Autumn updates, part 2

With recent abject failures (a.k.a. learning experiences), I turned to an expert for wisdom and further learning experiences. You may have seen Jake Busching on "Vintage: The Winemaker's Year" or tasted his award winning wines at Pollak Vineyards. Since early this summer, Jake has worked as vineyard manager for Mount Juliet Vineyards near White Hall, VA. I asked if I could volunteer labor for him for the low price of gleaning bits of grape wisdom. What a great deal for me!

Lugs for viognier harvest at Mount Juliet Vineyards.

Viognier on harvest day at Mount Juliet Vineyards.

My view ;)
I loaded full lugs on the Gator. Hard work, but quite rewarding.

Jake loading viognier onto the trailer.

I had a great time learning from Jake, hopefully the first of many days like this. Not long after, I spoke with Jake about the harvest. He stated that he overfilled his tannat, and extra must would soon spill over the side in primary fermentation. He offered some must, ready to inoculate with yeast. Awesome!

Eventually, more grapes would fall into place. A little malbec here, a little petit verdot there. I purchased merlot and cabernet franc from Nelson County.

Good looking merlot in the crusher/destemmer.

These carboys represent the current test batches. Oak chips were added. Blending will commence in late December, and bottling will occur in early summer 2012. 

The best part of 2011 is that it is over. However, I expect some stars to present themselves with elevage. We now prepare for the 2012 growing season. I look forward to posting an exciting development for this next growing season as soon as final details conclude. 

Autumn updates, part 1

In early September, I cut my losses. I dropped fruit from petit verdot. There was too much sour rot and too much hornet damage to even think about *pressing* on. However, with further investigation into local vineyards, I noticed there wasn't much difference between my fruit versus the professional vineyards. 2011 was a very tough year.
I learned that I need a better spray mechanism. My fungus burden was exceptionally high. My backpack sprayer just isn't sufficient to penetrate the canopy. I need overall better pest control.
In early September, I was not sure if I would find any fruit for crush. This was the low point of the 2011 season.

Continued maturation and observation

The test plot continues to grow. Only one scare balloon is needed, due to the small harvest.

Birds are causing some damage, but we are hanging fairly well in petit verdot.

I don't know if I will cluster thin as aggressively next year. The deer and birds thinned my clusters exhaustively. At this point, I am hoping to avoid hurricanes and further animals. Petit verdot grapes are prone to split with excessive moisture, so a tropical system could rock my world. Animals are certainly taking their share already. Pretty soon, I will start checking brix and acid to plot harvest. Here's to hoping that we have something to harvest! 

Free the grapes! (eventually)

Usually, "free the grapes" refers to direct wine shipment laws. http://www.freethegrapes.org/
I encourage you to visit this website, and learn about winery-to-consumer shipping. 


However, in our little vineyard, the grapes are now caged. In effort to preserve petit verdot for 2011 crush, deer fence covers the vineyard. After a few days, our efforts appear to be paying off with grape preservation. If everything else goes according to plan, our grapes will likely be freed in October :)

Deer fence protects the petit verdot.

Petit verdot cluster.

August 4th, 2011. Day of highs and lows.

Admittedly, I needed a few days to post these pictures. The 2011 growing season was impacted tremendously this week. 

A couple years ago, Carrington King asked how I would keep deer away from the grapes. He advised that deer could wipe out entire rows at veraison. I had been monitoring closely for veraison, and planned bird/deer cover immediately at color change. Just a couple days before, I tasted the green grapes, trying to acquire a feel for veraison proximity.

On August 4th, I discovered petit verdot veraison. I also noticed that some of my petit verdot had disappeared. Oh DEER! However, there was just a small amount of damage, so I was relieved. Initially. 

Petit verdot veraison, August 4, 2011.

Then, I checked out the petit manseng. Oh my.
Veraison is easy to identify with red wine grapes. It is not so easy in white grapes. The deer, however, are quite skilled at determining this period of change (with marked sugar increase).

No more grapes. Petit manseng, on August 4, 2011.

95% of my petit manseng was gone. I felt no need to protect the dregs. In the next two days, all had been eaten.
Needless to say, the petit verdot is now protected with fencing. Lesson learned. Future harvests will benefit from this tough teaching.

Happy Independence Day!

The grapes continue to develop, and the Botrytis appears back under control. Some red discoloration on leaves has been uncovered to be a phosphorus deficiency. Bird netting will be placed soon, as pecking injuries are appearing on the grapes. No immediate unanswered questions at this current minute.  


With this brief time to think and rest on our nation's birthday, I chose to listen to our first president. Live simply. "My manner of living is plain. I do not mean to be put out of it. A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready; and such as will be content to partake of them are always welcome. Those, who expect more, will be disappointed, but no change will be effected by it" (George Washington).


All that said, today is a day to be thankful. "We have abundant reason to rejoice, that, in this land, the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition, and that every person may here worship God according to the dictates of his own heart" (George Washington).

So many green grapes!

Morning in the vineyard. Petit verdot grapes.

Petit manseng grapes.

Petit verdot clusters were thinned two weeks ago, but regular thinning is required due to the remarkable fertility of this varietal. It is common for PV to have four clusters per cane.

The winner! From the new vines, this petit manseng won the race to the lowest wire (the goal for the first year growth).

Another picture of the 2011 "rookie of the year."

A dose of humility, thanks to fungus among us. Regular observation in the vineyard, partnered with a proactive spray regimen, keeps fungus from getting out of control. This cluster reminds me that laziness makes bad wine.

I also found some bird pecking injuries to grapes this morning. Measures will have to be taken, or I could lose every grape to birds.

When it rains, it pours

Over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we have seen 1  3/4 inches of rain. This moisture has been great, since the previous few weeks were quite dry. The more natural rain, the less I have to use a hose. Since I am still a small operation, I have not installed irrigation lines. I will dig a well for watering with vineyard expansion. You can see the vineyard on the bottom left of this picture.

My weather station allows accurate assessment of rain accumulation.

Trellis is complete.

"I love it when a plan comes together" John (Hannibal) Smith, A-Team.

One full fruit zone on petit manseng. Cluster thinning is required.

The last wire installation was needed immediately.

With the last of the hardward installed, I can focus completely on vine health. PM is a bit ahead of PV as far as grape maturity. I couldn't be happier overall. The fugus control is adequate. The vines look great. Tendrils indicate good hydration, despite lack of rain. A happy vineyard.

Memorial Day progress report

Petit verdot flowers.

Petit manseng fruit set!

I am patrolling regularly, watching for powdery mildew and downy mildew (as well as crushing bugs). So far, the clusters are forming nicely, and reassuring that my spray regimen has been adequate thus far. The most recent trellis wire addition was placed May 14th, with the assistance of my father. One more level of wire to go!

Six week old petit verdot bushes. 

Glyphosate (Round-Up) is used to decrease competition at the base of the vines. You must have a steady hand and sure aim! Meticulous work is performed to maintain great airflow, which decreases fungal pressure.

This picture illustrates the light-capturing ability of the grape vines.

A beautiful vista is a perk, but not the ultimate goal. A pretty landscape with mediocre fruit would be quite frustrating. I have plenty to learn, but it is a fun process.

Fast growth. Slow trellis.

We now have a second level of trellis wire. As you can see, we could not wait any longer. The slowest trellis build ever is being prompted by vine rapid growth.

The petit verdot is immediately ready to be secured at the second level with c-clips. I continue to thin out the shoots, trying to maintain 4 to 5 shoots per foot.

Petit manseng grapes in development. Pre-bloom.

First wire, thanks to Jenny

Finally. I have been looking forward to installing my permanent trellis wire for two years. This delay was forced, since my far end posts were not placed until this spring. The spinning jenny fed the wire as I pulled. Subsequently, vines were tied and lightly shoot thinned. I will install more levels soon. 

I'm gonna get you, sucker!

Now that we have growth, we must control the growth. The first step is removing suckers. All that you have to do is run your hand down the vine, and the suckers fall off. All 72 vines have leafed out! Life is good.

Easter 2011: old and new friends awake

Petit verdot grapes reach out to see the sun. It's always reassuring to see first growth. Excitement grows, with ever present optimism that this year may be the best ever.

Pondering budbreak

The new vines were planted April 7th, and this picture was taken April 11th. The Calm after the Storm. Even in a test plot, the activity is intense at times. As you see, the permanent trellis wires are still pending. Fun to see Keegan enjoying the thinking spot.