problems.  Our latest biggest challenge has been finding a bottling truck to use.  We really liked the company we were using but the truck really did not fit in our space.  It took 7 hours last time to back the truck in through the gate and down the hill.  It clears the gate by just 2 inches on each side and that’s not even the hardest pat of backing it in.

When we’re done bottling we would have to call a tow truck to wench the bottling truck back up the gravel road.  It was just too difficult for the space.  Every other bottling company we talked to though was either missing a key piece of equipment or was just too big to get in our space.  We finally decided to move the wine out to another facility for bottling.

There was the usual drama with the glass company, they sent some of the wrong shape.  Stefania was able to get that corrected.  Everything else went pretty well including loading the barrels up on a truck to move.  Friday was a long day – 15 hours total and there were several problems through the day, but in the end we got it all done.  Our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignons; Crimson Clover, Santa Cruz Mountains and Chaine d’Or were all bottled.

Monday the trucking company will come back and pick all the finished cases up.  One more bottling down and one long day behind us.

 

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The A+ Vendor List

One of the things that Stefania and I do twice per year, usually after bottling and harvest, is rate all of our vendors.  There are usually somewhere between 15 and 25 vendors that we rate.  We give everyone a grade from A to F.  A’s and B’s we keep.  If there was a reason someone got a B we make sure we communicate what we want to be done better next time.

C’s and D’s are on notice.  We tell them that we are unhappy and why.  We also tell them that we’re looking for alternatives and unless they improve we will replace them.  We end up replacing a lot of C and D companies.  They reason they get those grades is usually systemic to the company and not a matter of a few correctable items.  F is for fired.  We do give F’s and we do have vendors we won’t work with anymore.

So what in the world does this have to do with me and a sledgehammer?  Well we finally got the budget to break out the old cement slab in the backyard as the first step in installing a redwood deck.  Stefania and I did all the demolition with heroic help from our friend Eric.  A few people asked: ‘Why don’t you just go down to Home Depot and hire a couple guys?”  Well I thought about that, and I also thought my dad never went out and hired guys when I was a kid, he did it himself with a friend or two.  It occurred to me later that when I was a ‘kid’ my dad was 27 not 45.  No wonder he never needed to hire a couple guys.

The previous homeowner here we lovingly refer to as “F…in Jackwagon” had some surprises in store for us as we demolished.  Re-bar sticking out of the foundation, a buried 1/2 ton cement block (why dispose of properly when you can bury it???),   an unsteady pour of cement that went from 4 to 10 inches thick and my favorite a McDonalds soda cup circa 1967 embedded in the cement.  In all we hauled out by wheelbarrow 6 cubic yards.

It’s where we hauled it to that brings me back to the vendor list.  One vendor we’ve used now since 2009 is Steve’s Hauling.  We use Steve to take pruning out of vineyards and haul away any other debris we have from site construction or maintenance.  We call, give him the address, tell him what we need done, and he does it and sends a reasonable bill.  Every year we’ve given Steve an A+.  We used him again for this job and once again an A+ job.  Steve Stone – Steve’s Hauling 510-719-2994 A+!

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Mountain Climbing

Where do I start?

The photo is of Mt. Belford.

In addition to getting ready for this harvest season, Paul and I have been busting our buns to get into good enough shape to climb this mountain.  Why?  Long story, for another day.  The short version is that we’ve been doing the stairs at Communications Hill in San Jose, and let me tell you what, it’s no picnic.  On our first day out to test them, we did one set.  From the very bottom, all the way up, and back down.  Thought I would die from heart or lung failure…so.out.of.shape.  Ugh!

The next time, I did what I should have done the first time out and took a hit off the asthma inhaler before driving over there.  We did two sets, up and down, up and down.  Better.  By lastnight, we successfully did “the hill”, five times.

In between hill climbs, we went over to Calero and hiked our normal trail, the hard way, and never stopped.  The stairs are working!  Usually, on the incline, we stop to catch our breath at least three times, sometimes more.  We didn’t stop! Woohoo! There were a couple of times I thought I should, but then the trail would level off just a bit, long enough to catch my breath and we kept going.  Felt great.

Things I really need to blog about that are vineyard and winery related are coming up soon, this is my test blog to see how the new platform works out. So far so good…of course I’m not to “publish” yet, so we’ll see what happens.  Wish me luck.

-SR

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This Years Training Camp

Each summer we start a ‘training camp’ to get ready for harvest.  Normally it’s more time at the gym and a regular hike schedule.  It gets us ready for the long days up and down the hills in our vineyards that are coming up.

This year we’re starting with something new though and a little extra motivation.  The picture above is the base of Communication Hill in San Jose.  There are 56 steps and a 2 block walk up to the main stair case.  The main run is 224 steps that cover about 180 foot climb.  We’ve been on a schedule so far of about every other day and are up to 5 consecutive climbs.  We’ll keep working towards being able to do the flight at least 10 times in a row.

We also have a training plan sent to us from a personal trainer in Colorado.  The extra motivation is a plan for us to climb a 14,000 peak in Colorado next year.  We’ve picked Mount Belford as our target climb and late July as the date.

I’ve added in some other local hikes that we’ll do over the next year to help get ready, including climbing Mission Peak here in Milpitas and the 10 mile Bald Peak trail at Calero Park.  If all goes well we will also try and work our postponed Grand Canyon hike in either before or after Mount Belford (I want to try April, Stef wants to do it after in September around the time we’re usually in Las Vegas).

The hardest time for us will be November and December.  In past years we have been in good shape going into harvest and then done well through October.  By the middle of November though we’re exhausted from harvest work and just as we’re finishing up cellar work when Thanksgiving and then Christmas are on us.  We might only get to the gym 2-3 times in those two months.  This year we’ll have to stay on a schedule though to be ready for our 14,000 foot climb!

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This Years Weather

Early in the year there was a great deal of talk about the weather.  It was a cold and very wet spring.  We had unusual rain in May and June.  There was concern for the harvest this year.

The basic rule about the weather is that the spring effects quantity, summer effects the harvest date and fall effects quality.   The wet cold weather in the spring did effect quantity for us.  In our higher vineyards like Chaine d’Or we had really poor fruit set and quantities will be way down.  At another high vineyard, Split Rail, the quantity was effected so much that we won’t harvest any grapes this year.  The other lower vineyards will have smaller than normal yields but not as drastic as the high altitude vineyards.

The summer started cool, and we’ve not really had any heat waves.  I took the picture above from the top of Communication Hill in San Jose.  It should look familiar, it’s the same view you see on our labels.  That’s what summer has looked like all year.  Fog in the morning, sunny during the day, with highs in the 80’s.  That’s perfect.  Too hot and the grapes will shut down, too cold and sugars will not develop.

Right now I think we’re in for a late harvest.  Like 2009 and 2010.   It looks like it will be sooner than 2010 and that’s good, but we’re not worried.  We are used to waiting into late October.

So far quality looks really good.  We’ve had clean vineyards for the most part with mildew pressure only in the higher vineyards.  The clusters and berries look good.  A few more weeks of weather like this and we’ll head into fall in really great shape.

There’s still alot that could go crazy.  Too much heat, rain at the wrong time, or a number of other things could effect quality.  If, and it’s always a big if, we have a normal fall though we should be looking at an excellent quality, low quantity year.

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Tucking and Thinning at Chaine d’Or

Saturday Millie had been tucking and thinning at Chaine d’Or when we went and pulled her away to inspect the new Brauns vineyard.

Yields will be very low again due to shatter and poor fertility of the nodes.  Fertility is determined the year before (2010).  The nodes where new growth will come from need lots of sunshine before flowering to be fertile and last year there was little sun in the vineyard in May and June.  So, fog in 2010 effects yield in 2011.

Shatter can have many causes.  This year the two big issues where rain and cold during flowering.  Grapes self pollinate .  In the late Spring and early summer small flowers open up on the clusters.  The flower then drops pollen on to the base and the grape is pollinated and will form into maturity.  The weather needs to be warm and calm.  Cold weather will keep the pollen from releasing.  Stormy weather will disrupt the dropping of the pollen.  We had cold weather and rain during flowering.  Above you can see what happens.  The cluster ends up with just a few grapes on the cluster.  It looks like the cluster has been ‘shattered’ and the grapes have fallen off.

What we really needed to get done though was tucking and thinning.  Tucking is making sure that the growth is up and into the wire system.  This insures the plants get the right amount of sun and that we can get mildew spray on the vines.  You actually tuck the shoots up into the wires.  Thinning is removing any excess growth so that there is good airflow (which prevents mildew) and sun access for the shoots that remain.

It was clear on Saturday that there was more work than Millie and I could finish on our own on Sunday.  The regular crew would still be working in Saratoga so we did something we have not done in a few years.  We sent out an email to friends asking for emergency help.  Amber, Dave and Wes came out to help Millie, Stefania and I on a warm Sunday.

Here’s what a row looks like before we start, note the fog hanging over the ridge line a mile away:

And after thinning:

Nice and cleaned up.  We worked until 2PM, and Dave’s new work out routine made him the star tucker and thinner of the day.  In all we finished 12 of the 22 rows.  They were the longest ones though and Millie and I were able to finish the other 10 the next day.