On the Contrary

Vine:   Another week of thinning, now mostly in the Grenache.  I finished these rows which is a relief because the Grenache is a very thick and hearty plant and you really have to dig your way in to see each spur and remove the unwanted shoots.  I am now in the final block of thinning, the Mourvedre, which is considerably easier because the plant is not as thick and it is easier to see what needs to be removed.  The picture above shows the lower vineyard before mowing and final thinning.  Once in a while you break off a keeper and it breaks your heart, but that is life.  I have also been back in the Syrah because it is growing so fast trying to push new growth up through the wires so you don’t end up with a jumbled mess or horizontal growth.  The lower vineyard is more challenging than the upper vineyard because you are always standing on a 45° slope and it just wears you out.  Some of my work was slowed down last week as I really started to feel punk.  I thought it was just old age and too much sun, which is always a possibility, but it turned out to be a tick bite or spider bite which my wife discovered (on my back) which was a little infected.  Once it was cleaned and treated with an antibiotic I started feeling much better. It just goes with the territory of working with nature.  At any rate, I will only have one more week of getting up at 5 am so I can be out by 9am and then it will be manageable.

The other major chore is to mow down the grass/clover in the vineyard and then do a massive weed-eating job to tidy up the vineyard.  The picture on the left shows the upper vineyard after I mowed it.  Most of the grasses and clovers have gown to seed and dried out so it is a good time to cut them down before I am dragging my spraying gear through the vineyard.  It is always a chore to drag out my tow behind deck mower and then get it running since I only use it once a year.  After much cussing and pouring gasoline directing into the air intake of the carburetor, I got it running although in fits and starts, and got the upper vineyard mowed.  This weekend I will tackle the lower vineyard in the evenings when it is not so hot.  Mowing the lower vineyard is a somewhat daunting task as the terraced lower vineyard is very steep so there is a distinct pattern to stay safe.  With 500 #s of mower behind you, you never turn downhill or you may see the mower go by you as you swing around and start down the hill backwards.  More than once, before I learned how to manage the turns and hills, I ended up tittering on the brink of disaster having to gingerly climb off the machine in a precarious position and then use the winch on my ATV to pull into a safe position.  This week, like every week, I think just one more week and then I will be able to relax.  The reality is about June 30 everything is really done and then you just coast to harvest, with some minor thinning and other maintenance.  The picture below shows my trusty ATV with tow behind mower.

Wine:   Last week was our Rock and Rhones event in which four of our wineries in Pleasant Valley (south of HW 50) that grow Rhone Varietals have a pairing of food and wine.  I have written about it in my last several Vine/Wines so I won’t bore you here except to say that the wines were excellent and I now have a good supply for the summer.  Believe it or not, one of my favorite pairings was an El Dorado honey, fennel, ginger & viognier marinated salmon cooked in parchment with a Roussanne/Viognier blend at Narrow Gate, and some goat cheese with a lemon olive oil paired with a Viognier at Miraflores.  I know, I know, whites.  What was I thinking?  There was also a Forest King Boletes Mushroom Tart with spring onions at Sierra Vista with their Mourvedre which was excellent (see a red).  If any of the wineries had live music I would have stayed all day.  The Grenache with a La Clarine Roussette cheese pizza at Holly’s Hill was also excellent.

Tomorrow night, my vineyard advisor and good friend Ron Mansfield is coming over to dinner and I am grilling a leg of lamb.  That will force him to bring over a good Rhone from his cellar and we shall sit on the patio and indulge in slow cooked leg of lamb, roasted potatoes, a nice garden salad with some fresh arugula out of my garden, some artisan bread and olive oil, and a nice southern Rhone, watch the stars come out, and talk vineyard stuff.  Could life be any better.  Carpe Diem.

Vine:   Okay, work in the vineyard continues.  Right now it is boring work raking up the piles of pruning debris and hauling them down to the burn area.  The picture on the left is the raking results with the piles waiting for pickup.  At the bottom of the hill you can see the debris that has been moved down from the upper vineyard waiting to be burned.  Note that you can click on the picture to get a full sized picture.  My old back is getting tired of this.  I have found some erosion damage and will be repairing in the next couple of weeks. Generally most of this damage is due to gophers digging holes that the runoff water fills and washes out, hence the reason for continuous gopher patrol.  I will fill the washed out areas with rocks and then dirt to prevent them from washing out again next year which of course they will as the gophers continue their terrorist activities.

I have also included a picture of pruning on the trellis system and here is how it goes:  This year’s new wood (the shoots that spring from the buds from last years new wood) are what produce the grapes.  Grapes generally only grow on new wood.  So the picture that you are seeing is a pre-pruning picture where you see the two shoots from last year growing (last years new wood) from a spur (6-spurs on each cardon (horizontal part of T) on each side of the main trunk (vertical part of T).  Last year these two shoots produced the grapes for the wine.  Pruning will cut one shoot completely off, and pick the other shoot that has the best positioned buds and health, and cut it back to two bud length.  This becomes part of the spur and the two buds will push the new shoots (this years wood) that will produce the grapes.  Note that on the picture on the right you can see the buds as white pimples. Typically these buds will produce more than two shoots and later you have to thin to the two shoot configuration.  Two shoots per spur and 6 spurs on each side of the T (each cardon) is a good balance for this plant in this soil.  Note that each shoot will produce multiple grape bunches and these will be later thinned to two (depending on size of shoot to support) grape clusters.  See the vineyard pictures for how this was done last year (Vineyard).  Okay so much for vineyard 101.  On to the fun side, the product.

Wine: This last weekend was a biggie.  Saturday we had committed to help my friends the Wards with a charity dinner they had sold at auction to help the local theater group.  It was a seven course affair mostly prepared by Fran and Mike with Steve and Candace doing prep, general cooking, serving, and cleanup.  The Bush’s (Paul and Maggie) from Madroña Winery worked with us to pair wines for each course during a practice dinner several weeks ago and to pour and explain each wine (cook the Bread Pudding and help in every other way).  The pairings were excellent and we must have tried at least 10 different and distinct wines.  My favorite was the Madroña Reserve Malbec.  The meal included:

- Grilled Ahi with Ginger Black Bean Sauce on Asian Coleslaw – 2007 Dry Riesling ~ 2005 Reserve Syrah
- Leek Salad with Creamy Tarragon and Garlic Dressing – 2007 Reserve Chardonnay
- Deep Fried Quail in Ale Batter, Pear Apple, or Apricot Chutney – 2006 Zinfandel
- Intermezzo of Honey Dew Melon – 2007 Fiore
- Short Ribs in Cabernet Sauvignon, Green Beans and Shredded Almonds, Garlic Mashed Yukon Gold/Purple Potatoes – 2006 Malbec
- Fromage and Fruit Plate (Midnight Moon and Petite Basque) – 2003 Enye Syrah
- Traditonal Bread Pudding with Warm Whiskey Sauce – 1993 Select Harvest Riesling

Sunday we were up and traveling to San Francisco for the annual Rhone Rangers Grand Tasting at Fort Mason (on the water).  Rhone Rangers is an organization dedicated to the growers and wine makers of Rhone varietals.  Their Grand Tasting in San Francisco each year is to showcase what is being accomplished throughout California (and some in Oregon and Washington) locations to further the quality and enjoyment of Rhone varietals.  There were roughly 142 wineries represented with 36 food purveyors.

Obviously, one cannot taste everything so my plan this year was to stick with Red Rhone blends.  I wasn’t very successful, but I did a lot of spitting.  We usually go in with the Trade for two hours of tasting before the general public is admitted so that we can spend a little time with each winery.  Once the crowd descends, it is best to get your taste of wine and then move back from the tasting area to let others have a chance.  Some people never get this, and they try to hog the wine and the conversation while others wait.

My general impression was that this was a very good year.  Even with the economy in the dumpster, the wineries were well represented and the place was packed with happy tasters.  The quality continues to notch up each year so what I tasted had to be a limited selection and to reflect my own special interests.  So here are my favorites, and I tried to stay away from wineries I know so they are omitted:

Rhone Blends:
2006 Le Mistral – Le Mistral Winery Syrah, Grenache and Alicante Bouschet
2006 Brat – Prospect 772 Wine Company, Syrah, Grenache

Syrahs
IO Wines – 2005 Upper Bench, Ryan Road, and Rhone Red Classic.  All their Syrahs were complex and tasty, even meaty
Cedarville – 2006 Estate Syrah
Novy Family Wines– 2006 Syrahs, all are excellent and Novy continues to hit the mark
Prospect 772 – 2006 Syrah
Martinelli Winery – 2005 Terra Felice

Varietals:
Cedarville Winery – 2007 Grenache
Morgan Winery – 2007 Grenache
Frick Winery – 2006 Cinsault, 2005 Carignane, 2006 Grenache Blanc Note: I had never tasted any of these other than in blended wines and it was a treat.  Thank you Mr. Frick

Edmunds St. John – Heart of Gold, a 54% Grenache Blanc, 46% Vermentino blend, a truly distinct and refreshing white.

There were many others that I did not mention which included Holly’s Hill, Terre Rouge, and David Girard which are right up there with the best because I was trying to branch out and not taste my known favorites.  I would have tasted at Tablas Creek since they really started the Rhones in California and many of my varietals are clones of their vines, but there is always a gaggle of people there and I refuse to be a groupie.  Sadly A Donkey and Goat was not there.  Small wineries in this market have to pick their marketing opportunities carefully.  I did run into Tracy Brandt (Jared was home baby sitting), joint owner/wine maker and she gave me some great tasting tips.

For food, it was a bonanza for chocolate lovers.  Best chocolate came from Belgique Truffle Gateau and Clairesquares.  For other venues Sonoma-Artisan Foie Gras, Marcel Et Henri’s Pâté, and The Girl and the Fig’s cassoulet got honorable mention.

So after a hard day of wine tasting, we departed about 3 pm and hiked up (about 4 miles) to 2073 Market Street to the Woodhouse Fish Company for a Crab Louie, Fried Shrimp, Claim Chowder, a Calamari Sandwich, and a very cold beers. After all that wine, a great lager tasted quite refreshing.  It is a small place in a neat neighborhood with great seafood served casually.   Another perfect day.  Carpe Diem.