Archive for the ‘Vineyard’ Category
What do winter cold snaps do to the vineyard?
With climate progressively changing, one phenomena that is starting to occur fairly regularly is an occasional bout of intense winter cold weather. In January 2024, temperatures descended to as low as 4F in high altitude vineyards. Read on to learn how grapevines respond to this stress.
Silent Fall
One of our fall rituals has traditionally been battling songbirds, who arrive in the vineyard en masse in October to feast on our newly ripened grapes. But climate change and catastrophes in our environment have started to take their toll on our feathered friends. This year there was no need for bird deterrents, large migrations of robins and cedar waxwings over our vineyard seem to have disappeared.
La Colina & La Sierra Vineyards
Planted exclusively to Pinot Noir in 1999, La Colina occupies a hill between expanses of forest. The Dundee Hills AVA is protected from ocean and continental extremes by the Coastal and Cascade ranges and the […]
White Oak Vineyard
Fruit from this tiny vineyard (less than 2 acres) in the Ribbon Ridge AVA is lovingly farmed by famed cider apple grower Alan Foster. Because the soil at his property […]
The 2013 vintage saved… by a website
In the fall, as grape clusters are nearing their state of perfection, it is rain and the temperature associated with it that I keep a vigilant eye on. Depending on the year, “the ripe zone” for Pinot noir can range from several days to 2 weeks. In the latter part of September 2013, The University of Washington Department of Meteorology predicted a major storm rolling into Oregon. Thanks to a heads up from their website, we scheduled picking for 5 consecutive days, and brought our grapes in just before several inches of warm rain nearly destroyed the 2013 crop.
Dry Farming in a Hot, Dry Year
The growing season for 2015 was the hottest and driest on record, yet because grape vines are actually quite hardy and adapt readily to harsh conditions, our dry farmed grapes fared just fine.
What Makes a Vintage Fabulous?
Whenever a vintage like 2012 gives us beautiful fruit to vinify, discussion often revolves around “why?”. The truth lies in the vagaries of the weather. A tiny crop due to unusually warm spring weather resulted in wines of high intensity. Cool autumn nights preserved acidity while warm daytime temperatures resulted in grapes with perfect ripeness. While the intensity on these young wines makes them seem a bit “un-Pinot noir-like”, they will show their mettle as they age. Because the 2012 vintage is exceedingly small, don’t hesitate to invest in it now.
Summer on the Tractor
It is 5 a.m. The eastern sky is showing that a new day will soon be upon us. The tractor is in place, sprayer attached, ready to roll. It is time to get up and continue my summer battle to prevent mildew in the vineyard..
Breaking: buds at Clos Electrique!
Bud break just happened in Clos Electrique vineyard, and our friend Jeremy Fenske was there to capture it. Take a look at his beautiful footage after the jump…
Cameron Presents: the birds and the bees
It is said that healthy farms maintain a balance between plants and animals. Because of the birds and bees (and a few cloven hoofed species) our vineyard requires minimal input of nutrition from outside. This is in essence the definition of “sustainable.”
