On the Contrary

Vine: Veraison is about complete now in the vineyard with most of the grapes looking purple.  I checked out the Tablas Creek web site and they indicated that there is about 6-weeks from veraison to when they harvest.  It is probably more like 8-weeks up here so that would put me around the first of October.  It was also good to note that they thought the harvest was about 2-weeks behind the last two years, but the production is up.  That is what I am finding up here.  Many of my vines are second generation cuttings of Tablas Creek cuttings (Mourvedre, Viognier, Counoise) and most of their cuttings came from Chateau Beaucastel.

Work in the vineyard is really very little.  I am trying to get a crew up here to help me thin the fruit and remove secondary growth.  I just started a second round of irrigation and this will take about 3 weeks.  I drip for about 96 hours in each block to ensure that the saturation zone is down to 4’.  One problem I have is that I always think I need to water more than one block at a time, but my water pressure won’t support that.  This is probably a good thing because I end up holding back more water than I would normally and the plants appear to do fine.  I expect to see A Donkey and Goat (Jared Brandt) up here around the first of September to check on the grapes (Grenache, Syrah, Counoise, Viognier) and get a feel for quantity, quality, and timing for harvest.  Holly’s Hill (who buys my Mourvedre) will probably not be up here until late September because the Mourvedre is always late.  As always, once the brix gets above about 22° I start sending them weekly updates (I’ll explain about brix in a later blog).

I have included some of my pictures of roses at the end of the rows.  I planted them a couple of years ago and they are a beautiful addition to the vineyard.  I put them on a separate watering system, but the vine right next to them is piggy backing on the more frequent watering and so the growth is prodigious.  Not a route to quality grapes, but one plant at the end of each row is a nice tradeoff for the beauty the roses provide.

Wine: There is always the debate about screw tops versus corks and as I have stated before, I think I have a bias toward corks simply because of the tradition.  Screw tops have the ability to truly prevent any oxygen entering the wine which for some, will keep the fruits very fresh.  On the other hand many reds require this slow micro oxygenation to mellow the tannins.  I was reading from the Tablas Creek web site where they did some taste tests.  Jason Haas of Tablas creek commented:

“Overall, the results tended to validate the choices that we’d made, as the whites and rosé tasted brighter and fresher under screwcap (and were generally preferred by the group) while the reds tended to taste softer and lusher under cork (and were generally, though not universally, preferred by the group).  I made sure I wasn’t involved in pouring the wines so I could approach the tasting truly blind.”

“Looking back through the notes, I see a few threads that are consistent.  The cork, on the positive side, seems to add darker tones to the wine, give a sense of sweetness, and lengthen the finish.  On the negative side, the whites and Rosé under cork all betrayed a hint of oxidation.  Granted, none of these were meant to aged long-term, but there was a heaviness in the cork version that there was not in the screwcap.  The screwcap, on the positive side, maintained a brightness and freshness in everything.  On the negative, it tended to shorten the finish and make (keep?) a wine less complex, and a few of the wines under screwcap betrayed a plastic character that I didn’t find appealing.”

The answer here like all things in life, is there is no simple answer.  For some wines screwtops are the right choice and most probably for the deep complex reds I love, it is a mistake.  So much for arcane thinking about wine.

Carpe Diem

Vine: It’s hot, damn hot.  We have had a string of hot stifling days, which is my cue to stay out of the vineyard.  Although the nights still cool down to the 60s, I would like to see a little more even weather (highs in the low 90s and dropping down into the 50s at night).  It slows the grapes down and allows the flavors to develop more fully.  Of course the other argument is that since we had such a cool June (I read an article that the tomatoes out here are a month behind), this weather is letting the grapes catch up.  My own uneducated view on this is that I would prefer more even weather patterns with a very long ripening season, but Mother Nature is not one for moderation.

I get asked a lot how my grapes are doing and the reality is I haven’t a clue.  It is true that we have good leaf development, lots of clusters that will require some fruit to be dropped in August, but as far as how the grapes are developing in terms of flavors, I just don’t know.  And I won’t know till about mid-September.  Verasion (turning red for the red grapes) has not occurred yet.  I did start a round of watering in mid July (about two weeks later than last year).  Based on that, I would say everything looks about two weeks late, but a lot can happen between now and October.

As far as work in the vineyard goes, I haven’t done much.  I did replace about 16 plants, mostly Grenache, but a few Viognier.  I put in a separate drip line for the new plants since they will require more frequent watering than the existing vines.  I also installed a separate watering system for my Viognier.  The Viognier are planted in the upper vineyard with the Syrah, but in an area that does not hold as much moisture and I am seeing if some additional water will facilitate more hardy growth.  Soon I will start some thinning of the leaf cover around the grapes.  This involves pulling off some of the heavy foliage around the grape clusters.  Most vineyards do some cover management.  The idea is to get a balance of leaf growth to grape bunch growth.  You want enough leaf growth to support growth of the grapes, but not too heavy so the plant is supporting leaf development over grapes.  I am always guessing.

Wine: Apparently Mourvedres are finally being discovered by the drinking masses.  The Food and Wine section of last Sundays Chronicle had an article on how California was discovering them.  Of the 800 or so acres in production here in California, one is mine.  For those unfamiliar with the wine, here is their description which I think is fairly accurate:

“These are typically hearty, well-structured wines, with deep red fruit flavors and a leathery edge. They bring the power and fruit of Zinfandel but add extra depth. And yet the flavors can be hard to nail down – brighter berry notes at times, darker hues at others. Trademark leathery, animal nuances can step forward, providing a signature; other times they lurk quietly. It is a difficult grape to comprehend, much less embrace.”

Mourvedre grows quite well up here with our cooler growing season.  It was interesting to note that the first two wines recommended were the 2007 David Girard Vineyard Estates Mourvedre, and the 2007 Donkey and Goat’s Prospector, both El Dorado County grown Mourvedres (vineyard manager Ron Mansfield).  Ron is the one who convinced me to plant my Mourvedres.  I have tasted both and they are quite good.  My claim to fame is that the Holly’s Hill 2007 Mourvedre Classique won a silver medal at the State Fair and has my Mourvedre in it.

For a food recommendation, my daughter was up here last weekend during the hot weather so for lunch I fixed a very simple Vietnamese chicken salad, but I substituted shrimp instead of chicken.  The salad uses Napa cabbage, cilantro, and green onions.  The dressing is peanut oil, fresh limejuice, fish sauce, and a little sugar.  The shrimp you peel and devein, coat in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast in the oven for about 4 minutes.  Then you just combine all the ingredients, sprinkle on some peanuts, and serve with a chilled Viognier.  It was light, refreshing, and just the thing for a hot summer day.  Carpe Diem.

Note the recipe (sans the shrimp) is from William-Sonoma’s Simple Suppers.

Vine: Spring work in the vineyard is in full swing.  I finished a herbicide spray, going after weeds and unwanted growth along the rows using a backpack sprayer to spot spray the evil demons.  When it is wet (a couple of weeks ago now), the big weeds can be pulled out by hand, but now that we are starting to experience typical Northern California weather (dry till October), Roundup® is essential.  One of my friends wants me to go all-natural and hoe these weeds out, but for one guy on three acres it would be an all consuming job.  What I find is that if I spot spray and stay ahead of it, it minimizes the use of the herbicide, and keeps the really repugnant weeds out of the vineyard.

The next chore is some initial thinning of the new shoots.  While it is too early to thin to two shoots per spur, the plant is putting out new buds and shoots in all sorts of unwanted places including at the base of the trunk.  The good news is that most of this new growth can be easily rubbed or broken off.  One needs to be a little careful and not get over exuberant in thinning because between now and when the canes start to harden and get pushed up through the wires, some will break off due to wind or other acts of violence.  So I don’t want to limit my choices too early.  You also want to see which shoots are producing grapes and are growing hardily.  But there are obvious choices for removing like on the trunk, base of the trunk, or out of old wood that would not produce grapes anyway.  The only exception to that is that sometimes the growth out of last years new wood (spur) is weak and you may want a new spur especially if it is better positioned.  Then you would leave that shoot even though it will not produce grapes this year, but will next year.  Remember the rule, grape producing shoots usually only grow out of last year’s new wood.  Note on the picture on the right, there are two well positioned new shoots growing out of the spur.  If you look closely you can see a grape pod on the shoot on the left.  You can also see some unwanted buds on the cardon (horizontal trunk of the syrah) that will need to be removed.

Walking through the vineyard removing unwanted shoots gives you a chance to really look at each plant and see how it is growing.  Right now the shoots are growing at about an inch to two inches a day, and with the forecast 90° weather next week, I could be up through the first wires by the end of next week which means lots of work for me.  The vineyard is full of ladybugs right now and they are eating all sorts of bad critters.  The cover crop is slowing starting to turn brown and die out. No it is not from lack of water because the soil is holding plenty of moisture.  It is just their cycle. I have to wait another two or three weeks until the seed heads have fully developed before mowing the whole vineyard so I get a good dispersion of seeds for next year.  It won’t be long before I will have to do one of my other dreaded chores, which is spray for powdery mildew (sulfur).  More about spraying and irrigation next time.  See, isn’t owning a vineyard glamorous?  Its hard work if you love the plants.

Wine: Well for wine this week I have a recipe selection for you which goes well with a high acid white.  We have a local fisherman who fishes in the bay and ocean and then sells fresh fish on Saturdays at our local outdoor market.  During the winter, he will tell you (via internet) what is available this week and you can order.  This week we ordered fresh shrimp and monk fish.  Candace was craving shrimp so here is a very simple and excellent recipe for a quick and simple fresh green bean and shrimp dinner.   The green beans can be fixed several ways and this time I added mushrooms.  Basically you trim off the stems of the green beans, and then boil them for no more than five minutes and then immediately remove them from the heat and soak them in ice water to stop them from cooking.  Dice a couple of shallots and several cloves of garlic.  Just before you are going to serve the shrimp, brown the shallots in a large sauté pan for about 2-3 minutes.  In a separate pan cook the mushrooms in some olive oil and butter (the mushrooms will produce juice which you don’t want in the sauté pan).  Throw in a pinch or two of the garlic and a touch of white wine and cook until the mushrooms are just turning soft.  In the meantime, add the rest of the garlic to the sauté pan and cook for only about a minute over medium heat to release their flavors.  Then turn the heat to high and add the green beans and mushroom and cook about 2-3 minutes, tossing frequently, until the beans are hot and the flavors have been absorbed.  The alternative to the mushrooms is to grate about a teaspoon of lemon zest and add it with the green beans instead of the mushrooms and it gives the whole dish a fresh crisp flavor.

For the shrimp, it is really easy.  Heat the oven to about 400°.  Put the shrimp (shell removed and deveined), on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and coat in olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Then simply roast them about 6-8 minutes and they are ready.  Serve with a high acid white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or a blend of Viognier and Roussanne.  I would recommend the Tamarindo from a Donkey and Goat, a 2007 Roussanne from El Dorado.  Yes I know, in the picture there is a red.  I am incorrigable.  Carpe Diem

Note:  If you click on the pictures (they are all high resolution) you can zoom in to see any details that might interest you.  Clicking multiple times will zoom your view.

Vine/Wine Friday

Fall Rain on Saturday

Vine:   Fall has arrived with some good soaking rains starting late this Friday afternoon.  The Grenache was harvested in the early morning Friday so no problem there.  The Mourvedre is still hanging, but this grape is fairly resistant to any damage by rain such as powdery mildew.  Last year it went through three rounds of rains before we harvested with no damage.  But every year brings new surprises so we will see.

Grenache: The're Gone

As I noted, I was in the Bay Area trying to make a few dollars to support my grape habit so I missed the harvest, but it was about a ton which is commensurate with what I harvested last year.  I measured the Brix Thursday morning before I left town and it was at about 26° which is about right.  I will be interested to see what the winery measures to see how close I am to predicting the delivered brix (it helps the wineries if I can give them a weekly update so they know when we are getting close).  I haven’t yet measured the Mourvedre brix yet but both the Mourvedre and Grenache, unlike last year, ripened much more quickly than I anticipated.  When the Grenache was picked, both the seeds and skins were quite tasty, crunchy, and no hint of bitter tannins.  I think this is going to be an exceptional year, but we will see what A Donkey and Goat think.

Wine:   Okay, I promised a little discussion of wine making styles and here is what my Syrah and Grenache at a Donkey and Goat are being subject to:

The key to Tracey and Jared’s approach is to treat the grapes as gently as possible, do as little as possible to them (let them reflect their terroir), and utilized practices of some of the great wine makers in France (and some in the U.S.) that have developed over hundreds of years.  They begin by a careful selection of the vineyards they want to utilize, vineyards that show distinctive flavors and reflect their terroir (I am quite happy to have them utilize my grapes).  Jared usually is the traveler that goes to each vineyard and samples the grapes till he feels they are ready.  When they are harvested (usually early in the morning when it is cool), they are harvested into small bins to minimize any damage or premature crushing of the grapes.  Since their processing facility (and tasting room) is in Berkeley they are immediately transport in an enclosed truck.  If the weather temperature is above 65° then they refrigerate in transit.  This prevents any wild yeasts from starting fermentation in any exposed juice until they can carefully control it.  Depending on the work schedule, grapes maybe refrigerated up to 24 hours before processing but are usually processed as soon as they arrive.

When the grapes arrive in the processing facility, they are sorted, removing any extraneous material, bird damaged grapes, or those showing signs of boytrytis (powdry mildew) or any other decease, and then destemmed without crushing.  They leave between 10% to 30% with stems on (depending on the type of grape) for fermentation. The normal process is to destem and crush in one operation, but the Brandt’s strongly believe that the age-old process of foot stomping (their sanitary procedures would shame the early French) extracts the juices without over extracting the tannins and some other unwanted flavoids.  After sorting and destemming the grapes are transferred to a wood 500 Liter puncheon (big wood barrel) for crushing (foot stomping).  The juices are tested to for Brix (sugar content), TA (Titratable Acids or Total Acid), PH, and the Malic and Tartaric content.  Acids in wine is a whole blog and I will save it for another time when you are so bored you might actually read it.  PH is usually the driver here and unless the juice is extremely out of balance, the Brandt’s prefer not to adjust acid.  At this point they make a decision based upon the quality of the grapes as to how much SO2 to add.  If they are in very good shape, they will add none.  If there is some damage or other conditions that could result in some unwanted yeast/bacteria’s they will add up to 10 PPM.  Note that most wineries add much more than this, up to a limit of about 100PPM).  PH also has an impact on the effectiveness of SO2 and again that is a subject for another day.  Then the grapes are then transferred to cold storage (to prevent fermentation) usually for 48 hours at 50° F.  This cold soaking allows the juices to gently absorb more of the flavoids from the skins, seeds, and remaining stems, and to allow the entire mix to stabilize prior to fermentation.  When this process is complete they record the final Brix, TA,  and PH.

The grapes/juice are removed from cold storage and allowed to naturally warm and at about 65° they start naturally fermenting.  Fermentation is carried out in the wood puncheons (to extract the delicate tannins of the wood, better control of cap formation and punch down, and permeability of oxygen).  Nothing is added to the juices and the grapes ferment on their own natural yeasts.  Fermentation usually starts after about 3 – 5 days after they are removed from cold storage and fermentation can take anywhere from 5 days to many, many weeks.  After fermentation is complete they lightly press the grapes to extract the juices and remove the skins, seeds, and stems, and add nothing so that malo-latic fermentation can take place over the winter or in the Spring depending on temperatures.  The new wine is transferred to either French oak barrels or French oak puncheons (they prefer Rousseau and Franciois Freres barrel makers) with an average age of 3 years to not over oak their wines.  In future Vine/Wine Fridays I will expand on what happens in the winery for the next two years as the wine ages and matures.

Okay so much for their wine making style.  To get the whole picture I strongly advise you to try the wines so you can appreciate what they creating with this sophisticated process.   I would suggest their classic Three-Thirteen. Three-Thirteen and a nice loin lamb chop.

Saturday Night's Fare - It's Not Hard to Cook Well

Speaking of food.  This was last Saturday’s dinner which was simple to prepare and far exceeds most restaurants at about one-third the cost.  This consisted of a mesquite grilled fillet mignon, sautéed mushrooms (olive oil and wine) garlic mashed potatoes, heirloom tomatoes and green peppers on a bed of argula Carpe Diem, a fresh loaf of fococcia with lemon olive oil, and a nice bottle of Miraflores Syrah.  At least once a week we all need to slow down, cook a wonderful meal, and enjoy it with the people you love.  It is what all the rest is about.  Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem