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Vintage Update 5-21-2012- The Heat is On!

2012-05-21T21:20:00Z

Grapegrowers across Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties are doing their best to stay on top of the essential canopy management work that needs to be done in vineyards. After the late start to the season and then rapid growth after the weather warmed in late April, all vineyards need to be suckered and positioned at the same time. California is also experiencing a shortage of labor making it particularly difficult to get all the work completed.

The rapid growth was accompanied by strong growth of suckers, growing positions along the vine that are not intended for fruit production. Once growers get around to suckering, they are seeing that the intended positions may have grown less weak and more variable than they would like to see. The suckers really pulled a lot of energy from the ‘count’ shoots this year. If you have a lot of variability in shoot length, it may be worthwhile to tip the long shoots to stimulate growth into the weaker shoots.

Also, growth has slowed and many shoots are not seeing full extension, but flowers are starting to bloom. We may not see as much canopy development as we would hope for, coupled with some variability, and this will have to be addressed at fruit thinning if we have a good set. And in the weakest blocks, it may make sense to fertilize if you haven’t already, but be careful because water and fertilizer at this stage may push vine growth at the expense of a good set.

On a positive note, bloom has begun! And the weather has been perfect for a good set. After two low yielding vintages, it would be nice to have a good set, and if we need to do extra thinning, that would be better than not having enough fruit. The lovely weather has caused the period from budbreak to bloom to be shorter than average, and we are catching up on our grapevine phenology which is good since another late vintage could bring rains before ripeness.

As if suckering was the only thing going on! Everyone is preparing or applying their bloom sprays. It is a good idea to put a mildew protectant, a Botrytis protectant, and some foliar nutrients like boron and zinc, which will help with set. Some vineyards are in the Napa County quarantine for the European Grapevine moth and need to add an insecticide to try to eradicate this pest.

Weed control is still an important activity. Many people are making their second weedeating, mowing, and cultivation passes. And as soon as suckering and positioning is complete, we will have gone through set and will need to pull laterals and possibly leaves around the clusters to allow for air and sunlight to dapple the grapes.

A final reminder- the next few weeks are the time to take your vine tissue nutrient samples to send to the lab for analysis. Bloom is the best time for that, and the earlier you get your results returned from the lab, the quicker you can address any deficiencies and apply any fertilizers necessary.

All in all, the vines look healthy, we are optimistic for a good set, and less vegetative growth can be a positive thing for less canopy management and better ripening if the vines are not overcropped. So, despite my concern over shoot length and variability, I am enthusiastic about what I see.

Cliff Lede Winemaker Kale Anderson in a 1946 heritage planting of Sauvignon Vert

Vintage Update 5-8-2012- Woah, Woah...Stop the Clock!

2012-05-08T18:43:15Z

Esteemed viticultural consultant Bob Gallagher said to me this week, ‘We spend our time waiting and trying to keep the crews busy all winter and early spring, and then all of a sudden we are two weeks behind!’ This couldn’t be truer, especially in a year like this, when we had nice April rains that broke into this warm and sunny weather. The vines have been growing so rapidly! The weekend of April 21^st and this week we’ve even had temperatures in the 90s.

Earlier budbreak varieties started early, but barely grew in March and most of April, and so it seems that varietals that budded out later are not far behind. Almost every vine I look at has about 12-18 inches of vegetative growth and needs SUCKERING! Damn suckers!

Suckers are shoots that are growing any place on the vine that you didn’t intend and don’t want them to grow. When we prune, we leave a certain number of buds from the prior year’s growth, and those are intended to produce shoots and fruit in the coming season. Any growth from the trunk, along a cordon, a second shoot growing from the same bud, in a crowded area of the head of the vine, should be removed, and this process is called suckering!

It is best to prioritize suckering of young vines, weak vines, and cane pruned vines (otherwise you can see a lot of apical dominance and the shoots near the head grow weakly which is not good since these shoots become the canes to select from for next year’s canes). Lower priority is high vigor blocks that can benefit from more growing points slowing down overall vine growth.

It’s not just the vines that awaken in the spring. So do the pests such as thrips, mealybugs, mites, and little vertebrate varmints. Keep an eye out for these guys! Look for spider mites underneath the leaf in the cracks of the vein near the leaf attachment to the petiole. Erinium mites are more obvious as their blistering of the leaf is a classic and obvious symptom. Mealybugs are just starting to move onto leaves, but are more likely found underneath bark on the cordon or on a spur position. Thrips are often found on the shoot tips and can cause a classic distortion of the leaf shape, like a cup, and a black color on the leaf margins. Voles and gophers make obvious signs along the ground.

Any of these pests can be tolerated to a certain degree, so you need to keep an eye on their predators and look for a balance. If the quantity exceeds tolerable levels, then there are many options to address this lack of balance. Call me if you want to discuss!

Because we received significant rainfall recently, the cover crops grew rapidly at the end of the season, and need to be mowed AGAIN! Also, it’s time to begin your mildew prevention program if you haven’t already. So crews are busy dividing their time between suckering, mowing, cultivating, and spraying.

This year, May 1 marked the transition from our mellow time to the crazy time of the year, and the transition from mud to dust!

Vintage Update 4-13-2012- Slowly Springing

2012-04-13T18:33:19Z

Wet weather continued this past week, further delaying budbreak. At this point, we are even a few days behind 2011, one of the latest budbreaks in recent history. The earliest blocks have 3 to 5 inches of growth, but some of the later blocks are just starting to push buds out.

Last week, we experienced some frosty mornings, but in most areas temperatures did not creep below 31°, and damage was limited to a few singed leaves. The wetter weather this week has allowed growers who were up all night turning on wind machines and sprinklers to catch back up on much needed sleep.

Fortunately, we are starting the season with a fully drenched soil profile, which will allow the vines to build strong canopies. Hopefully, the rain will stop soon so the canopies don’t experience excessive vegetative growth.

The rain and slow vine growth has delayed vineyard operations. Some growers have had a chance to mow their cover crops between the periods of unsettled weather. If the cover crop is perennial, it makes sense to not mow again or to delay mowing until the cover goes to seed.

Although it is best to reduce the amount of cultivation in soils to build healthier soils and reduce erosion and soil run-off, young blocks or very low vigor sites may benefit from cultivation to reduce the competition from the cover crop. Hillsides should wait until the rainy season is over, and many Napa vineyards have ordinances preventing hillside cultivation until after April 15.

The earliest blocks are ready for their first mildew prevention spray. Although it is common and acceptable to use a wettable sulfur and copper to start the season, I think it is even better to use oil sprays in the first few sprays. Sulfur needs heat to activate and the cooler weather we are having will cause the sulfur to be less effective. Plus, oil has efficacy against mites and thrips, which I have already seen on some young leaves.

Voles and other rodents have been an increasing concern in Napa vineyards in recent years with wet springs. As soon as the ground dries out enough and we get some warmer weather, I expect to see these varmints. It is good to start trapping earlier in the season before they begin their reproduction, so keep an eye out for voles.

The warmer weather forecasted for next week should really push vine growth into full gear and we'll be busy mowing, spraying, and suckering!

Please share your thoughts and observations- frost damage, insect sightings, etc. We welcome an interactive dialogue!

Vintage Update 3-26-2012- Budbreak Proceeds Slowly

2012-03-26T18:28:00Z

Although the vines started to grow early this year, the recent cool and unsettled weather has slowed and extended budbreak. The most advanced blocks, such as Chardonnay in Carneros, are almost fully out, but many blocks are just experiencing bud swell.

The delay is welcome in that the later we experience budbreak, the less likely we will experience frost as we move into the later months of spring. And this unsettled weather has minimized frosty nights recently. Moreover, the rain is much needed since we have received only about half of an average year’s rainfall thus far. The forecast calls for more unsettled weather, which is promising, especially if it comes now and then clears up for late spring.

As pruning is nearing completion, we are in a bit of a waiting period for vineyard operations. If the ground is dry enough, now is a good time to mow.

In Napa County, growers are putting out mating disruption dispensers for the European Grapevine moth, as we are still trying to eradicate this invasive pest. This is an environmentally-friendly way of combating these insects as these dispensers emit mating pheromones throughout the vineyard and confuse the insects and make it nearly impossible for them to find actual mates. This mating disruption will be paired with two or more insecticidal sprays that are targeted specifically for this pest and have minimal non-target mortality, and the hope is that this year we can eradicate this pest from Napa.

The next major vineyard operation will be suckering, when we remove shoots that are growing out from the trunk or other positions that were not left intentionally during pruning. This is usually done once budbreak is complete and the shoots are at least 4” long, but before they begin to lignify and become difficult to remove by hand.

Growers also need to plan their first mildew prevention spray. This should also occur when shoots have reached 2-6” of growth, but may be delayed in lower pressure sites.

This is always an exciting time of year, when the energy of spring brings the promise of a new season and we anticipate another unique vintage.

Vintage Update- 3-13-2012- Spring Ahead

2012-03-13T17:23:00Z

With buds swelling all over Napa County and some Chardonnay beginning to grow, vineyard managers prepare themselves for another growing season with significantly different concerns than the prior two years. With record low winter rainfall in many locations, most of California is concerned about getting through this drought year. Fortunately, this year was preceded by two prior wet years; nonetheless, we are still concerned about water availability. The weather forecasts call for significant rain this next week, so hopefully it will be sufficient to fill our soil profiles and allay some of our concerns.

Growers have been challenged in 2011 and 2010 with wet springs that make it difficult to control vine vigor as well as fungal diseases such as powdery mildew and Botrytis. Canopy management and disease prevention costs were high. It would be a relief to growers to not have to repeat those challenges and have better control over vine vigor in 2012, if, and only if, there is significant water to sustain the vines through any extreme periods of heat and to establish young vines in this era of significant replanting. Although vines can live with minimal irrigation, and growers often benefit from being able to control vine vigor through minimal and timely irrigations, insufficient water can be detrimental to vines accustomed to irrigation and can cause issues with low vigor, and overexposed fruit that may burn or shrivel.

The other concern about low water availability is for growers who use sprinklers for frost protection. This season may turn out to be a long and challenging frost season, since high pressure systems with clear skies have dominated leaving sunny days with cold, frosty nights. Budbreak is early, meaning this frost season may last longer than usual. Growers in less frost-prone areas will get better sleep in the next few months, and those with wind machines are in a better position than those with sprinklers as long as the inversion layers remain strong and the temperatures do not drop down too low. This may be the year to invest in orchard heaters and/or back-up wind machines if sprinklers have been your primary method of control. It is virtually impossible to even find a wind machine to rent. And get your mowers out, as tall cover crops will impede air flow and cause even greater frost risk!

Another long-term consideration about drought comes to mind when thinking about California’s most recent drought year of 2008 when wildfires burned throughout California. Napa already experienced a fire in the hills late this February when a controlled burn got out of hand on a dry, windy day. Fortunately, it was controlled overnight and there was little property damage and no one was injured.

What is ironic is that although these concerns are all reasonable given the current knowledge, we cannot predict the weather. Even weather forecasters have a hard time doing so, but they are currently forecasting some rain and unsettled weather this week. Significant rain this March and into early April will benefit us by filling the soil profile and reducing the frost risks. Let’s hope it comes now and not later in the spring when it challenges growers with high vigor and increased risk of diseases.

Most of my vineyards have not quite experienced budbreak yet, but judging from the level of bud swell, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Malbec, Tempranillo and other early blocks and varieties will experience budbreak within the next week or so. This is a little bit early compared to ‘average,’ and significantly earlier than the two prior late years of 2011 and 2010.

At this point, lets remain optimistic that this week's weather events will fill our soil profiles and that overall the relatively dry winter will at best give us less concerns for vine vigor and disease prevention and allow us the flexibility to irrigate as needed and produce winegrapes with better concentration and riper maturity.

Cordon to Cane Conversion in Vineyards

2012-02-16T17:59:00Z

This article assumes some level of familiarity with cane and cordon pruning techniques. If you are not familiar with the differences between cane and cordon pruning, it may make sense to review my prior posts on those subjects:

http://blog.vinestowine.com/2010/02/05/grapevine-cane-pruning.aspx

http://blog.vinestowine.com/2010/01/05/cordon-pruning.aspx

Cordon training/pruning is popular for its simplicity. It takes less time than cane pruning and does not require a very skilled worker; therefore it is less expensive.

However, cane pruning is preferred to cordon pruning because the selection of which cane and the cane length by a skilled vineyard worker can fine tune the balance of each individual vine better than cordon pruning.

Additionally, cane pruning can improve yields. The buds on a cane tend to be more fruitful than the buds of spur positions on a cordon. When cordon pruning, only basal buds of the prior year’s canes are left to grow in the following season, whereas in cane pruning, a longer length of cane is left. Although varietal dependent, these apical buds tend to be more fruitful than basal buds. This is especially true as vines age.

Cane pruning also spreads the following season’s shoots out, requiring less suckering in the spring. Only one shoot grows per bud or position along the cane, whereas two shoots grow from a traditional cordon’s spur position.

Many older cordon-pruned vineyards suffer from serious loss due to dead spur positions and arms from Eutypa or Bot canker.

Between yield loss from Eutypa and lowered yields with older cordon vines, many growers are converting their cordon-trained vineyards to cane pruning. By doing so, it is possible to cut out most of the cankers in the vines.

The best way to do this takes a couple years. In the first year, a sucker from the base of the vine (but above the graft union) is selected and maintained throughout the growing season. During pruning, this sucker is pruned back so that it is as tall as the fruiting wire, and the lower part can be dis-budded allowing only a few top buds to grow the following season to produce 3-4 shoots. The rest of the vine is pruned normally this year.

This method may crowd the fruiting zone near the head of the vine during the second year, but it causes no loss of productivity. The following winter, the sucker will now be a replacement truck with 3 to 4 canes growing out of the top that can be used as canes. The old cordon and the trunk can be removed to a few inches above the new replacement trunk. The replacement trunk can be tied to the vine stake and canes can be selected and tied to the fruiting wire.

Some vines may not push a sucker in the first year, but will do so in the second year. Also, some growers may not have the patience to do this over two years. If vines push a strong sucker in the second year, or year one for the impatient grower, that sucker may be long enough to serve as the trunk and a cane the following season. If not, it can just be used as a trunk, and the following year it will produce canes, causing only a one-year loss of productivity.

As an example, in this photo, after year one, a strong sucker was selected and used as a trunk and a cane, and the old cordon and trunk were removed to just above where the sucker emerges. The vine had lower productivity, but no loss of productivity. When we prune it this year, we will cut the sucker down to the fruiting wire to be a trunk and use this year’s shoot production to select two canes.

If you do not want to wait two years, then the entire vineyard can be converted like this as long as the majority of vines have strong suckers selected in year 1.

Without waiting at all, a cordon can be cut back to one or two spur positions and a cane can be pulled down and tied to the wire from one of these first spur positions. Two positions per cordon should be left if you want two canes from each side for very vigorous vines, or only one position per cordon will be sufficient if two canes will be used. The problem with this is that you may not cut the canker disease out if it has moved into these remaining spur positions near the head of the trunk. Also, older spur positions tend to be long, and you may need to bow the cane to get it to tie back down to the fruiting wire. With a really long spur position, the new cane may be bowed significantly and may bend under the weight of the fruit during the growing season. A new fruiting wire may need to be added near the top of the spur positons.

Here is an example of vigorous Sauvignon Blanc vines that had significant Eutypa and low yields. It needs 4 canes to be balanced, so two spur positions were left on each side of the vines. One cane on each side is bowed and tied down to the fruiting wire. The other cane is tied to the first set of moveable catch wires. If the grower continues with this conversion, they will likely add a new set of two fruiting wires near the top of the spur positions so that all four canes can be tied at the same height and rest along secured fruiting wires in a split canopy system.

These conversions can be expensive, requiring vine surgery and in some cases, additional wires or trellis modifications. If canker diseases are not a major issue, but low yields are, and a desire to cane prune exists, there is the ‘mini-cane’ conversion below. In this instance, a short cane is selected from about every third spur position and tied to the first catch wire. This will not cut out any canker diseases though. This requires no trellis wire and no surgery, although you may want to consider removing the spur positions in between the canes or at least disbud them, or you can remove them during suckering.

In all cases, it still makes sense to seal pruning wounds with a sealant such as B-lock to protect them from canker diseases. This is especially true if you are performing vine surgery and making large cuts. It is also recommended to do this type of surgery late in the winter once most fungal disease spores are already dispersed. And it probably makes sense for new vineyards to be trained for cane pruning so that a time consuming and costly conversion is not needed later.

Email or call me if you want to discuss the best way to make a conversion in your vineyard. All these methods have their pros and cons.

Vintage Update- 2-6-2012- Where’s the rain?

2012-02-06T22:39:43Z

Napa Valley has received less than a third of average rainfall so far this season. After being relieved of a drought pattern in 2010 and 2011, meteorologists are beginning to utter the dreadful ‘d’ word again. Even with a wet spring, there is little chance that we can build up California’s snow pack and replenish the supply needed for 2012.

A little bit of rain is on the way for tonight and tomorrow, but amounts are forecasted to be less than an inch in most areas. At this point, anything helps, but we could use more, and the weather is forecasted to clear shortly after this event. In fact, forecasters are predicting a drier than average February and a near average 90 day precipitation forecast.

The bonus of a drier winter has been that growers have made a lot of progress pruning. There shouldn’t be a race to finish pruning this year before budbreak occurs, even if budbreak appears early as a dry and warm winter may suggest. And weather has been nice for the people doing the pruning! Additionally, weed growth has been kept to a minimum.

Let’s hope that the forecasters are wrong and we get some significant rainfall this month and March. It would not be ideal to have another wet late spring since that makes canopy management more difficult and vines excessively vigorous and poses additional problems controlling diseases such as mildew and weeds.

The one thing that is predictable about farming is that it is unpredictable. We learn to plan ahead as best as we can, and to be flexible and react to what nature delivers.

Napa Valley- America's First Agriculture Preserve

2012-01-26T18:27:00Z

Napa County has a rich geological and agricultural history that makes it an idyllic environment for growing world-class wine grapes. And, as one of the world’s premier winegrowing regions, Napa Valley has some of the highest land prices in California. Napa County has seen relatively little urbanization compared to other neighboring counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, owed in large part to the creation of America’s first Agricultural Preserve.

Protecting Napa’s valuable natural resources has not always come easy. Competing interests and political initiatives throughout Napa’s history have generated controversy and often polarized groups with differing opinions. In this contentious environment, developers and landowners have argued against environmentalists in order to protect their property rights to develop and subdivide land as they wish. Environmentalists themselves have become fractioned between those that believe vineyards are an economical and sustainable way to preserve Napa’s land from urbanization and those that believe that vineyards pose a threat to Napa’s environmental sustainability. The struggle for balance between development, agriculture, and nature’s preservation has created a unique story of passion, politics, and ecology.

In 1968, Napa County began its first political measures to maintain the county’s commitment to agriculture, the vineyard industry, and to sustaining the health of the environment and watershed by enacting the United State’s first Agricultural Preserve. The Agricultural Preserve was initially drafted to protect approximately 26,000 acres of farmland, by creating a minimum lot size within the Preserve of 40 acres. Proponents felt that this would protect the agricultural nature of the county. Opponents argued that the Preserve would unfairly limit the rights of landowners to subdivide the land for home sales or as inheritances and also lower the value of the land. Ultimately, the bill was modified and passed, and the Agricultural Preserve now covers nearly 40,000 acres within Napa County (Carson 2008) although parcel size has been modified over the years depending on the amount of farmable land within the parcel. Furthermore, in 1975, Napa County adopted a land use element to the county’s General Plan that designated land in the Agricultural Preserve as Agriculture, Watershed, and Open Space (AWOS) with a minimum parcel size of 160 acres or Agricultural Resource (AR) with a minimum parcel size of 40 acres and included regulations on maximum building intensity for these designated lands.

In 1990, residents of Napa County were surprised when the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board listed the Napa River and its tributaries as impaired by too much sediment according to the federal Clean Water Act. Although there are many causes for this sedimentation including increased urbanization and municipal dams, vineyard development had increased significantly and hillside development and certain vineyard management techniques were contributing factors. The sediment had negatively impacted the watershed by reducing habitat and biodiversity and threatening fish and other species.

In response, Napa County enacted Conservation Regulations in 1991 to address erosion control and stream setbacks. The intent of the regulations was to protect lands from excessive soil loss and maintain or improve water quality by minimizing soil erosion into the watershed during vineyard planting. The regulations included setbacks from streams and rivers to preserve riparian habitat and protect waterways. The Conservation Regulations also require Erosion Control Plans for agricultural projects involving grading and earthmoving activities on slopes over 5%.

In the years following, Napa County has become a leader in sustainability initiatives, and growers in Napa County farm with some of the strictest regulations and highest standards of agricultural anywhere in the United States. Achieving these standards has come through the hard work and dedication of vineyard managers, landowners, government representatives, and environmentalists. Although controversy and debate have existed throughout the history of Napa County, the results of all of Napa’s stakeholders working together to enrich the environment while maintaining and improving the wine industry has been realized through the success of Napa Valley wines in the global market, and the revitalized health of the Napa River’s watershed.

For more details on this incredible journey, read the chapter I wrote in The Business of Sustainability. http://www.amazon.com/Business-Sustainability-volumes-Policies-Practices/dp/0313384940

Vintage Update 1-12-2012- Wacky Winter

2012-01-12T18:32:00Z

An unusually dry winter has caused concern across California. Areas received less than 10% of their average rainfall in December, and virtually no rain has fallen yet in Napa Valley in 2012.

This year’s La Nina season is clearly different from the others, and it is unlikely that we will be able to catch up to an average year even if we have above average spring rainfall. California has not experienced a drought since the years leading up to and including 2009; let’s hope that we don’t have a return to drought conditions.

The upside of this is that we have been experiencing lovely, crisp sunny days and have been able to get a lot of pruning done. Additionally, there has been less of a concern of fungal pathogens, such as the canker diseases Eutypa and Bot canker, that are dispersed via rainfall and can enter the vine through its pruning wounds.

It is still recommended to prune as late in the season as possible when the spore counts for these diseases are lower. If that is not possible, it is recommended to pre-prune cordon trained vines, by removing most of last year’s growth, and leaving 10-12” canes. If an infection occurs, it will be cut out when the final pruning cut is made. Pre-pruning speeds up the final pruning pass, and if a grower is delaying making this pass as long as possible, it may be essential for it to be quick, especially if spring rains are occurring as bud break approaches. Cane pruning is less susceptible to these canker diseases. Regardless, all pruning wounds should be treated to prevent these diseases.

Pruning is the most critical practice in the vineyard for achieving vine balance. Two few buds selected can lead to overly vigorous growing points that remain in a vegetative state and shade and do not properly ripen grapes. Conversely, too many buds can cause a lack of sufficient vigor and the resultant vines will be overcropped and suffer from ripening and concentration issues. Pruning can be quite technical and crews should be trained to adjust their pruning techniques on an individual vine basis.

Weed control is another winter practice; however, the lack of rainfall has led to little ground cover, both desirable cover crops and weeds.

The recent forecasts have storm systems dipping into our area the second half of the month. Let’s hope we get some good storms in! Better now than in the spring!

2011 Vintage Summary

2011-11-15T18:06:00Z

The 2011 Napa Valley growing season got off to a slow and late start with La Nina conditions delivering a cool and wet spring. Unsettled weather continued into late spring and early summer which caused shatter during bloom and reduced yields in many vineyards.

The wet ground invigorated vines and growers were busy this summer keeping the vegetative growth in check via the practices of suckering, hedging, and leaf and lateral removal. However, after literally getting burned after removing too much canopy in 2010, growers were cautious and conservative in leaf removal this summer.

Many blocks needed little or no irrigation this year except for steep hillside blocks and blocks with well drained shallow soils. A few strategic irrigations, especially post veraison, were sufficient in most cases.

Due to the lighter crop and vigorous vines, not much thinning was required to achieve vine balance, but thinning was advised in heavier set blocks, as well as in late ripening blocks with hopes that a light crop will achieve optimal ripeness in this late year.

Weather was moderate for late summer, allowing for slow and steady ripening. Fortunately, no significant heat waves occurred and therefore no fruit was damaged due to heat events. This year’s harvest was one of the latest harvests on record, with earlier varieties like Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot noir coming in the second half of September.

Significant rainfall from October 3rd through the 6th, followed by a warm drizzly day on the 10th, set up significant challenges for some blocks that had not been harvested already. In anticipation of and in reaction to the rain, growers removed leaves in many blocks to reduce the risk of mold and to allow the sunlight that followed the rainfall to have its most significant impact on maturation of the grapes. The rain delayed an already late Cabernet harvest, and certain blocks of Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet and other late varieties, particularly those with poorly draining soils or poor airflow, experienced some issues with mold. Heavy and careful sorting was used to mitigate these issues. Many blocks made it through the rain just fine, and we were blessed with a lovely second half of October allowing the harvest to finish without further issues.

It was a challenging season, and certainly a reminder that Napa Valley is blessed to rarely have rain during the growing season as many other growing regions across the world often experience. I have tasted many lots of wine from 2011 and have been pleased with the results. In general, the wines are lower in alcohol with bright acidity, but very few lots taste underripe. Rather, they have nice balance and should be enjoyed by sommeliers, consumers, and critics who have been longing for a change from the super ripe style of wines Napa has become known for. Even lovers of ripe Napa wines may appreciate this vintage for its unique character and elegance and the vintage variation that makes wine such a profound and provocative experience

Vintage Update 11-3-2011- Across the Finish Line

2011-11-03T16:01:00Z

This week marks the end of harvest in Napa Valley! Fortunately, the weather remained nice throughout the second half of October, allowing grapes to mature and harvest to proceed at a reasonable pace after the frantic picking that resulted immediately following the mid October rains. Shortly after the rains, all blocks that were either compromised from mold development or were close to ripeness were harvested rapidly, and the return of nice, dry weather allowed for those blocks with minimal issues to continue to ripen.

Unfortunately, some blocks didn’t make it to the level of maturity that would have been desired and winemakers were forced to harvest due to compromised fruit. Significant rainfall from October 3rd through the 6th, followed by the warm drizzly day on the 10th, caused berries to swell and in some cases crack. In sites with poor drainage or limited airflow (due to site and/or cultural practices) saw split berries and Botrytis development within a couple of days of the rains. Many winemakers had to pick and sort through this fruit even though the grapes had not reached optimal maturity. Optical sorters helped deal with processing more fruit than hand sorting lines are capable of in a limited time, and helped improve quality in these compromised lots.

Many blocks survived the storm intact, and although 2011 will not be marked as a very ripe vintage, many blocks matured nicely and will produce ripe, full bodied wines with nice structure and acidity. Other blocks were intact but still did not reach Napa’s typical standards of maturity, and these blocks will produce elegant and structured wines with hints of herbaceous characters. Hopefully, these wines will be appreciated by the growing community of critics that dislike Napa’s trend of a very ripe style of Cabernet.

Some winemakers left their growers in the lurch this year, both fairly and unfairly, by declining to accept their fruit. If the grower did not accomplish acceptable yields and practices throughout the year and did not do their best to avoid damage and achieve ripeness, then it is understandable that the winery should not have to accept the fruit. For growers who did their best, wineries should also do their best to accept the challenges and the vagaries of the vintage and make the best wine possible. Perhaps some price renegotiations are called for, but only in the worst situations should fruit be rejected. Both parties need to look at this as a long term deal and share the risk involved in this industry.

The threat of rain later this week has caused every sane winemaker to finish harvesting, even if they weren’t 100% happy with the level of ripeness. Now, wineries are busy with pumpovers and pressing and getting the wine settled into barrels. Growers are putting the finishing touches on erosion control and winterization including planting cover crops, and applying compost where needed.

I think there will be plenty of nice wines made in the 2011 vintage, especially from the top producers, and from producers who have blending flexibility as far as diverse fruit sources and also can declassify wines into lower tiered bottlings as needed. It will be interesting to see if critics can sort through the vintage and find the gems, and if the critics of higher alcohol uber ripe wines appreciate the lower alcohol, less ripe wines made in this ‘Bordeaux-like’ vintage.

High End Harvest in Napa Valley

2011-10-31T18:11:00Z

Napa Valley is California’s premier winegrowing region and the vineyard practices here are benchmarks for viticulture throughout the world. After all of the work throughout the entire season, it is important that the grapes are harvested with utmost care.

The top vineyards in Napa choose to harvest grapes in small bins, often referred to as lugs, or FYB’s, for f**king yellow bins since harvesting into these smaller vessels requires more time and logistics, customized trailers, and the purchase of many of these bins. The idea is that the smaller the container, the less crushing, bruising, or juicing of the fruit and less oxidation. The most common harvest container in Napa is referred to as the Macro bin, and it is a bin that holds about half a ton of grapes. You can choose to fill them only ½ to ¾ and that will also cause less crushing of the fruit.

You may choose to harvest using thinning shears rather than hook knives as well. It may slow down the pickers, but will also cause less damage to the fruit and the vines.

The other main issue to deal with at harvest is to have a clean pick. The crews must be instructed to recognize and not harvest second crop (grapes growing off lateral shoots that are delayed in maturity from the main crop), rotted or moldy grapes, or those that have significant damage due to birds or insects. The grower or foreman may need to give guidelines to the crew, such as not to pick any crop with damage or not to pick any clusters that have 25% or more damage.

In some cases, it may be easier and possibly even cost effective to make a pass through the vineyard a day or two before harvest to remove unwanted crop so that the pickers, who are mostly incentivized by picking as much crop in as little time (paid by the ton), are not going to add that fruit in their picking bins. If the crop is light or has significant damage, it is good to guarantee at least a decent hourly rate for the crews, or choose to pay them by the hour up front to encourage a clean pick and not get disgruntled laborers.

Walsh Vineyards Management has perfected a table sorting system to use when picking into Macro bins. They slide a plastic table along the top of the bins along the trailer and the crew is instructed to dump the fruit onto the table where another worker will sort through it and remove any second crop or fruit with defects before sliding it into the Macros.

With all businesses feeling the economic pressure of the recession, many vineyards have opted to mechanize part or all of the vineyard management process, including using machines to harvest the grapes. There are some new machines, such as the Pellenc machine harvester, that do a great job leaving berries intact during the process and prevent the majority of materials other than grape from entering the picking bins. These are quite expensive machines and only make sense for larger growers and large blocks set up for this type of harvesting, but some vineyard management companies will harvest for you using their machines.

Another main consideration during harvest is whether to harvest the entire block at once. The best designed vineyards will have blocks that are reasonably uniform, but in Napa Valley we have many different soil types and aspects within small areas. Blocks may not be entirely uniform, and in order to get uniform maturity and quality in a lot, it may be prudent to harvest the block in sections. For example, the top of the hill may be more exposed and better drained than the bottom of the hill and may ripen earlier. The west side of the vines may be more shriveled or ripe than the east side and it may even make sense to pick that side of the vines only and then come back for the other side later. Although we try to create uniformity in a block throughout the growing season, there may be some differences that should be considered for separate harvesting in the top vineyards that are micro-farming and hand harvesting.

Check out this video to watch Cliff Lede’s Poetry Vineyard get harvested into FYB’s!

Harvesting Cabernet at Cliff Lede Poetry Vineyards in Napa Valley with Remi Cohen

Vintage Update- 10-21-2011- Fast and Furious

2011-10-21T18:46:00Z

Napa Valley vintners have picked up the pace of harvest as lovely weather resumes after bouts of rain doused the valley earlier in the month. Nice warm days and cool nights are helping to ripen the remaining later varietals and relieve the stress of the inclement weather.

However, high relative humidity and warm weather has lent itself to high disease pressure, and sites with poor drainage or airflow or damage prior to the rain are experiencing degradation from Botrytis and mold. Winemakers are prioritizing the harvest of grapes that are the ripest or the most susceptible to Botrytis and mold.

Sites with better drainage and air flow with sound fruit before the rain remain in good shape, and are benefiting from the recent warm days, although harvesting of all but the latest blocks should be on the schedule by now.

For those less fortunate growers, sugar accumulation has stalled and rot is becoming an increasing problem. At this point, rot could have been mitigated in high pressure sites by sprays, careful leaf removal (damage to grapes during leaf removal may have worsened the problem in some sites), and some growers have used wind machines, leaf blowers, and the fans in sprayers to dry out vineyards after the rains or foggy mornings.

Despite these efforts, there are a few sites that still have issues, and vineyards with damage need to be harvested before further degradation occurs. Some growers with issues are making passes to thin damaged fruit before picking, and some are even shaking vines with the hopes that most of the damaged berries will fall off while healthy berries remain. In some cases, winemakers are slowing down the sorting process to do their best to remove damaged fruit. The new technology in vineyards is to use an expensive optical sorter (http://blog.vinestowine.com/2010/10/06/vintage-2010-seasonal-update-1062010.aspx) that removes berries that are misshapen or have poor color, and winemakers hope that this technology can be used to remove the random Botrycized berries this year.

Although it is unusual for Napa Valley to have this type of disease pressure, especially in Cabernet, Bordeaux regularly experiences fall rains and these types of challenges. We are relying on the experiences of our French colleagues to determine what techniques are appropriate to extract the best out of these grapes, while minimizing the negative impact of rot and underripe characters. The techniques employed depend on the winemaker preference, the varietal, and the style and price point of the wine.

Techniques on the drawing board include using concentrated wine grape juice to increase sugar content (although an increase in alcohol may lead to more extraction which may not be desirable with less ripe fruit), the use of oak in fermenters or oak fermenters to soften tannin in less ripe fruit, and the use of technology such as reverse osmosis or flash détante. Shorter macerations, and other less extractive techniques such as lower temperature fermentations and fewer pumpovers are also being considered.

Overall, the vintage is lending itself to lower sugar accumulation, higher acids, and top wines will have ripe flavors with great structure at lower alcohols. It is important for wine lovers and aficionados to understand that every vintage is unique and special for its own attributes, and hopefully this vintage will be appreciated for California wines made in a more Bordeaux-like style and wine lovers who have long critiqued Napa for making uber-ripe wines will appreciate the 2011 vintage.

Vintage Update 10-13-11- Harvest is Heating Up!

2011-10-13T17:04:21Z

Significant rain affected Napa Valley last week with showers lingering through Monday in the valley. Areas in south Napa, such as Carneros, received about an inch of rain, whereas areas in the north of the valley and the hillsides received about three inches. This has unfortunately stalled ripening in all vineyards, and has caused mold issues to develop in certain vineyards. Fortunately, a return of lovely weather has calmed the nerves of Napa Valley vintners as harvest resumes at a heightened pace.

Chardonnay vineyards were the most affected by the rains with widespread Botrytis and mold. Even vineyards that had sprayed for Botrytis protection were not immune to some level of rot due to tight clusters, thin skins, and the overall susceptibility of Chardonnay to Botrytis. The best winemakers have chosen to sort the Chardonnay which may have normally gone directly to press. Fortunately, the Chardonnay that wasn’t picked before the rain was close to being picked, and most of the Chardonnay in Napa will be picked by this weekend.

Growers that had opened their canopies just enough for air flow and sunlight to dapple the fruit experienced less rot and mold than other growers. Growers that had exposed the fruit too much and caused shrivel and sunburn, and growers that had left too much leaf coverage with not enough light and air flow to dry the fruit out, both experienced more molds and rot. As always, growers need balance, in this case a balance between enough exposure of the fruit for sunlight and air flow to allow for healthy, uniform ripening, but not too much exposure to cause shrivel compromising the fruit making it more susceptible to rot or mold in the event of rain.

Most of the light crops of Pinot noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay are already harvested in Napa, but we are just beginning to harvest the Bordeaux varieties, which are yielding more than expected and close to average yields, especially since grapes are plump and shrivel is minimal. Although these varieties tend to have looser clusters and less risk of Botrytis, there still is a risk for Botrytis developing. Most growers have chosen to remove leaves aggressively around the clusters. The thought is that at this point in the season, it is unlikely that we will have a significant enough heat wave to damage fruit especially since we have shorter days, but that any additional sunlight will be beneficial to help dry fruit out to reduce mold risk and enhance ripening especially through the loss of green flavors. Some growers that may have damaged fruit or still have two or more weeks left before achieving ripeness should consider treating for Botrytis.

This is a year to be thankful for lighter crops as they do ripen quickly when exposed to nicer weather like today’s. It is also a year when meticulous and balanced work in the vineyard pays off. Harvest has resumed at a rapid pace, with many of the earlier Bordeaux lots getting harvested as this week comes to an end. Next week will be a frantic week in Napa as the push continues to get the grapes into the winery before the weather turns again.

Cheers,

Remi Cohen, Vines to Wine

Vintage 2011- 9-29-2011- To Pick or Not to Pick?

2011-09-29T22:14:41Z

The pace of harvest in Napa Valley has really picked up with the recent nice weather and forecasters threatening rain for next week. The weather has actually been blissful with nice warm days for most of the past ten days. Much of Napa’s Sauvignon Blanc has been harvested, as has a significant amount of Pinot noir.

The Sauvignon Blanc yields are low, but slightly higher than some people had expected. The chemistry has been ideal and so have the lovely flavors which have finally turned from green apple and pear profiles to more melon and tropical flavors.

The Pinot noir yields are even lower than expected, tragically low for people who are making ends meet with their Pinot noir vineyards. There has been some loss due to the recent heat, but overall yields have been reduced due to prior bad weather during bloom. However, the quality looks incredible. The berries are tiny, flavors are mature and concentrated, seed count is low, and seeds are brown and mature, and all of this has occurred at lower sugar levels and slightly higher acids than normal so we can expect elegant and balanced wines.

Earlier lots of Chardonnay have also been harvested, but much of the Chardonnay remains on the vines due to high acids and low Brix. Chardonnay blocks experiencing rains will be at risk of developing molds such as Botrytis due to their tight cluster structure. In blocks prone to Botrytis, growers may want to remove extra leaves to allow for better airflow and quicker drying, and may even want to consider a preventative spray. (The picture above shows a Sauvignon Blanc vineyard that we leafed about a week ago to allow some extra sunlight to finish ripening and to allow for easier picking.)

The earliest lots of Bordeaux varieties are being picked this week too. Some Merlot, Malbec, and a little bit of Cabernet is ready. Similar to the Pinot noir, the Bordeaux varieties are showing nice flavors at lower Brix, but many still have some herbaceous characters. Some winemakers are choosing to harvest earlier than they may normally want to due to the threat of pending rain; others are choosing to let their earliest lots hang longer in the hopes that they will be the ripe component of blends as later blocks may not get that ripe in this late vintage. Who knows which strategy is best? Probably a combination is a good idea.

Overall canopies are healthy, and the vineyards look amazing. The main concern is getting the grapes to finish ripening sooner than later. I recommend leafing in later blocks that are still weeks away from harvest. It was good to have left some leaf protection earlier in the season, but now that the risk of a heat wave is minimal, and weather may be turning cooler, it is a good time to get some sunlight directly on these clusters.

The other main concern is how condensed the rest of this harvest is going to be. Cool and possibly wet weather next week will delay the harvest of the remaining fruit, and once the warm weather returns, it will be a scramble to get everything harvested at once. Hopefully wineries have enough space and there is enough labor to get it all done!

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for these forecasted rain events to be minimal or non-existent, and for nice weather to return soon after since we have the possibility for a high quality vintage. Let’s bring it in!

Vintage 2011- 9-16-2011- Harvest in Napa Valley- Game on!

2011-09-16T17:13:52Z

Harvest has gotten off to a slow start in Napa Valley. Most of this season’s weather has been defined by competition between a trough off the coast of northern California and a ridge of warm weather to the east. The trough has been winning, keeping our mornings foggy and afternoon temperatures cool with breezes. At this point, 2011 is the latest harvest many people in Napa Valley have experienced.

The sparkling wine harvest, where grapes are harvested at high acid and low sugars (18-22 Brix), is in full swing. Earlier lots of Pinot noir for still wine are starting to trickle in, as are lots of Sauvignon Blanc from warmer regions within Napa Valley.

Although 2011 began as a challenging vintage, the vineyards look amazing right now. Yields are low, and canopies are healthy. Early indications are that flavors are good at lower sugar levels, which should translate to a lower alcohol year. We are also seeing earlier seed browning and maturation which should lead to softer, more mature tannins in the wine.

Next week, we should see a lot of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot noir get harvested. The earlier lots of Merlot and Malbec in warmer regions of Napa Valley are not far behind. Chardonnay is going to be later this year, with most of the harvest in October. Cabernet Sauvignon is late too, and even many early blocks are looking at a mid-October harvest estimated date. Mountain Cabernet and cool climate Syrah are riskiest at this point, with a late October or early November forecasted harvest date.

The weather forecasters are expecting a strengthening of the ridge and a little warming for next week. We could really use it. Moderate temperatures at or slightly above normal through October could make for an epic vintage. Let’s hope for a nice Indian Summer!

Vintage 2011- 9-2-2011- The Waiting Game

2011-09-02T18:09:00Z

A continuation of moderate weather and a lighter crop has allowed for a nice, uniform progression of veraison in Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley. However, the weather has been so moderate that ripeness is tracking three to four weeks behind an ‘average’ year, and even a week or so behind last year’s late harvest.

The sparkling wine harvest, where Chardonnay and Pinot noir are picked at 18-21 Brix on average, has begun this week. I anticipate that some Pinot noir for still wine and Sauvignon Blanc may be harvested this coming week after Labor Day, but that the week of September 12 will really begin the harvest for these earlier varieties.

Early blocks of Chardonnay, Merlot, and Malbec are not far behind, with some blocks even close to 20 Brix. All of the varieties being so close in maturity coupled with the delayed onset of harvest means that harvest is going to be very compressed this year, making for an insane second half of September and October! The light crop looks to have a very high quality potential, so let’s keep our fingers crossed for the moderate weather to continue, hopefully with some tempered warming, and no early rains or frost events this year.

As we finish the green drop in the later sites, which is going to be critical to achieve uniformity of ripeness, and accelerate ripening in the later blocks, we can turn our attention to the fall activities in preparation of the winter. Now is the time to order cover crop seeds for planting, and materials such as straw bales and straw wattling for erosion control on hillside sites. It is also a good time to apply compost to blocks with weak areas or with low organic matter in the soil. Call me if you want any advice on these fall activities! Cheers!

When to Harvest Your Vineyard

2011-08-31T21:47:57Z

The choice of when to harvest a particular block is influenced by many factors including wine style and the desired alcohol content in the wine, grape variety, rootstock, and site. Seasonal specific factors such as heat waves, frost events, and rain also affect the decision-making process, as do viticultural practices such as irrigation and canopy management.

As we’ve discussed before, grape berries experience two phases of growth after set. The first phase is composed of cellular division when the berries are determining their physical size. Then they experience a ‘lag phase’ of minimal growth, before they begin the second phase of their growth which is characterized by cellular expansion. The second phase of growth begins with veraison, the onset of ripening, when xylem flow ceases and transport in and out of the berry occurs through the phloem.

It is helpful to track the key phenological stages of the vineyard by block. I usually record the dates of 50% budbreak, 50% bloom, and 50% veraison in each block every year. Over the years of working with a block, you can accumulate data on the average number of days between budbreak and harvest, bloom and harvest, and veraison and harvest. This can help to get a prediction of the order in which your blocks will be harvest and the approximate timing of harvest, which helps immensely with harvest planning. It is also recommended to correlate the phenological stages with degree days rather than or in addition to dates, and that is also very useful.

It should be a general goal to harvest grapes before ripening desists, phloem transport arrests, and the grapes deteriorate. In order to determine when this will be, it is imperative to monitor key indicators in the vineyard starting about 3 weeks before the anticipated harvest. Using an appropriate sample size based on block size and variability, I recommend taking samples of clusters (rather than berries for a more complete picture). Twenty to forty clusters from throughout each block is usually adequate unless the block is very large or there is a high degree of variability.

These clusters should be weighed as berry weight can be a useful indicator. A decline in berry weight shows a possible sign of fruit deterioration, and continued increase shows that maximum maturity has not been reached. The clusters are then crushed, and Brix, pH, and TA are measured. Anthocyanin and total phenols can also be helpful, especially if you have historic data that you can use as a comparison.

This data can help determine when to look more closely at the blocks, as you get close to a Brix and pH level that would yield the desired alcohol levels, ripeness, and acid balance. But spending time in the vineyards will be the most important step in determining the harvest date. In the vineyard, you will be able to look at the overall health of the canopy (light leaf yellowing can indicate vines are beginning to shut down and severe leaf loss will indicate that not much more maturation can be expected), the turgidity of the berries (slight dimpling is desirable in many red grapes but serious raisining is not), and the level of browning of the seeds (browner, crunchier seeds are more desirable than bitter green seeds). Also, you can see if the color of the skins is starting to bleed into the pulp of the berry which is a good indicator of ripeness. Finally, you can taste for the presence of immature flavors such as methoxy-pyrazines or the appearance of overripe flavors such as prune and raisin flavors. Picking with a minimum of green and/or overripe flavors may be a goal depending on the style of the wines.

As you can tell there is no golden rule to determine ripeness, and a lot is based on the winemaker’s goals and experiences. Plus, there are other factors to consider such as labor availability, seasonal conditions such as rainfall, frost, and heat wave predictions, tank space limitations, and contract limitations. Some grape contracts may have Brix targets, minimums, and maximums, and general quality clauses that may affect this decision. The most important thing is to use the sampling to guide you to spend time in the vineyard, and then spending a significant amount of time in the site close to harvest so you can make this important judgment call based on your observations in conjunction with the data and the weather forecast! Good luck!

Vintage 2011- 8-19-2011- Approaching the Finish Line

2011-08-19T17:54:00Z

Harvest is slowly approaching. Moderate weather has allowed for slow even progress of veraison throughout Napa Valley. On the valley floor, we are currently at 75-95 percent veraison in Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Merlot and Malbec, about 40-70 percent veraison in Cabernet Sauvignon, and just beginning to see veraison in the later varieties Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot and on the later hillside vineyards. Sauvignon Blanc sites are mostly through veraison but we are still looking at 3-4 weeks before we harvest, depending on the weather.

The crop yields are quite low this year, which has allowed for less thinning, and also to catch up a little bit on ripening, although we are still 2-3 weeks behind an average year and even behind last year's late season. Let's hope for a continuation of this moderate weather, perhaps with some gradual heating, with no major heat spikes, and we have a high quality potential. The clusters are loose, berries are small, and the overall yield is low which sets the stage for good winemaking.

Thinning has been minimal but it is still important to remove clusters from weak shoots, declump clusters to allow for uniform and dappled sunlight, and thin fruit that lags in development. Usually this is done in 2 separate passes, but this year many growers with light crops have chosen to delay and do all the thinning in one pass around 75 to 85 percent veraison. Some blocks and varieties set well this year, Merlot and Syrah both set a decent crop, and especially in late sites, it has been critical to thin the crop to levels that will achieve ripening in this late cool vintage. In some cases, that means selecting only one cluster per shoot.

After the cool and wet spring, we are just beginning to enter a water deficit where soil moisture is limiting vine water use. Many high quality established vineyards have been able to wait until recently to apply their first irrigations. Applying this first irrigation now that the berries are experiencing veraison is a good time, since the berries have completed cellular division and have determined their final size. Irrigating now will help maintain plump berries but will not affect the overall size and we can maintain these small berries that are good for concentrated wines.

The main concern now is to avoid heat damage. Hopefully canopies were maintained to protect the fruit. Timing irrigations to completely hydrate the soil prior to heat events will be critical. Shade cloth is being used in very high end sites to protect the vines.

Once these final thinning passes are complete, we begin the waiting game. We are just starting to sample the earliest blocks for maturity. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this blissful weather continues.