OUR VINEYARD

Our Vitis vinifera winegrapes find Sonoma County and Dry Creek Valley to be well suited to the production of premium wine. The coldness of winter and warmth of summer; the many varieties of compatible soil types; and the influence of fog following the Russian River into the valley create a ideal growing environment for our grapes.

A cold winter provides enough chilling units to allow the vines to slumber while dormant. A warm spring and dry summer allows the vines to drink well from spring rains to help produce the leaves that fill the VSP canopies while slowing the vines at veraison to allow the vine to focus on the task of ripening the grapes. Fog during the summer slows the ripening process to allow for the gradual expression of very fruity flavors and aromas.

We work in the vineyard to ensure the best combination of grape clusters to overall leaf area. Balancing cover crop and/or clean soil to rootstock efficiency and water availability is vital. Throughout the growing season we constantly evaluate vine nutrient status and overall vine health.

These are the same grapes that we use for our own custom crush project - so you know we grow the best grapes we possibly can!

Merlot

 

DEFINITIONS:

BUDBREAK: The response from the vine to the gradual warming of the soil and air in Spring causing the buds, formed during the growing season of the previous year, to swell and finally begin to show tiny leaves.

VSP (Vertical Shoot Positioning): Most of our grapes are grown on the VSP trellis system modified, depending on row direction, to make full use of morning sun exposure while restricting the stress caused by hot afternoons.

CabernetCOVER CROP: Between rows are either disked or cover cropped depending on age and overall vigor of the block.

 

CrusherSUGAR TESTING: Pre-Harvest sugar testing follows a random cluster sampling method that guarantees accurate results. Using our own Gator and stainless steel crusher we gather whole clusters by the lug to remove the lower sugar inner berry bias.

HSorting GrapesARVEST: All hand harvested grapes are field sorted - either on a sort table on top of the 2 ton valley bins or while 1/2 ton cubes are being filled.

A LOVELY VIDEO SHOWING THE MATURATION OF WINEGRAPES DURING THE GROWING SEASON!

A YEAR IN THE VINEYARD

PRUNING - December to February

Vine Structure Decisions: We begin pruning after harvest in December. The grapevines developed the buds for this year during the previous growing season. This buds will grow shoots that will set fruit that depends on the overall health and vine microclimate the buds experienced. Typically, heavily shaded canes will develop less fruitful buds. Our goal during pruning is to establish the structure for the growing season. Our VSP trellis system guides our bi-laterally trained cordon arms along a wire. This cordon has multiple "spurs" that were shoots the previous year. These spurs provide the buds that will be this years shoots. Because these shoots may have multiple "canes" from last year, they need to be removed to one spur with two or three buds for this year. Making this decision now reduces the number of unwanted canes that need to be removed later! Pruning takes our permanent crew three months to complete.

BUDBREAK - mid-March to mid-April

Frost or no frost: We anxiously wait through this period and hope that no frost damages the tender shoots and clusters!

BLOOM - mid-May to mid-June

Winegrapes are self-pollinating so no bees needed BUT weather is important. Cool, rainy and/or windy weather can delay bloom.

SET & SHATTER - following bloom

Flowers that are pollinated become "set" - unpollinated flowers will eventually fall off the cluster. Some pollinated flowers, for unknown reason, will fall off the cluster too which is called "shatter".

VERAISON - end of July through middle of August - very dependent on variety and the year

Red winegrape berries begin to change color - white winegrapes begin to soften. Canes begin to mature and start changing color.

HARVEST - end of August through end of October - very dependent on variety and the year

The culmination of all of our efforts to produce flavorful winegrapes!