tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857773803889342022024-02-20T16:36:51.158-08:00Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.®Welcome to the Amalie Robert Estate Farming bLOG, aka FLOG. New FLOG content will be posted on Substack at https://amalierobert.substack.com/Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-74929552294052080932022-04-01T11:00:00.003-07:002022-04-03T15:39:45.189-07:00Amalie Robert Estate: Vintage 2022 Starts Today! <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> <br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><img data-file-id="5663546" height="244" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b06084bd-732c-5d9e-dcdf-8030049bb3cf.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 244px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 325px;" width="325" /><br />
The kitchen sprayer strikes again! <br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">April 1<sup>st</sup> is the official start to the growing season. It is also <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">April Fools’ Day</span></a>. After
20 some years of farming in the Willamette Valley, we do not believe this to be
a coincidence. Whatever <a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-April-Fool%27s-Day" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">pranks you have planned for the day</span></a>,
we can assure you Vintage 2022 will be full of surprises, and not the same
surprises as last year. Just like the pranks, the agrarian challenges get
better and better each year. You don’t have to be crazy to grow Pinot Noir, but
it helps.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">April 1<sup>st</sup> Vintage 2022 is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Julian calendar</span></a> day 91.
Assuming we survive this year’s onslaught (<u>a large quantity of people and/or
things that is difficult to cope with</u>), we should be harvesting wine
berries somewhere around Julian calendar day 274. That gives us about 183 days
to get it together, however harvest dates can vary greatly. The vines know
this, and they are pre-ordained to ripen their seeds in the limited time
allowed. It is our job to harvest the wine berries enshrining these seeds at
the most optimal point in time to produce the most exemplary wines. Godspeed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">BTW: The rubber band used to bundle asparagus is the best for the kitchen
sprayer prank, so we’ve heard…</div>
<br />
<u>The BIG Picture</u><br />
<br />
<img alt="Ernie preparing the vineyard floor for Vintage 2022." border="0" data-file-id="5663590" height="412" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/4fd0175a-363d-62d9-de9b-d91f5dd249ec.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /> <br />
Ernie preparing the vineyard floor for Vintage 2022.<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You have to start somewhere, and in the Willamette Valley, the vineyard floor
is usually a good place to start. After lifting the fog each morning, Ernie’s
next job in the spring is to rototill in last fall’s cover crop. By
incorporating these plants into soil, we feed the soil microbes, and a whole
host of other soil borne life that will digest this organic matter into food
for our vines. And then just as quick as a mousetrap hidden in the cupboard
next to the coffee, Ernie is right back out there drilling in the spring cover
crop blend of Buckwheat and Common Vetch. Yeah, he is always growing nitrogen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<img alt="Grassed rows of Tall Fescue before flailing." border="0" data-file-id="5663594" height="733" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/a1b5ff26-fac7-a5f6-5f32-ec35afb14461.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Grassed rows of Tall Fescue before flailing, in the rain.<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">But there are goings on in the “alternate” rows as well. These are the grassed
rows, or what we call permanent cover. We use fescue, Tall Fescue. These rows
hold the canes pulled out of the trellis from last year’s growing season. Using
his handy dandy flail mower, Ernie shreds these brown canes along with about a
foot tall stand of green grass. That provides about 16 acres of buffet line,
giving a little diversity for the soil inhabitants.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<img alt="Grassed rows of Tall Fescue after flailing." border="0" data-file-id="5663598" height="413" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/cb3e6a99-cd0b-4b2f-7636-94960e1636bc.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Grassed rows of Tall Fescue after flailing, in the rain.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">But
there is a little strip of land just under the vines, and that is where the
magic is right now...</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://amalierobert.substack.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span></a> by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert
Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Chardonnay et al. A <a href="https://amalierobert.substack.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG). You can keep up with our Willamette Valley Vintage 2022 by
visiting our Instagram account <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And we have moved! Won’t the neighbors be surprised. Actually, we have just
moved the FLOG. We have moved the FLOG from Google Blogger to a new platform
called <a href="https://amalierobert.substack.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Substack</span></a>. If you visit <a href="https://amalierobert.substack.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Substack</span></a> you can
subscribe to our FLOG – and it’s FREE. While you are there, you can view any
and all of our previous 210 FLOGs. This may take you some time, and more than a
few ARBs (Adult Recreational Beverages).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<u><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Are They Weeds or Are They Cover Crops?</u></div></u><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">They say there is a fine line between genius and insanity. Doing the same thing
over and over, expecting the same result is called farming. Expecting a
different result is called insanity. So we ask you, what is a weed?</div>
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="5663614" height="412" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/c15f5c71-cf95-7380-1476-6080426c9dae.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Is this your definition of a weed?<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The farming answer is that a weed is a plant growing somewhere you don’t want
it growing. These could be dandelions in your yard, or that big oak tree whose
branch befell your 20 year old Pommard vines. No matter the size, if they
are growing where you don’t want them, then they are weeds. Ernie used to think
Common Groundsel was an uncontrollable weed…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<img alt="Oak tree branch fallen on Pommard Clone Pint Noir during the Ice Storm of 2011." border="0" data-file-id="5663626" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/47a0ce77-aacf-6835-a880-79c918b466b8.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Oak tree branch fallen on Pommard Clone Pint Noir during the Ice Storm of 2011.<br />
<br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #505050; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLk_rjK7_hs8o8xgsiYy4yukyqEGcZn-Ctx-6RVR3KzVMqHG6Tu0PZ6f3Nf5X2BKPQHtEoFJWP9dCF2Pk86NvI9bXgPUcacZRjVBAhkhfNcai2bvglk9kQElNCk2Ewaha48nwS9vvs2ThE3i7EPvKw20eaW84lKtkoXIGO-YhUR7Cy55hvk-GUM6j2Q/s368/2022%20April%20Blooming%20Groundsel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="277" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLk_rjK7_hs8o8xgsiYy4yukyqEGcZn-Ctx-6RVR3KzVMqHG6Tu0PZ6f3Nf5X2BKPQHtEoFJWP9dCF2Pk86NvI9bXgPUcacZRjVBAhkhfNcai2bvglk9kQElNCk2Ewaha48nwS9vvs2ThE3i7EPvKw20eaW84lKtkoXIGO-YhUR7Cy55hvk-GUM6j2Q/w241-h320/2022%20April%20Blooming%20Groundsel.jpg" width="241" /></span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Common Groundsel (<em>Senecio
vulgaris</em>) is a ubiquitous winter annual broadleaf. This little plant grows
directly under the vines. It has strategically located itself such that it is
not in the rototiller rows, nor in the mowing rows. It therefore grows
unabated, much like a weed. But is it a weed?</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senecio_vulgaris" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Common Groundsel</span></a> flowers
very early in the year. In the Willamette Valley it begins to flower in
February and continues through March and April. And as it flowers, it produces
pollen, which is protein. That is the attribute that changes Common Groundsel
from a weed into a highly regarded, naturally occurring winter cover crop.
Note: While Creeping Groundsel is closely related, it is still considered a
weed. A creepy weed…</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<br />
<u style="color: #505050;">What Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?</u><br />
<br /></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Got beneficial insects? Common Groundsel grows at the base of the vine.
And when it flowers it attracts insects. If you are a carnivorous insect in the
Willamette Valley you are either preying on other hapless insects, or if you
can’t find any other insects, consuming plant-based protein, aka pollen.
Plant-based protein was cool before plant-based protein became cool. Just a
different target audience today. Now that’s called marketing!</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5665046" height="732" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b6cf9cd7-d9d5-4e66-601c-563fbd85d374.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Common Groundsel growing at the base of a vine.</span><br />
<br /></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Common Groundsel is where the cool bugs hang out. All manner of spiders,
ladybugs, earwigs and whatever you have. They have a sip of morning dew and a
bit of pollen to start their day. Then it is off to hunt for rust mites, spider
mites or cane borers. And since Common Groundsel is growing right at the vine’s
trunk, it is a short walk to work.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5663670" height="412" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/03779b5a-b6e5-4026-2bf5-f646e0701722.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Ladybug on her way to work! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5663682" height="368" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/fd7266a4-b7ff-fc80-9674-0043d085a95b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 368px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
This insect damaged shoot will not produce fruit, no wine!</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now, the bad bugs that want to consume the newly emerging growth from the vine
spend their winter season in the bark of the vine’s trunk. When the weather
warms up enough, they make their way up the trunk and out onto the cane. And
that is where they do their damage. They begin to bore into the new buds and
eat the pre-emergent shoots. Or they move to the underside of the leaves and
feed on the vascular tissue of the vine. Blighters one and all!</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not on my watch. Ernie takes great care to encourage Common Groundsel. It is
the earliest flowering plant in the vineyard. It produces protein rich pollen
to sustain our battalions of beneficial insects. You want a significant
advantage of good bugs over bad bugs to protect the vineyard. Some people
espouse an “insectary plot” where they grow flowering plants, but they are
usually located a fair distance from the vines. We want our beneficial insects
embedded where their primary target species live.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And what do the experts have to say about eradicating your bad bugs? Read this:</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/small-fruit/grape/grape-spider-mite" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Management-biological control: An
extensive community of natural enemies successfully regulates spider mite
populations when undisturbed by pesticides. Consequently, spider mite problems
on grapes and many other crops are considered secondary pest problems resulting
from the elimination or suppression of natural enemies.</span></a> Kaur, N.
(Ed.). 2022 Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook. © Oregon State
University.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Once again, we see that sometimes the old ways are the best. That’s farming,
slow to evolve and hard to change. Some years we have the upper hand in the
balance of good bugs to bad, and some years we don’t. That is natural
selection. But we never use pesticides to alter the balance of power. We do take
every opportunity to try and encourage as many beneficial insects as possible.
That is our primary defense, a strong offense.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And speaking of offense, <a href="https://tb12sports.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Brady is back</span></a>! No
foolin’! Check out the <a href="https://tb12sports.com/products/tb12-plant-based-protein" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">TB12 Plant Based Protein</span></a>
or an <a href="https://tb12sports.com/blogs/tb12/turmeric-smoothie" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Smoothie</span></a>!
As our Chief Farming Officer ages, he has discovered the <a href="https://tb12sports.com/blogs/tb12/anti-inflammatory-foods" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">anti-inflammatory properties</span></a>
of several non-alcoholic foods and beverages including turmeric. And here
is a fun prank to share with the kids...</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5663690" height="412" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/3958e6ee-edf7-cccc-5290-afe929fb33ca.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Culinary Prank: Carmel dipped onions, instead of apples.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These plant-based products are pretty amazing, and they are certainly gaining
attention and respect. At this point we would like to remind everyone, that
wine is in fact a plant-based product. Even the cork is fashioned from
tree bark. Or as we like to say, there is a free cork in every bottle!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dena & Ernie</span></span></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-77199439531557268682022-03-17T16:00:00.002-07:002022-03-17T16:48:00.492-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Vintage 2022 Pre-view: Spring Renewal <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> <br />
<img data-file-id="5646682" height="266" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/d5e6b735-82b7-7c0f-21f0-723e6a812591.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 266px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Crocus, Daffodil and Grape Hyacinth – Welcome Spring! </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This
is the Vintage 2022 Preview – aka Spring Renewal. That ties right in with our
other Spring theme, Spring Lamb. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span></a> by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert
Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, et al. A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG). You can keep up with vintage 2022 by subscribing to our
Instagram account <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a>.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many people see each vintage as a new beginning, and when it comes to the wine
it certainly is. However, farmers, and wine growers in particular, are
perennials. Sure, there are some aging baby boomers, GEN Xer’s and Millennials
in the group, but if you are growing wine, you pick up from where you left off
last fall with vineyard pruning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The art of vineyard pruning is to cut away the unnecessary dormant canes from
last year, pull those canes out of the trellis wires (without breaking the
wires) and then wrapping a cane down on the fruiting wire for vintage 2022
fruit production. In theory this Spring Renewal is done before Daylight Savings
Time kicks in, where we lose an hour. Lost time is never found.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<img border="0" data-file-id="5646702" height="412" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/76c350c3-118b-1448-97dd-108e9369bac8.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir at Amalie Robert before pruning.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="5646694" height="412" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/777dcc79-8118-3c78-22d7-478aa1eae8a5.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
First cuts are done.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="5646690" height="733" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/2b4fd82b-1f90-8902-8493-c2077cbe05e6.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Canes pulled out of the trellis wires.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="5646698" height="412" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/44c7d829-5979-f8ed-e006-d41002accc80.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Pinot Noir wrapped on the fruiting wire and ready for Spring Renewal!<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Vineyard pruning in the Willamette Valley is an arduous winter task. Your day
is confined to a few acres of dormant vines, a pair of 30 inch loppers,
raingear, gloves and boots with soggy socks in a windy, rainy vineyard where
the highlight of your day may be getting to see a rainbow. If you leave your
lunch unprotected, then it will mostly likely be detected by some squirrel or
weasel making a long day an even longer day for you. No matter how you spin it,
pruning (generally speaking) draws a vacuum. But it does get you out in the
open air, without a mask…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike annual crops that don’t need to be pruned, vines put down deep roots.
Vine age, root depth and soil colonization are very highly regarded traits of
an “old vine” vineyard. These established vines and root systems are less
susceptible to surface level drought and excessive rains. Old vines are battle
tested and resilient. As we look forward to our second 20 years of wine
growing, these old vines from the turn of the century are impressive to see.</div>
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="5646686" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/008680c5-769a-3d38-2722-059595e30e76.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Old Vine Pinot Noir at Amalie Robert. <br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Spring is About to Spring!</u><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Astronomically speaking, the Willamette Valley <a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-spring-vernal-equinox" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">2022 Spring Equinox</span></a>
occurs at 8:33 am PST on Sunday, March 20<sup>th</sup>. Be sure to set your
clocks, you won’t want to miss the <a href="https://www.farmersalmanac.com/spring-equinox-first-day-spring" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">first day of Spring</span></a>!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But it has been a long time getting here. On February 2<sup>nd</sup>, that
oversized rodent Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter, and we
have had it! As this US weather temperature graphic shows, it has been a
grueling winter season, masks and all. Maybe what we need to do is change out
that rodent…</div>
<br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=d9cae258da&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5646706" height="373" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/313ea73d-a6d8-d20c-fd68-5c926e9e6b58.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 373px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.weathercentral.com/weather/us/maps/current-temperatures" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Click on this link to check
the current temperatures</span></a><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There is good news on the horizon. That is where you always find it, on the
horizon. The foretold additional winter and associated mask mandates are coming
to an end. We know this because Groundhog Day plus 6 more weeks of winter adds
up to the first day of Spring! (That, and no one wants a mask mandate revolt on
the first day of Spring. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87r0CPQbFds"><span style="color: #336699;">”Let them truckers roll, 10-4.”</span></a>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ready to Drink (RTD) Cocktails are something that this country embraced during
the height of the pandemic. But they are not new. Quite recently, the old
school implementation has been revived in the Ukrainian alcohol space. As we
can see in this video, <a href="https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/02/27/ukrainian-brewery-in-lviv-appeals-on-social-media-for-molotov-cocktail-donations" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Ready to Deploy Molotov
Cocktails</span></a> are experiencing a strong resurgence.</div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/02/27/ukrainian-brewery-in-lviv-appeals-on-social-media-for-molotov-cocktail-donations" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5646710" height="276" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/69671cd6-707a-0755-6f8c-1607bb5270b1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 276px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 365px;" width="365" /></span></a><br />
Wrapped and ready to deploy!<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>What you do when no one is looking matters.</u><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The definition of integrity, according to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">C.S. Lewis</span></a>, “is doing
the right thing, even when no one is watching.” Cover crops are vineyard inputs
that most people are unfamiliar with. But they are the unsung heroes of
winegrowing</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cover crops are working while the vines are sleeping. Just like rust is always
working. If you live in a state where salt is used on winter roads to melt the
ice, you know what we are talking about. Please give our regards to Phil, the
rodent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cover crop plants hit the ground running, sort of speak. Once the seeds are
under about a quarter inch of soil and get a little rainfall they germinate.
This is what they are pre-programmed to do. They grow roots to help hold our
soil onto the hill during winter rains. Depending on the plants you have
chosen, they can also impart nutrients into the soil to feed the vines the
following spring. They may also bloom, which provides much needed pollen
(protein) to feed our battalions of predatory vineyard insects.</div>
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="5646782" height="633" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/43eaebc8-771f-c318-7615-c51863018640.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 633px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Cover crop in bloom.<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Nitrogen is always a limiting factor in vine growth. Nitrogen is a macro
nutrient along with Phosphorous and Potassium. Think of the three main inputs
to a bread dough recipe. Once you run out of one, you are done making bread. A
lack of any of the three macro nutrients limits vine growth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Phosphorus and Potassium bind to the colloids in the soil like a Syrah stain on
your favorite sweater. Nitrogen is a special case. Unlike Phosphorus and
Potassium, winter rains will wash Nitrogen out of the soil. The vines awaken to
their Spring renewal and find the soil is fairly well depleted of Nitrogen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our part of the Willamette Valley receives about 45 inches of rain each fall
(and virtually no rain during the summer). Our objective with cover crops is to
always use a plant that will “fix” Nitrogen in the soil. Legumes such as winter
peas or summer crops such as Vetch will fix Nitrogen in the soil.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">When we use the term “fix” we mean that the plant will take Nitrogen out of the
atmosphere and translocate it to its roots. Nitrogen fixation is often seen as
small nodules on the root system. Turning these plants into the soil in
Springtime will release the Nitrogen so that the vine roots can uptake it for
the current growing season. Think of it as “Just in Time” fertilization. Not to
worry about the atmosphere, about 78% of the air we breathe is Nitrogen, the
remaining 21% is oxygen and that last 1% depends on your specific location in
the world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The alternative is not to plant cover crops. This leaves the soil on the
vineyard floor undisturbed and there are benefits to that – especially if you
are a worm, or know someone who is. Typically, grass is grown in each row to
prevent soil erosion. The grass will compete with the vines for water and
nutrients. That means that the vines will be getting their nutrients from a
source other than cover crops.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A third possibility is to leave the vineyard floor clean cultivated. This means
that all of the plants are gone, and the soil is completely bare and exposed.
This may be a condition left over from the growing season where all of the
plants are tilled into the soil to reduce water competition to young vines or
vines grafted onto rootstocks producing shallow root systems. It may be
intentional, or it could be that the tractor broke down before the cover crop
could be planted and then the rains set in. Either way, it is the least
desirable condition for the vineyard floor as we begin the growing season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<u><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>What does this mean and why should I care?</u></div></u><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Have you ever tasted a wine and thought, well, it’s pleasant enough but
something is lacking? Maybe it was filtered before being bottled and that took
out some of the magic. Or maybe, the grapes were a little starved for nutrients
when they were on the vine. Hmm… The first clue would be to look for signs of
cover crops, or empty bags of (Ukrainian) fertilizer. Watson, get your boots.
We are going sleuthing!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Assessing a vine’s nutritional health as it contributes to wine quality is a
difficult task. Each vine is contributing to wine quality. The difficult part
is finding the vines that are not contributing in a positive way. Imagine
conducting 52,000 individual performance evaluations each year. It’s kinda like
that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes an issue arises and affects a certain section of the vineyard. In
this case it is most likely something in the soil at that particular location
such as a winter high water table that is drowning the roots. Or it could be a
specific clone and rootstock combination under attack. Monocultures in
agriculture are a risky thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Consider the Irish Potato Famine. The Irish Lumper was a very prolific potato
and a staple in in many Irish households. It also just happened to be
susceptible to a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytophthora_infestans"><span style="color: #336699;">water mold</span></a> that destroyed the plant and the
potatoes. Sadly, this variety was virtually a monoculture throughout Ireland.
After two growing seasons, the Irish Lumper was all but wiped out. On the
bright side, an Irish farmer has re-introduced the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/130315-irish-famine-potato-lumper-food-science-culture-ireland"><span style="color: #336699;">Irish Lumper</span></a>. That is going to require a well
thought out marketing plan. Good luck with that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes you do see a vine’s plea for help. This can occur after an incident
of tractor blight. Tractor blight occurs when the vine and the tractor try to
occupy the same physical space at the same time. The resulting blight is
clearly visible and in most cases the vine can recover.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other times it is the leaves that are making the ask. Nutrient deficiencies can
manifest themselves through leaf discoloration. We have a known Magnesium
deficiency when vines are grafted onto 44-53M rootstock. The leaves show a
specific chlorosis that indicates the vine is lacking Magnesium. Other
nutrients have specific “tells” that discolor the leaves indicating the
specific nutritional deficiency.</div>
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="5646778" height="504" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/63673e7e-8f92-743e-a1c7-7140ff86d06c.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 504px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Magnesium deficiency in a grapevine leaf.<br />
<br />
And then there is mite damage. These little insects feed on the vascular tissue
of the vine robbing it of its <a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove"><span style="color: #336699;">precious fluids</span></a>. Cover crops, as detailed
above, can help increase your predatory insect population that will decrease
the unwanted mite population. And we may take a brief moment to point out “<a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove"><span style="color: #336699;">Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!</span></a>”<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3edi2Wkr5YI" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5646718" height="926" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/54fd5b67-123f-4120-bc88-a47784927032.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 926px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3edi2Wkr5YI" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Major Kong Rides The Bomb in Dr.
Strangelove</span></a><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When you discover a deficiency during the growing season, what to do? If you
passed on the cover crops last fall, well, as Tanya Tucker sang. “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrjqKzQMyjI" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">It's a little too late to do the
right thing now</span></a>.” As always in farming, doing nothing is an option.
Applying some form of fertilizer to feed the deficiency is the other option.
But the underlying question is seldom addressed, what does this mean for wine
quality?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some clones have their own issues in the form of being virused. No matter what
you do, the vine has an internal issue that manifests itself during the growing
season. For Pinot Noir clone 667, this usually means the vine looks completely
stressed weeks before harvest. No human input of fertilizer or cover crop
regime will solve what ails this vine. The resulting wine from this clone is
distinctive and can easily be identified in the cellar. As for the quality of
the wine, it is often exemplary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So if it works, do we have to fix it? We have adopted the position that a
healthy vine with access to naturally formed nutrients is the first best path
to wine quality. Every growing season is unique in the Willamette Valley and
deficiencies can happen. Lack of soil moisture is a common theme in the summer
and has been more pronounced in recent vintages. But does this mean we should start
irrigating our dry farmed vineyards? Of course not. We recognize the vintage
variations of a marginal climate and celebrate the fact that our wines do
reflect the ever-changing climate. Our long-term objective however, is to have
grown the best wine on the planet, for as long as we have a planet to grow wine
on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<u><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Live from New York!</u></div></u><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The numbers this month come from New York where <a href="https://vinous.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Vinous Media</span></a> is
published. Our 2016 “Hers and His” reserve Pinot Noir wines were just reviewed.
And they went right down the line: 93 points Amalie’s Cuvee, 94 points Estate
Selection and 95 points for the 2015 The Reserve. You can check out our updated
Vintage Scorecard here:</div>
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="5646906" height="462" id="_x0000_i1036" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7aa296fa-a01e-3c20-0d0f-e79a8c52aad0.jpg" style="border-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; display: inline; height: 462px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Amalie's Cuvée - 93 points</u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Deep, shimmering crimson. Spice-tinged red and blue fruit scents, along with
hints of musky earth and candied flowers. Juicy and expansive on the palate,
offering concentrated cherry cola, blueberry and spicecake flavors braced by a
core of juicy acidity. Shows fine definition and repeating florality on the
persistent finish, which is framed by well-integrated, discreet tannins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<u><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Estate Selection - 94 points</u></div></u><div style="text-align: justify;">Limpid ruby-red. Highly perfumed, mineral-accented aromas of raspberry, cherry
cola and spicecake show fine detail and take on a floral overtone with
aeration. Juicy and penetrating on the palate, offering juicy red and blue
fruit preserve, rose pastille and candied licorice flavors and a touch of
vanilla. Finishes very long and smooth, with repeating florality and discreet
tannins that fold smoothly into the vibrant fruit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<u><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Reserve – 95 points</u></div></u><div style="text-align: justify;">Full garnet. Vibrant, finely etched red berry, cherry, blood orange and exotic
spice scents are complemented by a floral note and a hint of smoky minerality.
Stains the palate with intense raspberry, cherry cola, allspice and rose
pastille flavors that convey a suave blend of power and finesse. Smooth tannins
build slowly on the impressively persistent finish, which emphatically echoes
the floral and spice notes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<em><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>"Dena Drews and Ernie Pink are in no hurry to release their wines. If
you know the wines and how they age, it makes great sense for the buyer, but
it’s a pretty amazing sacrifice on the part of the winery. The vineyard is
located just outside of Dallas, at the western end of the Willamette Valley.
Their 35 acres directly abut the legendary Freedom Hill vineyard, which should
give an idea of the quality of this location. This is a very low-profile
operation, by design, but the consistently high quality of its wines has earned
it a loyal, almost secret-handshake following that goes back to when Drews and
Pink set up shop in 1999. The winemaking here is decidedly low-impact, and the
resulting wines are elegant, focused and understated, with the balance to age
gracefully (hence the late release policy) and positively. There aren’t many
“insider” wineries left in this increasingly popular and well-traveled region,
but Amalie Robert definitely qualifies." - Josh Raynolds, Vinous
Media, February 2022</em></div></em></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<u><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #505050;">Culinary
Inclinations Spring 2022</span></u></div></u><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Spring Lamb is our Spring culinary inclination. For such a small animal, there
are a wide variety of preparations. These include rack of lamb, braised lamb
shanks, lamb chops or T-bones and ground lamb seasoned and filled into
pinwheels or purses. Pinot Noir may not be the most obvious choice, but it
shines mightily.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And there is a world of accoutrements and spices going well beyond salt, pepper
and mint jelly. Moroccan spices on ground lamb pinwheels or purses with a side
of mango chutney. Cucumber and yogurt join forces with garlic and olive oil as
the base for Tzatziki. Roasted red pepper aioli with smoked paprika and Meyer
lemon infused olive will add color and flair. What a conundrum, what to do,
where to start?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are alternatives as well. For those who find lamb to be a little too
intense in flavor and aroma, we suggest venison as an alternative. We realize
that not everyone is going out to the back 40 to harvest their own venison, as
fun as that might be. Besides, it's the off season in the northern hemisphere,
but down under...</div>
<br />
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5646722" height="222" id="_x0000_i1037" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/d2f3a9bb-b905-9b52-9d14-ae78bd55c391.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 222px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
A small herd of New Zealand deer. They heard you were coming.<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="https://www.silverfernfarms.com/us/our-venison-range/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">venison</span></a> we are referring
to is sourced from <span style="color: #336699;"><a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=1378d62165&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank">Silver Fern </a><a href="https://www.silverfernfarms.com/us/">Farms</a></span><a href="https://www.silverfernfarms.com/us/"> </a>in New
Zealand. The animals are raised by <a href="https://www.silverfernfarms.com/us/what-were-made-of/meet-our-farmers/ben-and-raewyn-gaddum" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Ben and Raewyn Gaddum, Tuapae Farms</span></a>,
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. And if your post-COVID wanderlust is taking you to <a href="https://www.hawkesbaynz.com/see-and-do/art-design-and-culture/the-art-deco-guide/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Hawke's Bay</span></a>, we
recommend a few lovely days and nights in the Art Deco city of Napier. You will
never see water quite so blue as from the balcony of the <a href="https://the-county-hotel-napier.booked.net/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">County Hotel</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<a href="https://the-county-hotel-napier.booked.net/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="5646726" height="338" id="_x0000_i1038" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/635607b8-caba-dc0d-099a-920ce786b96f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 338px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
The County Hotel, Napier New Zealand<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Our introduction to Tuapae Farms venison happened in Birmingham, Alabama. Of
all places that are food and wine, Birmingham is THE place. (The Gulf and LA
(Lower Alabama) have their own cool vibe). The cut was rack of venison. Rack of
venison is midway between the size of a rack of pork and a rack of lamb. Each
rib chop was sliced about ¾ of an inch thick with a very generous portion of
rib cap. Roasted to perfection and served aside roast winter vegetables and
braised bitter greens.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wine? Oh yes, the wine was <a href="https://www.amalierobert.com/satisfaction.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Satisfaction Syrah</span></a>,
vintage 2015. The venue was a country club with about 50 guests. While it was a
good crowd with a fair bit of interaction throughout the evening, the room drew
quiet during this course. That was testament to the excellent preparation of
the venison, and we hope a harmonious pairing with the wine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We add Silver Fern Farms to our highly recommended list of purveyors which also
includes White Pekin duck from Maple leaf Farms. You can check out their
shopping carts here: <a href="https://us.silverfernfarms.com/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=usa-brand-site-referral-nav"><span style="color: #336699;">Silver Fern Farms</span></a> and <a href="https://shopmapleleaffarms.com/"><span style="color: #336699;">Maple Leaf Farms</span></a>.</div>
<br />
Kindest Regards,<br />
<br />
Dena & Ernie</span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></span></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-81447944832810548472021-12-05T10:00:00.125-08:002022-01-17T06:26:31.518-08:00Amalie Robert Estate: 2021 Happy Holidays! <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Hello and
Welcome, </span></div><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> <br />2021 Happy Holidays from Amalie Robert Estate!</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjFHYpZDLlhDfTr7GTnj4lIS7w-HuMEANs5W-25DJa_DMt6fA8UiccVsWxQfAi02u1qFL3sanMCHJUum33ZRwNR357uIH_tPk7D4NXxC81AMIKc0Qdz5tbN-2yK4m7iZpW-N3HQyBEJufJFxIkqlTpTWqK2b0MQ9qXWWp7zV-3Q5Mm2xKsTaNlP3L4cg=s787" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="787" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjFHYpZDLlhDfTr7GTnj4lIS7w-HuMEANs5W-25DJa_DMt6fA8UiccVsWxQfAi02u1qFL3sanMCHJUum33ZRwNR357uIH_tPk7D4NXxC81AMIKc0Qdz5tbN-2yK4m7iZpW-N3HQyBEJufJFxIkqlTpTWqK2b0MQ9qXWWp7zV-3Q5Mm2xKsTaNlP3L4cg=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As the season turns to friends and family, we
would like to extend to you our warmest wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a
fruitful New Year. We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome new
friends to the Amalie Robert Estate FLOG as we celebrate the passage of the
21st amendment and the repeal of the 18th Amendment aka Prohibition! And while
the 21st is not going away anytime soon, its interpretation is being
re-imagined. As in the review of several laws that may have lost their
relevance in the COVID reality.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #505050; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;"></span></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="202" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaQxU6BZB6oE5QL6WkWzpbEyhEe6FRbDpHUZ43ivX5ikPNeeww2F9jhaEQwgNzeMkHqpntlQsK0-r41Kcx5RY0v0BmnbpzAxlA8oB1xvi3c2QsnzoielIio4bdhDiYLM6kCQZtB43tXpJHSS7w6DSUNb6z0FN58Jd8xWya1SuZ5Wxt4NGOJlXjIPdRrQ" width="202" /></a></div>Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span> A
FLOG communication (Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert
Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see
what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are posting on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a>. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get… Want to learn more about
Amalie Robert? <a href="https://mailchi.mp/bf1c6e3596d2/arepart1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Take the Tour!</span></a><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
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<span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=b45379bea7&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank"><br /></a></div></span></span><span style="color: #505050;">
<u>The 5th of the month and the repeal of Prohibition!</u><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The 5th of the month has more significance than Ernie was previously aware. A
thirst for knowledge and a little research has greatly expanded his
appreciation for the 5th of the month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnxPdx40UvMEVD0t1VDaoFGE4Lpc95u_krXI5VhsuodOPS__oU_P62gq9rqqEPdLYfMonYuL-F94vefruOEfTXYITgDepMkzq81ZA2akEPoch_NAzs6Ah5uQNO49T3l7EdV_0Q6bh3rhHg-04BqpliB5t1j_ljgyEhom49CpGe_ZK0EKlZXid4yXCsqw=s1288" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1288" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnxPdx40UvMEVD0t1VDaoFGE4Lpc95u_krXI5VhsuodOPS__oU_P62gq9rqqEPdLYfMonYuL-F94vefruOEfTXYITgDepMkzq81ZA2akEPoch_NAzs6Ah5uQNO49T3l7EdV_0Q6bh3rhHg-04BqpliB5t1j_ljgyEhom49CpGe_ZK0EKlZXid4yXCsqw=w200-h107" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">January through March is a write-off. We are
just too busy working to be bothered. However, for some the 5th of the month is
payday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">April 5th is a day we wake up and realize the government is about to get more
of our money than ever before. However, we owe ourselves about $29.0 trillion
(up from about $27.3 trillion last year), that's just about $87,073 (up from
about $82,585 last year) per person living in the United States, and $229,706
per taxpayer. And that’s starting to look like real money. Hmmm, these COVID
variants certainly have a half life. You can check our progress from time to
time <a href="https://www.usdebtclock.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">right here</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As you well know, the holiday Cinco De Mayo is a celebration on the 5th day of
the 5th month. The purpose of which is to celebrate the victory by the Mexican
Army over the French Army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Of course,
and as always, there is more to the story. Here is a <a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cinco-de-mayo" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">link with more details</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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very significant to Ernie, as it is Dena’s birthday! As many of you know,
Dena’s middle name is Amalie and is the palate defining Amalie’s Cuvée.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">July 5th is the day we would have declared our Independence, however as
Americans, we just couldn’t wait. Somewhat like opening a gift, or maybe two,
on Christmas Eve.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">August 4th, 2011, again we couldn’t wait, is the first time the US debt
exceeded 100% of our Gross Domestic Product - GDP (Gosh Darn Politicians).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt1UsNGWwmtPWGB5MLlG3ElHUGcIGm53qAl4Sj0xj8pVJTRbEyUtTHMFdNUdIkklycqPcH3VCUuBnc1lDiRWoZL-kkveJd3HfIC1gHanS0lcKn8YRRiuYJqwtfISRqnKfZETiM6taoqTkm7iH-aAmUu0neoGEVMb5e6dAtK1Ot34ry-hvrXEszRfCnYw=s2310" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1732" data-original-width="2310" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt1UsNGWwmtPWGB5MLlG3ElHUGcIGm53qAl4Sj0xj8pVJTRbEyUtTHMFdNUdIkklycqPcH3VCUuBnc1lDiRWoZL-kkveJd3HfIC1gHanS0lcKn8YRRiuYJqwtfISRqnKfZETiM6taoqTkm7iH-aAmUu0neoGEVMb5e6dAtK1Ot34ry-hvrXEszRfCnYw=w200-h150" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, August 5th brings little pink berries
to our Pinot Noir vines. Ernie likes this, a lot!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">September 5th is significant to all children and especially their parents. It
usually is about the time the children are going back to school. But
again, 2020 has a different scholastic program for most districts. Got WIFI?</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfBqkz1GdwqtVW165ycIwRtP40QdKpff59Z7DP_FBRerBrEiUc0z1xVA2X0VCNpi1_RYthexSqBEBXub535-55KkE1R2-JyChgjwCBXltIPFHiVbKRlt_NaB4-0rbaFfBXuPCsii40XuOPB89Hovt3WWGCYvrbraSiysriyy9j4eXBKmaHdjxLLXeW7w=s2078" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="2078" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfBqkz1GdwqtVW165ycIwRtP40QdKpff59Z7DP_FBRerBrEiUc0z1xVA2X0VCNpi1_RYthexSqBEBXub535-55KkE1R2-JyChgjwCBXltIPFHiVbKRlt_NaB4-0rbaFfBXuPCsii40XuOPB89Hovt3WWGCYvrbraSiysriyy9j4eXBKmaHdjxLLXeW7w=w200-h108" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">October 5th usually finds us in the middle of
harvest. Due to the protracted nature of harvesting and fermenting Chardonnay,
Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Viognier and now that little rascal
Gewürztraminer, Ernie has dubbed the 10th and 11th months to be
“Octo-vem-BIER.” </div></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">November 5<sup>th</sup> is when the freshly plucked Syrah and Viognier wine
berries began to ferment. And the winery did smell AMAZING!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">On December 5th we find ourselves at the end of the calendar. 2021 marks
the 88th year of the repeal of the social engineering experiment known as
Prohibition.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMX8nqJkQLWeIngM-H2mfa_Uvh7StVVvyAUDnOOAMY5DsvX6CXeaTHjOpDKXNXpTrEF3l7hRyREopuOgfSXE80ixKKUVIqpTfQ16sTCIqbngsX9XkW5zukTPY5YklFSq6c8-dYXaZsYeWYCMb7oCRE5KZm2KF5rB_7y_th4nXXgE0NR-cfLy-eXXsUsA=s190" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="190" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMX8nqJkQLWeIngM-H2mfa_Uvh7StVVvyAUDnOOAMY5DsvX6CXeaTHjOpDKXNXpTrEF3l7hRyREopuOgfSXE80ixKKUVIqpTfQ16sTCIqbngsX9XkW5zukTPY5YklFSq6c8-dYXaZsYeWYCMb7oCRE5KZm2KF5rB_7y_th4nXXgE0NR-cfLy-eXXsUsA=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On January 16th, 1919, the United States
Congress passed the Volstead Act. The Volstead Act was passed to provide
enforcement of the 18th amendment to the Constitution of the United States, aka
Prohibition. This marked the beginning of Prohibition. We wonder what Congress’s
approval rating was that year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is an excerpt of section 1 of the 18th amendment:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">“…the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the
importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and
all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is
hereby prohibited.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the following 13 years, the people of the United States bore witness to
the effects of Prohibition. Further, they were able to compare the politicians’
promises and pontifications to the experiences in their own daily lives - aka
The Real World. This phenomenon has persisted in each and every congress since
and can lead to the malady known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">cognitive dissonance</span></a>.
Ernie calls it “Negotiated Reality”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcBAFPxzQIKXMNTiWFARtuwSjuD07V8ojuN3msohIzz_jP8NoHO_zLV7CbMCfaJUhU_jmrU3EARt0k-pAsgV5IHxrrTYLUzZ3JII4MGqMzFDjBReYg08gvbX494NTx_8I6mIrKtbmMuDgk49Aw7Oh4ibBnctSa2KgOgClhxV74l-pDp7SFkGZwddc_QA=s821" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="821" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcBAFPxzQIKXMNTiWFARtuwSjuD07V8ojuN3msohIzz_jP8NoHO_zLV7CbMCfaJUhU_jmrU3EARt0k-pAsgV5IHxrrTYLUzZ3JII4MGqMzFDjBReYg08gvbX494NTx_8I6mIrKtbmMuDgk49Aw7Oh4ibBnctSa2KgOgClhxV74l-pDp7SFkGZwddc_QA=w200-h150" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was in 1929 that a curious little product was
invented and granted trademark protection. Ernie may be deviating from his
factual discourse here, but perhaps this product was used in reference to the
politicians of the day who could not tell the difference between a good idea
and Prohibition. Sometimes it is hard to tell fact from fiction, sometimes not.
The product was a shoe wax called Shinola. Now they make watches, in Detroit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Winegrowers of the time were a hearty breed, they had to be. The manufacture,
distribution and sale (including export offshore) of alcohol was illegal. If
your livelihood depended on growing some 100 tons of grapes and selling the
fermented juice, you were out of business (and so was your labor force), or so
the politicians thought.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, let us introduce the law of Supply and Demand. (Note: Much like gravity
this is a law not subject to political pressure.) Despite a small minority
trying to legislate morality on the entire citizenry, the American public
sought to exercise their rights as citizens living in a free country. After
all, that’s why they were here.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #505050; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiS4kmHHgAFRc5GDOzlB4iCvtoaM5VztWCEnNDwhrNFInLpOZw9Q7oohc8M78JMDQ9c3SfB3FMxHRhwvWqZSawHjrzgcj7-auD3OXzTehu2aPI21zOB2Bu-OkORC0uapkaasDPynKUXGTfAiYslg_XT-MD-r9e1wBt5MwlSwRx9-ZPYWkGxvKTJJR_WVQ=s336" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="336" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiS4kmHHgAFRc5GDOzlB4iCvtoaM5VztWCEnNDwhrNFInLpOZw9Q7oohc8M78JMDQ9c3SfB3FMxHRhwvWqZSawHjrzgcj7-auD3OXzTehu2aPI21zOB2Bu-OkORC0uapkaasDPynKUXGTfAiYslg_XT-MD-r9e1wBt5MwlSwRx9-ZPYWkGxvKTJJR_WVQ=w200-h116" width="200" /></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">It turns out that many people had unexplained
illnesses during those 13 years. In visiting their family physicians, it seemed
the most cost effective treatment was the prescription of alcohol, wine in most
cases, for medicinal purposes. One thing often leads to another and new upstart
health clinics quietly appeared. Called speakeasies, these outpatient clinics
provided a wide variety of treatments for whatever may be ailing you. Lead
poisoning, while not common, was a serious health risk. The health care
industry in this country is a very curious thing.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #505050; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVak1hKWOt3ukUkjMAHoT5sm2xlv1WOHcUqyauKx2XGDZ2sYeQRd9aT0XgDMatJOYUzxIad25jCvFD1yriTqWwQRvlKN6rBZyx9ZF-uCxs0wCwmcJybFMXEL0YiUM-EuM2x3p_AOT8cBiM2xm5wg4_oS3GJ3N7tBw9IZNzanVFTabIfvkpHObyN5NDfg=s672" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="401" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVak1hKWOt3ukUkjMAHoT5sm2xlv1WOHcUqyauKx2XGDZ2sYeQRd9aT0XgDMatJOYUzxIad25jCvFD1yriTqWwQRvlKN6rBZyx9ZF-uCxs0wCwmcJybFMXEL0YiUM-EuM2x3p_AOT8cBiM2xm5wg4_oS3GJ3N7tBw9IZNzanVFTabIfvkpHObyN5NDfg=w239-h400" width="239" /></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Presidential Proclamation number 2065</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Even
today, the debate continues over the health benefits of alcohol, red wine in
particular and Pinot Noir specifically, for the high content of Resveratrol.
You can learn more about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resveratrol" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Resveratrol</span></a> here.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Or </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">NASCAR</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">, which is the
natural evolution of a rapid delivery system that kept the formularies of the
day fully stocked - much to the chagrin of the treasury agents. </span><a href="https://www.nascar.com/drivers/brandon-brown/" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">One of the most recent rising stars of NASCAR is driver
Brandon Brown who won his first career Xfinity Series victory at Talladega
Superspeedway in the Fall of 2021.</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">We now come to the
presidential election of 1932. FDR, as he was known, achieved many things. The
most wide sweeping change affected nearly everyone in the United States and for
generations to come, including several of our foreign trading partners. Recall,
the importation of Canadian, Irish and Scotch whisky was also illegal. As an
aside, Ernie’s time in Ireland taught him that the Scot’s never acknowledged
Prohibition and they kept the pipeline open.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/?dod-date=1205" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Read the original Presidential
Proclamation number 2065 from the National Archives here.</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">On December 5th, 1933, the 21st amendment was ratified by the United States
Congress. In what may be the most effective and efficient legislation known to
this great country, here is Section 1 in its entirety:</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">“Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the
United States is hereby repealed.”</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We see here that sweeping changes in legislation, or repeal of them, may be
difficult, but certainty not impossible.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As you enjoy the holiday season, please take a moment to reflect on your
constitutional right to grow, produce, blend, bottle, sell, or purchase and
consume wine, especially Pinot Noir!</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">When the time is right, please enjoy our wines with friends, food and in
moderation.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; text-align: left;">Kindest Regards,</span></div><span style="color: #505050;">
<br />
Dena & Ernie</span></span></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-46502844955815184222021-12-04T14:30:00.003-08:002022-01-17T06:23:58.563-08:00Amalie Robert Estate Vintage Update: 2021 Harvest After Action Report (HAAR) <p><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><br /></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>This is the Harvest After Action Report (HAAR) from Amalie Robert Estate,
Vintage 2021. Suggested reading time is 1.25 ARB’s (Adult Recreational
Beverages). If you can possibly manage the time, please read this </span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG</span></a><span> in one sitting. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="485" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/0d4d871f-9d1c-80ac-b56f-f04201267305.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 485px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">All’s well that ends well… </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All%27s_Well_That_Ends_Well" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">Apparently this is not a new concept as William
Shakespeare’s play was published in the 1600’s.</span></a><span style="color: #505050;"> Typically, a person
can forget about how unpleasant or difficult something was because everything
worked out fine. Or cognitively, it is just easier to set your sights on the
next objective and forget about it. You will do better next time… Note that
Shakespeare’s play is considered a comedy. Just imagine the literary
masterpieces he could have turned out if he were a farmer!</span></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">In hindsight, Vintage 2021 really wasn’t so bad. Years from now we will taste
the wines and all have a good laugh. Some will laugh first, others will laugh
loudest and someone will have the last laugh. We suspect Mother Nature is
laughing right now. You could even consider it a comedy. A tragic comedy, a
comedy of errors, there are several comedic choices available. It was Cluster
Pluck to remember…</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #505050; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span></a><br />
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="202" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUbXgjpWgXYqD797iI2S_t4fYmTRSwvzC2iIjabodgaDK8vLtRNG4GXVVBl0KXDuGvgCtiq3H2ydlvdMMQuzh2dhubH3a0_Ni3wbkNSZO0Xv9sD87t9BTU_EXbD9agLq7FBSMEaRx7fPkG2A1c5ZromFJxsKgYXUzss11OW0bq0AJY9YvdUfLkM5weig=w200-h192" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>A
</span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a><span>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see what we see on </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Instagram @AmalieRobert</span></a><span> Estate.
We are posting on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/9713621/admin/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a><span>. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get… Want to learn more about
Amalie Robert? </span><a href="https://mailchi.mp/bf1c6e3596d2/arepart1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Take the Tour!</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #505050; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">Prologue:
Vintage 2021</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Each farming year begins with high hopes and great aspirations. Another year of
experience informs us of the newfound perils to be mindful of as we set off on
a new vintage. The first three months of the year are consumed with pruning the
vines. Pruning is an arduous task completed in the wind and rain and occasional
sunny day. Our job is to get the vines ready for their big day – Bud Break. And
this year that occurred at a relatively normal time of April 15</span><sup>th</sup><span>.
It is a heartwarming sight to see these dormant canes spring forth with little
green shoots. Frost is sometimes a threat to the newly emerged shoots and
astute vineyard site selection is the key to avoid this peril. And sometimes
all you need is a bit of old fashioned good luck.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="474" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/4a3ccc59-dac9-e234-981b-d321bb42cb78.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 474px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">April brings with it a substantial amount of tractor time getting the vineyard
floor ready to support the vines’ exponential growth spurt that occurs in May
and June. First is incorporating the cover crop from last fall that will
decompose and release nutrients to the vines. Then a quick pass with the seed
drill to add a summer cover crop to attract beneficial insects and fix a little
nitrogen. Not that the nitrogen was broken, but “fix” is the term used when
plants convert nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it on their roots. And
that is how we feed our vines without the use of chemical fertilizers. We do
burn a few dinosaurs along the way. But its Bio-Diesel here in Oregon, so it’s
not all bad.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/7532b8b2-6b91-78f3-3feb-998ecb5b2f4f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">May and June is when all hell breaks loose in the canopy. The vines are on a
driven 6 month schedule from April to October to ripen their seeds and
reproduce, then they go dormant for the next 6 months. Nice work if you can get
it. May and June are when those cute little green buds we noticed in April
rapidly grow into long canes that need to be harnessed in the trellis catch
wires – all by hand. The simple math is 50,000 vines times 12 buds is 600,000
shoots that need to be manually tucked into 3 pairs of trellis catch wires and
clipped into place.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/393e32a8-9d0e-22a8-e861-559d8ff26231.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
If It’s Going to Be, It’s Up to Me</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">And that’s when the </span><u style="color: #505050;">first major trial of Vintage 2021</u><span style="color: #505050;"> occurred. (Note:
We will spare you the minor trials we experience every day, like lifting the
fog, finding the internet hotspot sweet spot or co-locating with the tractor
keys). Once the shoots are all tucked into the wires, Ernie gets out the hedger
to trim the tops of the shoots. Like the periodic colonoscopy, this has become
a fairly straightforward procedure. But this year is the year where the THIRD
Landini tractor wheel failed. And it failed in the most spectacular fashion, on
the downhill run of row 18, block 29. That is a lovely block of Pommard clone
on 44-53 rootstock.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="733" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/fb49768f-adb3-e62b-6c8d-0700da20cdd0.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">Once the shock and initial inspection was complete, the reality set in. How in
the hell do we get the tractor out of the vineyard on 3 wheels? With the hedger
attached no less. Fortunately, there are 12 bottles of beer in a half rack, and
that affords the winegrower some time for creative thinking and limited
critical reasoning. And since it’s summer, we can pee outside. And often do.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>It turns out the solution was not to move the tractor out of the field on three
wheels, but to remove, repair and replace the broken wheel. With Dena’s help
and cellphone at the ready in case of emergency, Ernie gathered unto himself
all of his tools, jacked up the machine, removed the broken wheel and wheel
studs, and exited the field unscathed.</span></div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="733" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/5030e6d4-b365-c022-07ba-3430968b0a4a.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">Then a quick call to Ray King of King’s Industries was in order. Ray recalled
fixing the last two broken wheels and was up for a welding trifecta. First,
Ernie had to stop off at Les Schwab to remove the rubber tire from the steel
wheel. Ray doesn’t like to apply heat and high voltage in close proximity to
rubber. There are old welders and bold welders, but not so many old, bold
welders. Then just as quick as you please, that’s less than 24 hours in farming
time, Ray had the wheel ready to roll. Then it was back to Les Schwab for a
reinstall of the tire.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>And since the tread was wearing down, Ernie took the time to find out how much
a replacement tire would cost. “No sir, that size tire is no longer available.”
It seems like just a couple years ago when Ernie found out replacement wheels
were no longer available. So, it was back to block 29 to reinstall our very
precious wheel and irreplaceable tire.</span></div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Installing the wheel is a simple process – line up the spokes with the hub and
slide the wheel studs through. Add NEW lock washers and torque down the nuts.
All good, except when a vine is between you and the wheel. The vine rows are
set at 90 inches wide and the front wheels track at 55 inches wide. That leaves
about 17 inches between a front tire and a vine. Fortunately, it was a sunny
day, not too hot and with nothing much else to do until the wheel was replaced.
After a commensurate amount of time, Ernie had the wheel replaced and was able
to drive the tractor out of the confines of block 29 under its own power .</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="413" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/f9fd3f08-ec87-a51b-a31b-c804d107d229.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">May through August is the time when we must spray the vines. Much like we spray
flowering shrubberies such as roses, we spray vines to keep mildew from
attacking our wine berries. And to do this we use a sprayer. The sprayer takes
power from the tractor PTO (Power Take Off) driveshaft to power the pump that
pressurizes the solution that is sprayed on the vines. The pump is a diaphragm
pump. A diaphragm pump with a failed diaphragm will not pressurize the sprayer.
And this was the </span><u style="color: #505050;">second major trial of Vintage 2021</u><span style="color: #505050;">.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="732" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/fb0bd04d-e537-cd70-a6ec-ac52755ff290.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">The quick answer is sometimes the best answer, just ask </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">Occam</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. In this particular case, a replacement
pump would be the best repair. Maybe a little more money, but far less time.
The vineyard spray schedule is about every 7 to 10 days. That means there is a
small and dwindling window of time to make this repair. If not, mildew would
have the great opportunity to infect the entire vineyard. Delayed spray
intervals have the potential to create a total loss. These types of thoughts
have a tendency to focus the mind and enact decisive action.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>And of course, Ernie discovered his pump’s ruptured diaphragm on a Saturday. So
he sent off a few E-mails and found another wanting project to absorb his
excess time. Come Monday afternoon, no responses. A few calls to the sprayer
manufacturer went straight to voicemail. Monday must be a busy day for these
folks. So, the next logical step is to call the pump manufacturer. Success
favors the prepared mind.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Well, it turns out that the manufacturer must have had a slow day because Ernie
had about 30 minutes with them. They confirmed what Ernie had suspected, he was
the proud owner of a boat anchor. The next task was to contact the local dealer
to source a new pump. The number he was given to the local dealer happened to
be in Washington. And they had no pumps in stock. They did have several on
order, but none in stock.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>“Why don’t you call the Oregon dealer? It says they have 7 in stock.” Well why
not, indeed? So Ernie took down the number and called them up. Sure enough,
they did have 7 in stock. Ernie reserved one and confirmed the drive time to be
about an hour. Great, just enough time for lunch. And then the phone rang. It
turns out the pumps were not in the warehouse. “We can’t find them. They are
not where they are supposed to be. But they do have some on order in
Washington.” Great, just great.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Lunch was ready, and this was a problem that was going to have to wait for 30
minutes. At about the 20-minute mark, the phone rings. “We found them.” The
disappearing and reappearing pump is an example of the self-correcting problem.
This is the very best kind of problem to have.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="732" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/84190774-70fe-9d68-853d-e3495a881289.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">What followed on next was supposed to be a simple pump R&R (remove and
replace). And it was, right up until it came time to remove and replace the
drive gear that was pressed onto the input shaft. “No, you should not have to
take that to a machine shop,” said the voice on the other end of the phone. You
would think after 20 some years farming, Ernie would be less gullible. The next
time you see Ernie, just remember he looks that way for a reason.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="732" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/312ce5bd-1696-87fe-cf10-b298ec4f2856.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">It was the rest of the day with a gear puller from his drag racing days that he
removed the drive gear from the failed pumps input shaft. With a strong feeling
of accomplishment and sense of self-reliance, Ernie held the drive gear up to
the new pump’s input shaft. It easily slid down about ¼ inch, with about 3 more
inches to go.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/51fb7a3f-619d-1d21-a480-28f762edc886.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">Reality began to seep in like the feeling you get when you realize that last
beer was not necessarily in your best interest. While the path of excess does
lead to knowledge, at some point you reach the point of diminishing returns.
The drive gear has to go on the new input shaft at exactly the same depth of
position as it was on the failed pump’s input shaft. And the only way it is
going to go down that shaft is with a precision application of percussive
maintenance.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="732" id="_x0000_i1036" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/cd2f43dc-c96f-8787-65cc-1aed39b03195.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">Starting with the smallest hammer, a full can of WD-40 and a tape measure, the
disciplined application of force began. Tap, tap tap, whack, whack, whack and
measure. Ok, that was another ¼ inch. Time for a little bigger hammer. The next
day later, with the BFH (Big Farmin’ Hammer), the drive gear was right where it
was supposed to be. Ernie set the pump back in the sprayer and hooked up all of
the hoses and the drive chain. It was the moment of truth. And it WORKED! The
FIRST time! Clearly something was wrong, but whatever that may be, it performed
like a champ all year.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Climate Change Visits the Willamette Valley</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>In sales they say if you can’t change your people, then it’s time to change
your people. In farming, you put down roots in a piece of dirt that has the
soil characteristics you want in an area that has the climate that will ripen
your desired and saleable crop. For us that means sedimentary soil in the
northern half of the Willamette Valley where we can grow world class wines. And
we respect that each year there will be highs and lows and that the climate
tends to vacillate over the years.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="413" id="_x0000_i1037" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/fd0128b5-c99e-e09d-a082-7275af0e48d2.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The </span><u>third major trial of Vintage 2021</u><span style="color: #505050;"> was summer heat and drought. Our
record high temperature was 118 degrees recorded on June 28</span><sup>th</sup><span style="color: #505050;">. That
set a record for the state and a personal best for Dena and Ernie. A second
bout of heat hit us about a month later on July 30</span><sup>th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> that topped out
at 103 degrees. Our vintage 2021 growing season Degree Days are 2,755. The next
closest vintage was 2003 at 2,699 Degree Days. No matter how you spin it,
that’s pretty farmin’ hot.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUjgNAnQtRG2z-w1fbtabmJOE4jvbnDZiht2WaIphle9PytB0S3Dj9dcFZHzvIz0hNScMSyaZTC1OoEUHKq5_ZO7yTd2PNBqA-_oQUUbm12BcPA7hVEkQi-sS_76a9JUNnG1kW5lAMrnAh6Qzi3UnlAI5jpPfHoXtH6r6vT0bgtBN8wABRuPedIaRLRQ=s827" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="827" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUjgNAnQtRG2z-w1fbtabmJOE4jvbnDZiht2WaIphle9PytB0S3Dj9dcFZHzvIz0hNScMSyaZTC1OoEUHKq5_ZO7yTd2PNBqA-_oQUUbm12BcPA7hVEkQi-sS_76a9JUNnG1kW5lAMrnAh6Qzi3UnlAI5jpPfHoXtH6r6vT0bgtBN8wABRuPedIaRLRQ=w400-h248" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">September added 404 Degree Days with a high temperature of 94.8 degree recorded
on September 7</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> at 3:48 pm. The low temperature was 39.7 degree
recorded on September 16</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> at 5:48 am. October was a return to a
more typical Oregon fall recording 98.4 degree days. The high temperature was
73.8 degrees recorded on October 3</span><sup style="color: #505050;">rd</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> at 12:36 pm. The low
temperature was 31.6 degrees recorded on October 12</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> at 6:48 am.
The two days of hang time in November for the Syrah harvest added another 1.2
Degree Days with a high temperature of 53.2 and a low temperature of 43.2. And
that concluded the Great Cluster Pluck, Vintage 2021.</span></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">We recorded 3.56 inches of rain from April through June with the last rainfall
recorded on June 14</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;">. The next meaningful precipitation arrived on
September 18</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> with 1.22 inches of rain. That is a 3-month
summertime period with no precipitation and record heat. Aka, a long dry spell…
Total rainfall for September was 2.73 inches. The first half of October
provided another 0.95 inches of rain as we finished up the Chardonnay and Pinot
Noir harvest. The second half of October gave us quite a lashing with 3.56
inches of rain and a sky full of birds when it wasn’t downpouring. Somewhat odd
that the last half of October rainfall matched the first three months of the
growing season. But it did.</span></span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span> </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img align="none" border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1039" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/3a96265e-d8e8-d236-1c7e-3fad942276b2.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The summer heat arrived when the wine berries were still green. The vines
flowered on June 1</span><sup>st</sup><span> and they had about 6 more weeks before they
started to turn color and enter veraison on July 28</span><sup>th</sup><span>. The
immediate, obvious impact to wine quality was purely speculative. As this was
an unprecedented event, no one knew for sure what the impact would be and what
follow-on events leading up to harvest would occur. These were the ideal
conditions necessary for talking heads to flood social media. This is
a recurring problem not confined to all things Vinous.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1040" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/482feaa6-44da-8565-fdac-f4726c96107c.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>However, shading of the fruit during the growing season will be a factor in the
wines, it always is. The more sun exposure, the more tannin will be developed
in the wine berry skins. Just like a day at the beach, the more unprotected sun
exposure means a stronger reaction in your skin. And if you happen to be a wine
berry (more on that later), excess sun exposure means excess levels of tannins.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1041" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/e90cd6fc-1616-b0fc-9a0b-8beb8f8978e2.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>It is yet to be seen how these climatic factors will impact the wines from Vintage
2021. What we can say for sure is that each of these factors will influence
Vintage 2021. But whether the influence is in a positive way, is yet to be
seen.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The Human Factor</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Wine growing is a labor-intensive endeavor. While we mechanize where we can,
and enjoy the opportunity to go in depth with the associated maintenance, there
are just some tasks in growing premium wine that are best left to the humans.
Case in point is mechanical harvesting. Those machines are roving the vineyards
in our area, but we are not having any of it. All of our wine berries at Amalie
Robert Estate are cluster plucked by hand. Or beak, if the winged cluster
puckers get there before we do.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="365" id="_x0000_i1042" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/422c8398-a0dd-ee2f-1b64-e0599c6f0bee.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 365px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span>
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The Great Cluster Pluck lies at the intersection of when you want to pluck,
when humans are available to pluck and the weather conditions allowing you to
pluck. While not a factor in Vintage 2021, air quality can play a role, as in
negating an entire vintage. We had to call off the Great Cluster Pluck in
Vintage 2020 due to smoke taint. Pluck Off!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1043" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/923902c9-330d-ed39-2b5f-91ca4b222a10.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>We focus on the one factor we can control and that is when to pluck what. Out
of 55,000 vines cut into 47 blocks, we know some are ready before others. In
Pinot Noir, we look for expressive aromas and flavors that tend toward
Montmorency cherry with a strong showing of acidity. In Syrah, we look for
something other. While each vintage offers something to love, we look for the
same aroma and flavor markers in each vintage. This helps us put some form of
order or consistency to the finished wines, while capturing the individual
characteristics of each vintage. And having only a single block of Pinot
Meunier, that wine gets elevated status as there is no margin for error.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Finally, we have to contend with the people in the mirror. And this year,
that’s all we had in the winery. Fortunately, we had a really good architect
who listened to us when we said, “The two of us should be able to run this
winery with a pallet jack.” Because we did. We will admit that mirror placement
was a critical factor in our success. Please bear in mind, we are living the
dream, so you don’t have to.</span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The Great Cluster Pluck: Vintage 2021</span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Hang time is the term used to describe the final days of ripening when the wine
berries develop the most expressive aroma and flavor. Some fruits can ripen
after they are harvested, pears come to mind. But not wine. Once you pluck the
wine berries from the vine, aroma and flavor development will cease. The
ability to give the wine berries hang time depends on several factors including
rootstock, vine age and root depth, canopy management and rainfall, or the lack
thereof.</span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>We have a few words to share regarding canopy management and alcohol potential.
We have come to believe that the taller the canopy, the higher the alcohol
potential in the finished wines. Taller canopies have a tendency to use more
soil moisture, thus reducing hang time. This is especially true in the warmer
vintages. We learned this lesson years ago with Viognier, which is all about
sugar accumulation. Our response was to hedge a shorter canopy to remove the
top story of leaves creating the issue. The fewer leaves at the top of the
canopy means lower sugar concentration in the vines. And that means lower
alcohol potential in the wine. Planning ahead is a variant of the “self-correcting
problem” scenario.</span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="629" id="_x0000_i1044" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/6d9d1204-6ee0-dd80-c289-ef26ef23de09.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 629px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>One of our key factors in selecting harvest dates in Vintage 2021 was rainfall.
After an unprecedented hot and dry growing season, we wanted to see some
moisture rehydrate the vines to alter the sugar and acid chemistry in the wine
berry. We also wanted a few more days of hang time to allow for more aroma and
flavor development. Better wines through naturally altering the chemistry on
the vine – that’s what hang time can do for you.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>And we got it. September blessed us with 2.73 inches of rain. The opening salvo
was from the 18</span><sup>th</sup><span> to the 20</span><sup>th</sup><span> with 1.22 inches and the
second round was the 27</span><sup>th</sup><span> and 28</span><sup>th</sup><span> with 1.51 inches. Get
out the buckets, we’re going cluster pluckin’! And we did.</span></div></span><span>
</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1045" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1096660f-2ae1-a921-f424-f57e79af7b13.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay harvest continued through October
16</span><sup>th</sup><span> as we dodged a few more vintage extending showers. Then all we
had left to go was Ernie’s acre of Willamette Valley Syrah and Viognier. The
showers continued on and off and on again throughout October. “Not to worry”
was Ernie’s response.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1046" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/2e297a29-07bc-c4c3-1d60-a0054af98a22.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>And then it was time. Sunday, October 31</span><sup>st</sup><span> was the last best day of
hang time. The sun was out and a mild breeze cleared the air. The sweet smell
of fallen leaves beginning to decompose filled the air. The harvest window was
set for Tuesday, November 2</span><sup>nd</sup><span>. It was a bittersweet harvest in the
sense that we had to wait for aroma and flavor to develop, but the winged
cluster pluckers were not so inclined. While the quality of the fruit was
phenomenal, there is a short supply of Vintage 2021.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>As we close the chapter on Vintage 2021, we would like to share the five stages
of Pinot Noir with you.</span></div></span><span>
</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="732" id="_x0000_i1047" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/3a8f9e42-d429-f5be-041e-a8e45486f373.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">Pinot Noir Pre-Harvest. This is Pinot Noir on the vine. We have assessed the
quality of the fruit and found it to be exceptional. Cluster Plucking will
begin at first light.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1048" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/e5516b44-9c88-ffd2-ab64-cc6bbba937dc.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Pinot Noir Post-Harvest Pre-Fermentation. This is Pinot Noir clusters
successfully extracted from the vineyard and awaiting fermentation at the
winery. First things first, they all get weighed.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="412" id="_x0000_i1049" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/4116a7df-4ca4-cb80-0a7a-aee3adc00fdd.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Pinot Noir Post-Fermentation. We have fermented the sugar out of them, and they
are spent. They have given their very best and now are off to the compost pile
to provide nutrients for a future vintage.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" height="971" id="_x0000_i1050" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/6ba3815f-d408-d0a6-5f93-b3ef7deb6a2d.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 971px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Pinot Noir Pre-Blending Barrel Maturation. This is where the magic happens,
softening stem tannins and slowly maturing our wines in barrel before each
blend is decided.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span>
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img align="none" border="0" height="886" id="_x0000_i1051" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/709503cc-d66b-a0f0-35d4-c01ff892718d.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 886px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Pinot Noir Post-Blending Pre-You. The blend is complete and here we have a
“Clean Skin” bottle awaiting a label and capsule. Once the packaging is
complete, each bottle will be lovingly matched to 11 others and stored for
bottle maturation before release.</span></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div></span></span><span style="color: #505050; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioQaoansPZQ69XqkmBRN4bk0OZPGnPhsTLzXt3O9Rm0k-wwR1G0hZwXn-XpDqpI730skeoR0s4_g11eTvjlK2Wezrkhf3M2YtyrP0m4wtZpP0exWfUdEDTK7GlhY-xa7zN_a0Tuaouu6XnHIf5xI8CAvcgVhLirRi-ucQ-044eK5Mfj_50FRoZITP-RQ=s1000" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="1000" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioQaoansPZQ69XqkmBRN4bk0OZPGnPhsTLzXt3O9Rm0k-wwR1G0hZwXn-XpDqpI730skeoR0s4_g11eTvjlK2Wezrkhf3M2YtyrP0m4wtZpP0exWfUdEDTK7GlhY-xa7zN_a0Tuaouu6XnHIf5xI8CAvcgVhLirRi-ucQ-044eK5Mfj_50FRoZITP-RQ=w200-h194" width="200" /></a></div>Pinot Noir For You!
Each bottle is labelled and ready to go! And soon, Christmas is coming. Really,
it is!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div>
Happy Holidays,<br />
<br />
Dena & Ernie</span></span></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-37540748971803943172021-09-30T17:10:00.001-07:002021-09-30T17:11:42.655-07:00Amalie Robert Estate: Bonus Mid-Cluster Pluck Progress Report <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> <br />
<img data-file-id="4200066" height="485" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/099ee8c4-46b5-7948-b63b-ecf33b2fed4b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 485px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The Great Cluster Pluck Vintage 2021 is in progress. We are taking a couple of
days off, thanks to Mother Nature gifting us 1.47 inches of rain - so far. That
allows us to share some updates and a few images of what a successful wine
berry extraction looks like. It also allows the soil to dry out so we can drive
on it. Gravity flow is not just a winery thing, it also applies to machinery
traversing an inclined, clay soil vineyard slope.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">How’s
the Weather?</span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The weather has been stunningly cooperative. The heat spikes we endured earlier
this year could not be sustained. September has seen moderate high temperatures
and low temperatures hitting the very low 40’s. We had a douse of rain
mid-month and then again just now. October is where the really serious Cluster
Plucking is going to happen. Ernie has been taking in the Pommard and Dijon
Clones while holding out the Wadenswil for a little extra hang time.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Here are three weather resources we frequent. You can check into these from
time to time to see how the weather is treating us at the end of Vintage 2021.
Much like the days when we wore wind-up watches, none of these will tell you
exactly the same thing. It’s up to us to apply a little <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Kentucky%20windage" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Kentucky windage</span></a>.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/dallas/97338/september-weather/335255" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">AcccuWeather</span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Dallas&state=OR&site=PQR&lat=44.923&lon=-123.344#.YVZRKprMJEY" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">National Weather Service</span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://wxmaps.org/pix/pdxgfs.png" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Weather Maps</span></a> (This takes
a bit of practice to decipher.)</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">What we really want to know is who is going to be the permanent host of
Jeopardy. Aaron Rodgers thought he was in the running for the top spot, but his
job got in the way. Anyone who can take the last 30 seconds of the game to
position his team for victory certainly has skills. And hosting Jeopardy is a
different skill set as we can see here from a past episode of <a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=949e5d5aa1&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">SNL Celebrity Jeopardy</span></a>.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<a href="https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/celebrity-jeopardy/3506029" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200026" height="218" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/cd3cb78f-261d-e0cc-a579-229d9415f358.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 218px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
The late Norm Macdonald as Burt Reynolds, aka Turd Ferguson.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
The Photo Gallery.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Harvest morning, before the crew arrives is very tranquil. A Willamette Valley
harvest bounty at first light, displayed in remarkable grandeur is spread
before you. This is Mother Nature’s finest hour. Up until the first cluster is
plucked, it is her show. Please enjoy.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200062" height="412" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b972819e-aa87-b2c1-e008-3fe6065f5a2f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200030" height="412" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ebaa1c87-70a5-d5f0-0082-aae212bc83fc.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200034" height="412" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/febdb43d-5efd-cd3b-b5ef-2a3e30b35f5c.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200050" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b4148201-86a9-cb13-7ac0-0f5f1235becf.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200038" height="412" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9688b3dd-a2ea-5fca-e5b6-60458a29d129.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200042" height="732" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9ddae063-3858-3802-df3f-b8fb146ee4b6.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200058" height="732" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/f4a200b8-5e47-38e4-218a-f8e0f9fdeb03.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200054" height="412" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9a267df0-bebd-6339-bb12-b1a71f8787b2.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">I’ll Take the Numbers, Hold the Smoke Please.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">So far, we have been smoke free since last September 15<sup>th</sup>. And that
is a breath of fresh air. Brix is a measure of sugar concentration. Sugar
concentration expressed as Brix, multiplied by 0.60 results in approximate
alcohol percentage. So far, we are happy to report, our Brix concentrations
have ranged from 23.0 to 24.5. In theory, the theoretical upper limit is 25.0
and we are riding up on that razor’s edge.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">A little gift of rain will help to dilute the sugar concentrations going
forward, and that is the break we have been looking for. Aroma and flavor
depend on time on the vine. Picked too early and those silky, sublime aromas
have not yet developed. A little rain percolating down to the roots and up to
the wine berries will dilute the sugar concentrations and afford us more hang
time to develop the sensory components we seek.</div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4200046" height="412" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1d233a97-84d9-cf96-8f62-443d8f3063a1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">This is ESPECIALLY true of Wadenswil Clone Pinot Noir. The more he knows, the
less he is sure of, but Ernie knows that if you give Wadenswil Clone the right
hang time conditions, the resulting wine will be stunning! And that just might
be the destiny of Vintage 2021.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Every vintage is unique unto itself, Mother Nature sees to that. However, we
are feeling the same inclinations as 2009 with an early flowering and thus an
early harvest. And 2013 where it was hot as the hubs of hell, but a little (a
lot) of Typhoon Pabuk rain rehydrated our soils. Both vintages have developed
well with patient bottle maturation.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">While it is certainly too soon to bottle anything, we are exceedingly pleased
with the aroma and flavor development we have in the fermenters along with the
moderate sugar concentrations. There is also complementary acidity to back up
all of that front end aroma and flavor. Good things come to those who wait, but
not to those who wait too late. With this gift of rain comes the threat of
Botrytis. <a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=9ef9ad5a84&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">We have been there and had that
done to us.</span></a> We will be getting right back to it straight away.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Dena & Ernie</span></div></span>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-47546269602112681002021-08-31T16:30:00.001-07:002021-09-30T17:11:31.195-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: August & The Great Cluster Pluck Vintage 2021 <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> <br /></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYic9I15Y78_VNJ63y3UbTc9vkCvcGbRmQygoJK5oF6jTzC9tNwjbg5rcSLUW0ezuTvNmy_O-GpTKRDlD8Jz1RogRSKBTlw8_ISTUZ67v2ypW_hwolvPK4kfgnRbXQPX1mu5MO0Dt2yc_/s2048/2021+Aug+Cluster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1495" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYic9I15Y78_VNJ63y3UbTc9vkCvcGbRmQygoJK5oF6jTzC9tNwjbg5rcSLUW0ezuTvNmy_O-GpTKRDlD8Jz1RogRSKBTlw8_ISTUZ67v2ypW_hwolvPK4kfgnRbXQPX1mu5MO0Dt2yc_/w146-h200/2021+Aug+Cluster.jpg" width="146" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, it all comes
down to this – The Great Cluster Pluck vintage 2021. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The farming experience is an endeavor that culminates in harvest. All of the
coulda, woulda, shoulda is a distant memory. The broken wheels, <a href="https://advancedvit.com/heat-stress/"><span style="color: #336699;">record breaking 118 degree temperature with a side of
accompanying heat stress</span></a> and the ever present threat of wildfires
and smoke. It is important to remember that everything contributes to the
success of vintage 2021, but not everything contributes in a positive way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj_rvLVpqg8" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Picking grapes, It’s done by hand,<br />
That’s how it goes when you own the land.</span></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=83c3f439fc&e=0ccb8eb6d2"><span style="color: #336699;">“I tell you, folks, it’s harder than it looks</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj_rvLVpqg8"><span style="color: #336699;">It’s a long way to the top, if you got some grapes to
haul.”</span></a><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">August brought the heat and a trace of rain – more like vapor but we will take
it. The vines are in surprisingly good shape with the canopy holding green and
not showing signs of drought. Maybe that short hedge is paying some soil
moisture dividends. And the wine berries, well, let us SHOW you! They LOOK
marvelous! And they TASTE pretty farmin’ good, too!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="4154758" height="413" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/e92757db-994e-081f-4f80-140b7146c537.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 413px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Pick me! Pommard on 5C, planted at the turn of the century.<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/talking+heads/once+in+a+lifetime_20135070.html"><span style="color: #336699;">In a Talking Heads sort of moment, “You may ask yourself,
well, how did I get here?”</span></a> And you may answer, in a very Grateful
Dead sort of way, <a href="https://www.lyricsfreak.com/g/grateful+dead/truckin_20062376.html"><span style="color: #336699;">“Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it's
been.”</span></a></div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
</span><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=""
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nCs3LKBrECyBr9HVCp-hK7QgPqrqVz2BYTm9BAE7pq01W8r1uPI9X9lVNgiGLLbI1dQoXv_dCBdqwgsAVS4z7uPAmvfKrUpBKZqPYyBJxeJagT97qbZqasW3Xsa3IXIQ1JN4GIL-GQO3/s231/2021+Aug+Supertanker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="155" data-original-width="231" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nCs3LKBrECyBr9HVCp-hK7QgPqrqVz2BYTm9BAE7pq01W8r1uPI9X9lVNgiGLLbI1dQoXv_dCBdqwgsAVS4z7uPAmvfKrUpBKZqPYyBJxeJagT97qbZqasW3Xsa3IXIQ1JN4GIL-GQO3/w200-h134/2021+Aug+Supertanker.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2021/06/amalie-robert-estate-vintage-update.html"><span style="color: #336699;">all started about 105 days ago with flowering</span></a>.
Up until that point, vintage 2021 harvest was only dream. A single possible
outcome among several possibilities, none of which was assured. Last year smoke
was a debilitating event, and <a href="https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=485292c7a3cd4b5ab3d4539162420d4b&extent=-15293678.3364%2C4586960.9504%2C-10597387.3186%2C6859280.9273%2C102100"><span style="color: #336699;">wildfires rage as of this writing</span></a>. But there
is a new and encouraging development. The Queen of the Skies is once again
flying. <a href="https://wildfiretoday.com/2021/09/03/747-supertanker-slated-to-return-to-service/"><span style="color: #336699;">Check out WildfireToday.com</span></a> and you will see a
retrofitted 747-400 Supertanker being returned to service.</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgviJvla94LgSkVIQcgKG0ut9MsTBzRB6wms023FY5q3DpnxwfIbtt7ZMm8_sKOKSojz8oUWcAsJHR85x87IeJEXTi3AOJgRfcaNIziI0sZb67lG-ZLRVFpPWiRohsjT83vWa9MS4090R/s139/2021+Aug+Purell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgviJvla94LgSkVIQcgKG0ut9MsTBzRB6wms023FY5q3DpnxwfIbtt7ZMm8_sKOKSojz8oUWcAsJHR85x87IeJEXTi3AOJgRfcaNIziI0sZb67lG-ZLRVFpPWiRohsjT83vWa9MS4090R/s16000/2021+Aug+Purell.jpg" /></a></div>Pestilence continues
to ravage the human population with the latest Delta variant. To vaccinate or
not seems to be the question. Masks are no longer a personal choice, but more
of a patriotic duty. One thing we believe is that Genie is not going back into
the bottle. Not quietly, not ever. We have come to expect the Purell sanitizer
stations conveniently located in virtually all public spaces. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2020/03/10/meet-the-billion-dollar-family-company-that-makes-purell/?sh=4995b17a64bb"><span style="color: #336699;">Do you ever wonder who makes Purell hand sanitizer?</span></a></div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1029" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=""
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40o7kvoHVcw3YpHj1zOGeOCmp62Eq74yCw9ovrslELAZT3hUmz-9x90uFxDhaVI-6eh9yPV5Ns3YXENd1aYAuN3enZkC566gYF7fBODjptmXbnEv5-wJZ_bqWbyuS2Gbj7HMgDxdsEzr7/s147/2021+Aug+Saints.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40o7kvoHVcw3YpHj1zOGeOCmp62Eq74yCw9ovrslELAZT3hUmz-9x90uFxDhaVI-6eh9yPV5Ns3YXENd1aYAuN3enZkC566gYF7fBODjptmXbnEv5-wJZ_bqWbyuS2Gbj7HMgDxdsEzr7/s16000/2021+Aug+Saints.jpg" /></a></div>Thanks to a little
southern sensation called Ida, we can tell you the price of </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2020/03/10/meet-the-billion-dollar-family-company-that-makes-purell/?sh=4995b17a64bb"><span style="color: #336699;">off road farm biodiesel is at a record high</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">.
Exactly </span><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-will-hurricane-ida-compare-hurricane-katrina-storm-makes-landfall-n1277919"><span style="color: #336699;">16 years to the day after Katrina hit, Ida makes landfall
just 50 miles away</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. The loss and devastation to NOLA is just
heartbreaking. And for the umpteenth year in a row, the Saints just can’t
seem to catch a break. Just don’t tell Aaron Rodgers…</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
The GO, NO-GO scenario.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Putting all of that aside for a moment, it is time for us to focus on about 90
tons of wine berries. And <a href="https://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/talking+heads/once+in+a+lifetime_20135070.html"><span style="color: #336699;">“You may ask yourself, how do I work this?”</span></a>
Well, here is a brief harvest video (produced by VineStories) that gives you a
pretty good idea of how to successfully execute a “wine berry extraction”
effort, aka <a href="https://www.vinestories.com/will-vall#anchor-link-wv-harvest"><span style="color: #336699;">The Great Cluster Pluck</span></a>.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">But this is just logistics - not so complicated. It’s not like we have to go
looking for the vines. We know where they are. Hell, we planted them. But it
has been awhile since the turn of the century and that is why we use markers on
the posts.</div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="4154810" height="539" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/43d15122-1dec-e149-5ad6-c971cb4a3177.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 539px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Block 2 marker for Dijon Clone 777 Pinot Noir on a block end post.</span><br />
<br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The real genius is deciding which of our 42 blocks of wine berries have
achieved their ultimate goal, their singular purpose. There are all manner of
ways to determine this. One is by measuring the sugar concentrations that will
eventually become alcohol, and the corresponding acidity.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">These measurements are like the rules of the road. The speed limit is often
expressed as a single number, but everyone really considers it a range. Some skew
more to the upper bound than others. And if you are going to skew to the lower
bound, then STAY OUT OF THE LEFT LANE, please.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">And then there is the more hands-on approach. This includes walking the vine
rows and sampling a berry or two from the odd vine. The even vines are
pranksters, so we avoid them. As you experience the palate sensation, you are
looking beyond the sugar sweet and experiencing the aroma and flavor that the
skins release. Sometimes willingly and other times after giving them a good
chewing out.</div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4154770" height="298" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/f17d9b13-5272-9aae-81d4-57f8d14bd40e.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 298px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Wadenswil Clone Pinot Noir waiting to be sampled.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">At the end of the day, you must answer a very simple question. You must be
confident in that answer and have a set of ovaries that can back it up. You
know Mother Nature does, she put those wine berries out there. Are you ready to
take them from her?</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The question you must answer is simply this: “Who among you are ready to be
cluster plucked and have the sugar fermented out of you?” Once you know the
answer to that question, harvest becomes a logistical exercise. But it is still
farming, so all manner of thigs are bound to happen at the least opportune
time. That’s the agrarian condition - “unfortunate, but not uncommon.”</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/talking+heads/once+in+a+lifetime_20135070.html"><span style="color: #336699;">And you may ask yourself, am I right, am I wrong?</span></a>
If you go too soon or too late, it could be a successful failure. Things can
still turn out just fine. Or it could be a character-building experience.
Something to learn from. A mistake once made, not to be repeated. <a href="https://quotefancy.com/quote/861480/Mark-Twain-There-is-nothing-to-be-learned-from-the-second-kick-of-a-mule"><span style="color: #336699;">“There is nothing to be learned from the second kick of a
mule.”</span></a></div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4154778" height="412" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/7700d431-a46b-7595-81b7-21fcd0640b62.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Dijon Clone Chardonnay ready to be Cluster Plucked.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #505050;">
The Next Big Thing.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/space-news/top-astronomy-events-of-september-2021/1010371"><span style="color: #336699;">September Harvest Moon will rise and shine the evening of
September 20<sup>th</sup></span></a>. Actually, it will just reflect the sun’s
light, not really producing any light of its own. Most people have had a
co-worker that followed along in the same pattern. The Harvest Moon is the full
moon that rises closest to the September equinox, which this year, takes place
just days after the month’s full moon. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac,
here are the traditional names for the full and new moons. Click on the graphic
to learn the story behind each of the names.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4154738" height="446" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/6d144cee-bc30-1310-cf0d-e8a0717be179.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 446px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">This is quickly followed up by the fall equinox on September 22<sup>nd</sup>.
Astronomical autumn will officially begin in the Northern Hemisphere at 3:21
p.m. EDT on September 22nd, vintage 2021 while the Southern Hemisphere
transitions to spring. We can expect more harvest activity and the folks down
under will be looking at bud break.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Rise of the Machines – Mechanical Harvesting.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Do you use a machine, or can you do it by hand? The Great Cluster Pluck at
Amalie Robert Estate has always been a hand harvest operation, and that remains
true in vintage 2021.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">But technology keeps advancing, or in some instances encroaching, on our own
individual idioms. Farming, as a business, has very thin margins, and not
always in a positive cash flow sort of way. Note: If someone calls you a credit
to the business, ask if they mean balance sheet or income statement. It makes a
difference.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4158358" height="310" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/90e9b5ce-79bc-0a6c-8bfd-cdb99f8832f8.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 310px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Looks like someone forgot to grease his </span><a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=9f7f9ef781&e=0ccb8eb6d2" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">zerk</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Premium wine growing is a labor-intensive operation and harvest time is when
the available labor pool is allocated among the producing acreage. The law of
supply and demand fixes the harvest cost. For vintage 2021, the hand harvesting
cost is about $400 per ton of wine berries. That ton of wine berries will make
60 cases of wine. So logically, we can allocate about $6.70 of harvest labor to
every case of wine produced, or about 56 cents a bottle. So you gotta ask
yourself, how does $2 Buck Chuck pencil out?</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Instead of hand harvesting, you could use one of the new fangled grape harvesters
that are now available. Mechanical harvest rates run about $550 per acre,
regardless of the tons per acre. Mechanical harvesting is cost effective for
high yielding sites. This is a revolution of epic proportions in the wine
growing world that is akin to the first horseless carriage. <a href="https://corporate.ford.com/articles/history/the-model-t.html" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">Henry Ford and the 15 million model T’s he produced (and
sold)</span></a> are a tribute to the advance of technology circa the
industrial revolution. The last Model T was built in May 1927. And just like
the previous 14,999,999 cars, it came in any color you wanted, so long as your
preference was black.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="4154742" height="365" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/d808d5fa-6947-f6a1-bf24-bf22bd3711ff.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 365px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Looking across the east fence line September 12, vintage 2021.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The utilization of mechanical harvesters, just like screw top bottles, is not
going away. Both are becoming more and more prevalent. And maybe that is a good
thing. $2 Buck Chuck serves a market need. The annual production runs just over
5 million cases.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The more acreage that is harvested by machine allows for the labor pool to be
allocated over fewer hand harvested acres. And that means more availability to
schedule the most optimal Cluster Pluck dates. Look for the term “Hand
Harvested” along side “Estate Bottled” on our future labels.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Numbers.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Yeah we got ‘em. We got A LOT of ‘em! More than we really need as far as we can
tell, but vintage 2021 may still hold a surprise or two. The September forecast
looks as idyllic as it can possibly be. Temperatures topping out in the 70’s
with cool nights in the 40’s. Hard to ask for anything better than that. Kinda
reminds us of 2009. An early harvest that produced wines that have stood the
test of time. We know, we spend some time in the library from time to time!</div>
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> <br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="4154734" height="341" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/f0e5730f-aa56-22c3-e56f-719798357e7f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 341px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We recorded 594 Degree Days for the month of August, bringing vintage 2021 to
2,252 Degree Days. The high temperature was 110.0 degrees recorded August 12<sup>th</sup>
at 6:00 pm. The low temperature was 41.5 degrees recorded on August 23<sup>rd</sup>
at 5:00 am. This temperature reflects a cool onshore breeze coming down from
the Gulf of Alaska bringing clean, smoke free air.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<img border="0" data-file-id="4154730" height="315" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/41de9023-d979-0508-498c-e206ce02c418.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 315px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
August Temperature Graph, Dallas, Oregon vintage 2021<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Rain, as in measurable precipitation, was immeasurable. Not significantly
different than zero. The last statistically significant rainfall of 1.74 inches
was received June 13<sup>th</sup>. As Pierre tells it, “It has been as dry as a
popcorn f@rt."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We will see you on the <a href="https://www.thefarside.com/"><span style="color: #336699;">Far Side</span></a>. Please look for the Harvest After
Action Report sometime in mid Okto-VemBIER! Meanwhile, you can check out our <a href="https://www.vinestories.com/will-vall#anchor-link-wv-harvest"><span style="color: #336699;">Cluster Pluck Video</span></a> from VineStories.</div>
<br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=9b467a0d66&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4154746" height="412" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1b6eccea-8cfa-3e35-d00d-f64ef034b28a.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
Click on the image to watch the Amalie Robert Cluster Pluck Video. <br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And to borrow a line from Jimmy Buffet, <a href="https://genius.com/Jimmy-buffett-changes-in-latitudes-changes-in-attitudes-lyrics"><span style="color: #336699;">“If we weren’t all crazy we would go insane!”</span></a></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;">Kindest
Regards,<br />
<br />
Dena & Ernie</span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></span></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-83610748435005471132021-08-18T15:00:00.001-07:002021-09-30T17:11:51.702-07:00Amalie Robert Estate: A Mid-Summer Night's Dream, "If I Ran the Zoo" <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowMgsaTwvA4BB58dcs6mZs2vTi9ubEoNEDeR6qbqPv2gC0BwE_YG__T4oG6v8Z0fwQ_b62DF4Ut5KMUuB463z9gm2vCyrUtlFyK6-EjDeojwSY4Pg1OXIx9bQxV1tnY6k0wJG-Sk5C3NI/s315/2021+Mid-Aug+Zoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="231" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowMgsaTwvA4BB58dcs6mZs2vTi9ubEoNEDeR6qbqPv2gC0BwE_YG__T4oG6v8Z0fwQ_b62DF4Ut5KMUuB463z9gm2vCyrUtlFyK6-EjDeojwSY4Pg1OXIx9bQxV1tnY6k0wJG-Sk5C3NI/w147-h200/2021+Mid-Aug+Zoo.jpg" width="147" /></a></div>It is mid-August in
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir wine country. The West Coast fires continue to
expand and the resulting particulate matter is providing for some spectacular
sunset viewing. The moon is waxing and glowing an ominous brick red. While we
can see the air we breathe, we cannot smell it. </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/dallas/97338/air-quality-index/335255?plot=nocircle"><span style="color: #336699;">Air Quality Index (AQI)</span></a> has been moderate for
the Willamette Valley - under 100. That is mostly due to the Jet Steam
providing sanctuary in the form of a south easterly flow bringing fresh air
from the Gulf of Alaska. There have been clouds, but still no rain. Things
would be different if we ran the zoo. At least we would like to think they
would be.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;">
Reading time: 0.75 Adult Recreational Beverages.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #505050;">
THE BIG PICTURE</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="4073134" height="412" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/0ea4b89e-6bba-5991-778c-5e65745d075a.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Dijon Clone 114.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Our quest is to rescue these wine berries at the peak of aroma and flavor
development, and then ferment the sugar out of them. It’s The Great Cluster
Pluck, Charlie Brown! And it is closer than you might think.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
The Perp-Walk Line-up</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073110" height="280" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/035393a8-29d7-c1fa-1864-46cf3d8f961b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 280px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 400px;" width="400" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
That’s the one! The second one from the left. Yes, I am sure of it!</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Yellow jackets, which are actually classified as “</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">predatory social wasps of the genera Vespula</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">”
are an ever-present part of the winegrowing endeavor. But we know their
weakness and now is the time we exploit that weakness to our full advantage.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">They like salmon. Fresh Pacific Northwest salmon is their thing, and our thing
too. Ernie does this very simply with sprigs of variegated lemon thyme, smoked
Paprika and a dusting of ground ginger. Convection roast on 325 for about 20
minutes while a cool vintage Pinot Noir is opened and set to breathe. We might
have a sip, or maybe two, to verify the provenance, and you can too!</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Yellow jackets are not so particular. A few scraps of fish from around the fins
or off the bones is all they need. Dena packs those scraps into the standard,
vertical yellow jacket traps and hangs them off the south facing metal end
posts at first light.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Walk by after a few hours of direct sunlight, and WHOA! The scent of freshly
“sun ripened” salmon is overwhelming. Yellow jackets are coming out of the
blackberry bushes to get a piece of that action! Once the traps are full, Dena
soaks them overnight in a bucket of water and RELOADs for the next day. While
the number of yellow jackets we take from the overall population may be
insignificant, it is a moral victory.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Our zoo would not allow yellow jackets to free range over the grounds. However,
there would be a yellow jacket viewing area. The viewing area would be just
outside of the glassed in, fully enclosed Yellow Jacket Experience exhibit.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This exhibit would allow humans to interact with all 4 species of yellow
jackets in their natural habitat. The climatic conditions would be set to
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir harvest conditions. That’s when the yellow jackets
are at their zenith and most aggressive. Fresh salmon scraps and epi-pens
available for purchase. Don’t delay, get YOURS today!</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioR1J_uLqV6Q5vAgj3S99Gm7obE_l053YUw8EjjcKRceznx76i51fVpEb6GTNeme74h9P9YQgN8A8k1ANWZnOlcNGuAj6ZqnW9lOptDc3M2kpXW5QiygnsMxih1Qd9rfYiK8-rmnNCdT95/s16000/2021+Do+the+Like+Thing+tan.jpg" /></a></div>A </span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see what we see on </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Instagram @AmalieRobert</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">
Estate. We are posting on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #505050;"> and </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/9713621/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get… Want to learn more about
Amalie Robert? </span><a href="https://mailchi.mp/bf1c6e3596d2/arepart1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Take the Tour!</span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Will you be in our area? Amalie Robert Estate is open by appointment for
vineyard tours and tastings. Select your preferred day and time with the <a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Big Red Button</span></a>.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073174" height="64" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/5869b47b-f892-54ec-2e36-e83c44d80bbf.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 64px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-pinot-noir-day-august-18/"><span style="color: #336699;">National Pinot Noir Day is Wednesday, August 18<sup>th</sup>.</span></a>
If Pinot Noir had an American birthday, this would be it. Most of us hope for a
Friday or Saturday birthday, so we can let loose on that one day of the year
that is uniquely our own. And you can rest assured that we would celebrate
National Pinot Noir Day EVERYDAY if we ran the zoo. And the clocks would all be
set to 5:00.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-pinot-noir-day-august-18/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073122" height="276" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/34a41144-7337-baf9-19db-7b12241573c3.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 276px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Pinot Noir has no such constraints. While the grape growing regions of the
world may be due for some re-alignment (see below), the diversity of Pinot Noir
is unparalleled in the wine world today. Choose from Willamette Valley Pinot
Noir (our favorite), a Kiwi wine from New Zealand, a Beaune “1er” from
Burgundy, or a lesser-known but equally interesting growing region.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks to modern implementations of traditional techniques such as whole
cluster fermentations and the use of indigenous yeast, Pinot Noir that has been
grown, fermented and bottled over the half century is at its historical peak of
viticultural and winemaking quality. But climatically speaking, the wines of
the last few vintages stand apart.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Extended Heat and Fire Watch</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">A recent announcement from </span><a href="https://www.noaa.gov/news/its-official-july-2021-was-earths-hottest-month-on-record" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">NOAA has proclaimed July, vintage 2021 to be the hottest
month in recorded history – for the ENTIRE planet</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. That is certainly
some achievement. </span><a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/airpocalypse-smoke-reaches-north-pole-for-first-time-ever/997695" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">And for the first time ever, there is smoke at the North
Pole</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. That smoke is from the </span><a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/20000-year-old-woolly-rhino-uncovered-in-melting-permafrost/877430" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">fires that are burning the forests and melting the
permafrost in Siberia</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073114" height="157" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/80d7cd40-b4e8-c30d-082b-a3639b9d5b7b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 157px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">We suffered a relapse of the June 110+ degree heat event in mid-August. And the
forecast was actually pretty good. Our high temperatures beginning Wednesday,
August 11</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> were 109, 110, 107 and 99. Once again it was off to the
air-conditioned safety of the Independence Hotel.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyPEqCgWXDK25K3h6YNoQOO0HJVoW11hW-tEYxnX7rdKPZB7_p3FIQRe222L5TqeKWJjQsWIa2AZ7WxvW5Bjd0Ti19uwle0j1cs5kCysfO551AvyjwSoyrwTthcGtA889tkyn_-J5Zpwp/s358/2021+Mid-Aug+Drought.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="358" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyPEqCgWXDK25K3h6YNoQOO0HJVoW11hW-tEYxnX7rdKPZB7_p3FIQRe222L5TqeKWJjQsWIa2AZ7WxvW5Bjd0Ti19uwle0j1cs5kCysfO551AvyjwSoyrwTthcGtA889tkyn_-J5Zpwp/s320/2021+Mid-Aug+Drought.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The age-old
combination of high heat and lack of rainfall lead to drought. If you live in a
desert, this is nothing new to you. But if you are growing Willamette Valley
Pinot Noir, this is not what you signed up for.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The drought will continue until the rainfall resumes. Maybe September, maybe
October. Now, let’s see here, what comes after heat and drought?</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Oh, that’s right, lightning and wildfires. Here is a graphic of the Pacific
Northwest wildfires. While all fires are of concern, the fires we are
monitoring are east and southeast of Salem.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=485292c7a3cd4b5ab3d4539162420d4b&extent=-15293678.3364%2C4586960.9504%2C-10597387.3186%2C6859280.9273%2C102100" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="4073126" height="632" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/069fa71c-ebf2-6199-00f3-d3243cc0accf.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 632px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The wildfires south of us around Eugene and northern California continue to
expand. Washington state also has wildfires burning as does Canada. The Jet
Stream continues to swap smoke particulate matter up and down the West Coast.
Our only reprieve is when the Jet Stream shifts and fills the Willamette Valley
with fresh cold air from the Gulf of Alaska.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The conditions that exist now are eerily similar to the conditions that doomed
our vintage 2020, but happening a few weeks earlier. <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/09/amalie-robert-estate-climate-update.html"><span style="color: #336699;">The final “blow” that doomed vintage 2020 for us</span></a>
came from the east. An arctic blast of low pressure frigid cold air came south
out of Canada through Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. That forced a tremendous
volume of air, at a very high rate of speed, to the West Coast.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073138" height="311" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/d185dede-10c9-a575-351d-01ab0217be1f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 311px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">That strong 60+ mile an hour east wind acted like a bellows that took those
small wildfires east of Salem and turned them into ravaging wildfires. The
smoke of which was on a direct path to us. Wildfires consume whatever lies in
their destructive path from trees to buildings to cars to houses and more. The
smoke produced is tainted by the fuel that was incinerated.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">What Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">What everyone we know wants to know is, what does that mean for Willamette
Valley Pinot Noir, vintage 2021. Well, one thing that might come out of
this is a ride on a Woolly Mammoth. It seems the <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/28000-year-old-lion-cub-best-preserved-ice-age-animal-ever-found/995878"><span style="color: #336699;">Siberian fires are thawing permafrost and revealing some
incredibly well preserved pre-historic animals</span></a>. These animals have
fur, skin, internal organs and DNA impeccably preserved.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">And as humans being humans, it is only a matter of time before someone clones a
pre-historic animal. But please, leave the viruses back in the stone age. <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/566611-28000-year-old-cave-lion-cub-found-in-perfect"><span style="color: #336699;">The pre-historic Cave Lion Encounter will be near the
Yellow Jacket Experience exhibit</span></a> - it takes a different kind of
mindset to enjoy these types of events. But that is all part of the zoo
wonderment – something for everyone, including the exhibits.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Hot, dry and smoky conditions are not new to the Willamette Valley. After
typhoon Pabuk doused vintage 2013, we have had several vintages of heat and
smoke-filled skies. Dry summers and some measure of drought have also been
common place. But if you have been paying attention, you have adapted to this
new set of growing conditions.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073130" height="320" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9c6b8183-b7c6-7291-140d-577c67fe1bad.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 320px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Our vineyard mitigation strategies of removing leaves from the top of the
canopy, keeping leaves to shade our fruit zone and mowing the grass down seem
to be helping preserve soil moisture. Our canopy is still green and
functioning. Planting 5C rootstock, the deepest rooting of them all, has been a
viticultural stroke of genius. Access to deep soil moisture means the wine
berries are continuing their natural ripening curve including color
transformation from green to pink to mauve to the final destination – Pinot
Noir purple.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Desiccation is a major concern heading into The Great Cluster Pluck without
meaningful rainfall. The vines will rob water from the wine berries to cool the
leaves if they can’t get it from the roots. Desiccation leads to high sugar
concentration without commensurate aroma and flavor. High sugar concentration
leads to high alcohol potential and early harvest dates. Early harvest dates
can mean unripe aroma and flavor. If this were all a word puzzle, it could
spell “What you got yourself there is a nice little Rosé vintage.” Not all bad,
it goes with the sunset…</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073118" height="413" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9aed5b11-d5c6-dd7b-7716-2455bba20b9b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 413px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Mid-August Degree Day Update</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Vintage 2021 continues to bring the heat. Once again, in the first half of
August we see extreme daytime high temperatures and intolerable nighttime low
temperatures.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We have accumulated 323 Degree Days for the first 15 days of August. The high
temperature was 109.0 degrees recorded on August 21<sup>st</sup> at 5:12 pm.
The low temperature was 49.6 degrees recorded on August 8<sup>th</sup> at 5:00
am. Total heat accumulation for vintage 2021 through August 15<sup>th</sup> now
stands at 1,981 Degree Days.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073218" height="341" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/c9bf1833-8871-2691-f97e-28e2554f1698.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 341px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Mid-August 2021 Degree Days of 1,981 compared to full month August
Degree Days for prior vintages.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Here is actual data collected at the Portland airport from </span><a href="https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-west-hit-with-extreme-heat-drought-and-unrelenting-wildfires-in-july" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">NOAA</span></a><span style="color: #505050;"> that shows the frequency of 90 degree or
hotter days from June through mid-August. The pink bars represent each vintage,
and the blue line is the 10 year rolling average.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4073222" height="386" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1005a763-35cf-e642-d36f-fb0c523c1691.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 386px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">While the detailed analysis and executive summary is a task left to the reader
we can clearly see, that with the exception of vintage 1951, 1953 and 1998,
there is never an “average” year where the trend line equals the yearly data
point. Note: Vintages 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 form a nice little data
cluster. And made elegant wines…</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MaF6Gz-6SUFEjVv6grywHsmzyMJvOoVWPBPZXYlN8lJ5uba7PbVYyxDfwsMYxZPP8Q-IoBCHFQKF8tsod28xAaSXzp_D5MH_Y-6jXfLU00OMIioxTIimSsLF4jd6nRtBbp9BWrJ3o4um/s281/2021+Mid-Aug+Thing+1-2+White.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="281" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MaF6Gz-6SUFEjVv6grywHsmzyMJvOoVWPBPZXYlN8lJ5uba7PbVYyxDfwsMYxZPP8Q-IoBCHFQKF8tsod28xAaSXzp_D5MH_Y-6jXfLU00OMIioxTIimSsLF4jd6nRtBbp9BWrJ3o4um/w200-h200/2021+Mid-Aug+Thing+1-2+White.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /> </span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thing
One and Thing Two,</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just YOU wait until we run the zoo!</div></span></span>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-49411636496315333052021-08-04T17:00:00.002-07:002021-08-05T15:56:31.753-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: July 2021 <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
This is the Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: July 2021. </span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">As most of you know, the west coast is experiencing a record drought, the
forests are on fire and our Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is turning color two
weeks early. And that was only July! We just can’t wait to experience August
and September. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img data-file-id="4041862" height="339" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/184742e0-6cf1-58e4-8bd3-b163fb4625c3.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 339px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Pommard Clone Pinot Noir sporting a NEW look!</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">In our 60 acres of Willamette Valley wine country, July was mostly a pleasant
month with “abnormalities” here and there – that’s why it is called farming. We
were able to keep pace with the explosive vine growth and rescue one of Ernie’s
Italian Stallions from block 29. Most of the heavy lifting is complete, and we
now await The Great Cluster Pluck to visit itself upon us.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglzVCkjjIkEFQ5Qph554XVQXTo-22akEKt22NQ92_2tcvZ9KHFHlAfSfnu5Y4EbHnMfltzd_bE-yksQpX2-YQ6y1F8QPX040R332CnDpta5Zqe1kaQpnFuXseUJVKNICyBxSmVqhQvfFP/s16000/2021+Do+the+Like+Thing+tan.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are posting on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a>. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get… Want to learn more about
Amalie Robert? <a href="https://mailchi.mp/bf1c6e3596d2/arepart1" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Take the Tour</span></a>!</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.farmersalmanac.com/why-are-they-called-dog-days-of-summer-21705#:~:text=Why%20Are%20They%20Called%20the,Canis%20Major%2C%20the%20Greater%20Dog.&text=They%20referred%20to%20this%20time,to%20August%2011%20each%20year." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="557" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKj-Vd-ljh2mgq5nAJYXaNUp2ApiaxPM09MR0vi-THdRkvqILtvm0bmVbjm8XHTqKArEJjBynZTsTjcapQAE2azRdheaYfHhr8oUcYNDBS9qO65dJ5glMfhZz5W4bJhdRejkjh8PmeguKZ/w200-h173/2021+July+Climate+Dog+Days.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Will you be in our
area enjoying the <a href="https://www.farmersalmanac.com/why-are-they-called-dog-days-of-summer-21705#:~:text=Why%20Are%20They%20Called%20the,Canis%20Major%2C%20the%20Greater%20Dog.&text=They%20referred%20to%20this%20time,to%20August%2011%20each%20year." target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Dog Days of Summer</span></a>? Amalie
Robert Estate is open by appointment for vineyard tours and tastings. And
dogs are always welcome visitors! Select your preferred day and time with the
Big Red Button.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #505050;"><a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4037962" height="64" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7a3cf8ae-058d-c937-444e-a69ca69fade6.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 64px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Have
you ever wondered how some places got their names? Consider Greenland and
Iceland, they are complete misnomers. While the O.K. Corral sounds just fine,
it was located in <a href="https://www.dodgeglobe.com/story/news/local/2020/11/02/gunfight-at-ok-corral/42932219/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Tombstone Arizona</span></a>. This is actually not too far from Deadwood where
Ernie gets his old barrels. He checks for lead slugs before filling them. And
then their is Broken Spoke, located just downstream from Poison Well.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Or
Italian tractors with names like LanDIni which sounds a lot like LamBORgini,
but alas it is not the same. Ernie decided early on that his life would be
simpler if all of his machines were of the same manufacturer. This makes sense
if you think about maintenance and the ability to swap parts across platforms if
needed. But choose wisely as the problems of one are likely to crop up on the
other two. At least it won’t be a surprise – the second time.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4039910" height="234" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/f85998d4-d6fd-4c9c-3ecb-9fe7b5a04108.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 234px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Has
this ever happened to you? You are driving down the road, staying in your lane
and digging on the radio. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJrRwTTqm0o" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Then you hear that highway start to whine and you know that left
rear tire is about to go.</span></a> So you just limp on down the shoulder on the rim
until you get to the Dew Drop Inn.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4039898" height="733" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/690a4ba5-9f67-dfe8-a154-e0dd521332da.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">Has
this ever happened to you - twice?</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Well,
if you are hedging along in block 29, and all 5 spokes of your LanDIni wheel
snap off the hub, your choices are significantly more limited. And it’s not a
whine that you hear, it is a thump-thump-thump that you feel as the right front
hub is now bouncing off the wheel, sans spokes.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Well,
first things first and power everything down including the flail mower and 10
hedger blades spinning at a bazillion rpm. The tractor fits between the rows
just fine – most of the time, but there is little room for the suicide doors to
open and let the operator exit the cab. After some effort, Ernie managed to get
out and around to the hedger side of the machine. And just as sure as shishito
peppers, all five spokes were broken off the hub. The wheel studs were still
torqued into place – learned that lesson last time, and each one was holding a
piece of the corresponding broken spoke. Isn't that something...</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4039906" height="733" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ee5813ed-6fab-7579-f810-59b75615e186.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">The
Italian Stallion with hedger, disabled in block 29.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It
took Ernie a few minutes to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. As
in how to get the tractor out of the middle of the vineyard on just three
wheels. And the fact that the hedger was hanging off the same side of the
tractor as the broken spokes, significantly altering the center of gravity of
the entire machine. And the overall lay of the land which was sloping toward
the hedger, further adding load to the dysfunctional right front hub. And not
to mention the tractor was oriented downhill, adding even more load to the
front axle of the disabled machine.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Once
most of these thoughts coalesced in his mind, he turned to the nearest vine and
articulately explained the situation in excruciating detail – using no
uncertain terms. Expletives were not deleted. Their indeed may well be a
tapestry of obscenity still hanging over Ralphie’s house, but we can assure you
that vine will never be the same. Then a quick look at the time revealed it to
be EXACTLY beer-thirty. It was a brisk walk back to the house.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">After
lying awake all night, Ernie devised a plan that may lift the right side of the
tractor to allow the wheel and broken spokes to be safely removed.
Alternatively, the tractor might just take a shine to the next row and tip
over. Too soon to tell.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Dena
accompanied Ernie along with a passel full of jacks, boards, blocks, sockets,
wrenches and whatever else he could conjure up to block 29. The good news
is that the machine was still there. And that was also the bad news. It was not
a dream.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> <span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4041898" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/64f0d4c1-5d05-8c30-dca4-c4007132809b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">LanDIni
hub, sans wheel.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Having
had to perform a similar rescue on the other wheel driven LanDIni tractor a few
years back, Ernie had some experience to guide him. As longtime readers of the
FLOG know, experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">First
off a section of 2x8 board was placed under the axle, then the 2 ton floor jack
went on top of that, just in case the jack sank into the soil. A fixed height
jack stand went under the axle just in case the whole damn thing went south.
Then slowly and very gingerly, Ernie began to work the jack.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Some
encouragement was taken from the fact that the axle started to raise, and just
on one side – the intended side. Soon Ernie was able to remove the wheel studs,
broken spoke bits and then the broken wheel. Dena was there to collect and
catalog all of the bits and pieces. She also had 9-1-1 on speed dial.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Riding
with the King. Ray King that is, of King’s Industries. Ray is a genius in his
chosen profession. Ernie knows this because he was able to fix the last TWO
LanDIni wheel failures. Experience isn’t such a bad thing after all. Sure
enough, Ray applied his talents and in less than 24 hours, Ernie had a viable
wheel.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> <br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="4042042" height="413" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/079b8c6b-cedb-b27f-d899-da655c51e58e.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
The Ray King Special - Better than new!</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">R&R
stands for remove and replace. So, it was back up to block 29 with a repaired
wheel and all the bits and pieces from the day before. First raise up the axle
and then slowly position the wheel. Dena expertly applied WD-40 to the wheel
studs, (new) lock washers and nuts. Ernie lined everything up and inserted the
studs through the wheel spoke into the hub and threaded the nuts onto the
backside. Hey, this could work!</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And
then we arrived at the moment of truth. Would the repaired wheel hold? What if
it didn’t? Only one way to find out. Ernie fired up the machine (it started on
the first try), activated the hedger and SLOWLY drove down the row. Dena was a
few rows over and ahead observing.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Everything
held. Ernie went down to the shop to put the final torque on the wheel studs,
then it was back to work. There are four front LanDIni wheels that seem to lack
structural integrity. Ray King has fixed 3 of them. Just one left. That’s
Italian roulette, in the farming idiom.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">Veraison
Comes Early to the Willamette Valley.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Based
on the growing season to date, it was not unexpected to see our <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2021/07/amalie-robert-estate-vintage-update.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">first blazing Willamette Valley Pinot Noir berry</span></a> on July 28<sup>th.</sup>
The average date for this sort of behavior is August 15<sup>th</sup>, but we
haven’t seen anything like that since vintages 2010 and 2011. While everyone
knows it was hot in June and now again in July, the underreported story is the
nighttime temperatures.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The
vines get most of their work done during the daylight hours absorbing
Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) and turning that (along with carbon
dioxide) into energy (glucose) which is stored in the leaves. The leaves
release oxygen as a byproduct – and what a very important byproduct that is.
This cycle is more commonly known as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/photosynthesis/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">photosynthesis</span></a>. But this is only half of the story.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4040854" height="318" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/db637cd6-945f-e5e2-6705-240bd77cb619.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 318px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">One
of these things is not like the others!</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Energy
stored in the leaves is like money in the bank. It is nice to have but the vine
needs to spend that energy on the rest of the plant. And most of that work
happens at night when the sun is down. The vascular tissue translocates the
energy from the storage cells in the leaves to the rest of the vine and wine
berries. But it only can do this with temperatures above 50 degree’s, more or
less.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">If
it is too cold, the leaves cannot fully discharge their storage cells
overnight. That means the next morning the vine has a reduced photosynthesis potential
because some of their storage cells are still full from the previous day.
Reducing the photosynthesis potential for the next day slows the ripening curve
allowing for aroma and flavor development before building excess sugar
concentrations. Let’s have a look at the June and July nighttime temperatures.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4039886" height="311" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/922cb0c7-5677-15eb-5ca8-68a2c6642d1d.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 311px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">June
2021 temperature graph Willamette Valley, Dallas, Oregon.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The
solid blue line at the bottom represents the daily historical average nighttime
temperature for the month of June. As we can see toward the end of the month
the ACTUAL LOW temperatures were nearly equal to the historical AVERAGE HIGH
temperatures. This means the vines were getting all of their energy out of the
leaves for the next morning. And yes the scale is correct. Our high temperature
in June was 118 degrees.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4039894" height="316" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/3045a115-7dfe-586d-f079-fdfb9783d650.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 316px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">July
2021 temperature graph Willamette Valley, Dallas, Oregon.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">July
continued the above historical average nighttime temperatures early on and then
again at the end of the month. A bit of relief mid-month, but still, the
nighttime temperatures are significantly above the historical average. High
temperatures during the day and night means the vine is running <a href="https://www.allacronyms.com/WFO"><span style="color: #336699;">WFO</span></a> (as in “to run at
full throttle with uncaring abandon”) and advancing the ripening curve. The
best we can hope for is cool August nights. <em>Yeah, Fuggitaboutit already.</em></div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And
guess what helps foster increased nighttime temperatures. It’s our newfound
companion “particulate matter” in the atmosphere. Like maybe <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlczHHBqRFI" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">smoke from a distant fire</span></a>, or not so distant
fire. From here, it’s looking like another early cluster pluck. But wait! There
is more.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4039902" height="733" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/fe5e0c17-8b1d-e6c9-d31e-f4a2da42644a.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">A
plume of smoke from the not distant enough Bruler fire.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">Available
Soil Moisture, get it while you can.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">“And
its dry as a popcorn fart,” said Pierre. No rain since the beginning of June
and none in sight until maybe mid to late September. We are not the dust bowl,
but it is considered a drought. We are not saying that it can’t rain, just that
it won’t rain. So now two factors move to the forefront of the chess board -
canopy management and rootstock choice. Unwelcome hot August winds from the
east that desiccate the wine berries are just a given for this kind of vintage.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">After
dealing with the excessive heat of the past few vintages, Ernie adopted the
shorter canopy principle. The idea is that alcohol is grown at the top of the
canopy. The more leaves up there, the higher sugar concentration in the wine
berry, and that means more alcohol potential in the wine. So, off with their
heads! We used to grow a 7.5 foot canopy, but now we just go to 6.5 feet.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Rootstocks
are the part of the grafted vine that grow underground and supply all of the
available soil moisture to the other half of the vine that grows the wine
berries. And rootstocks are like dogs. There are all kinds of different dogs
for all kinds of different people. Somme rootstocks have roots that do not
grow very deep, it’s just how the way they are. Kinda like the legs on a <a href="https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/basset-hound/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">basset hound</span></a> – that’s all the more they got.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4042054" height="384" id="_x0000_i1036" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/c72d8998-26cf-d162-078c-b6c08a1a8874.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 384px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">Rootstock
rooting depth comparison.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Rootstocks
are usually sorted out by how deep their roots grow. Deeper roots mean more
access to water late in the season when rain is not forth coming. Vine A has a
very shallow rooting habit, while vine C is considered to be very deep
rooting. Many vineyards are planted on shallow rooting rootstocks to
advance the ripening window. These decisions were made decades ago
when the the growing conditions were significantly different than what we are
experiencing today.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And
in vintage 2021 if this is you, then you are screwed. Unless you have
irrigation. But even then, as soon as you turn off the water, better be ready
to harvest. Fortunately, Ernie discarded conventional wisdom and most of the
vines at Amalie Robert Estate are grafted onto deep rooting rootstocks like 5C.
But this year in some of our shallow soils, even 5C is feeling the burn.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As
we close in on a harvest window, the vine itself becomes our worst enemy. The
vine has seen this movie before, genetically speaking. It knows the wine
berries are an annual crop, but the vine must endure year to year. And it knows
that if the roots fail to bring up moisture to the leaves, it can always raid
the water from inside the wine berry through the vascular tissue.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This
is called desiccation. It can happen from the unfriendly hot east winds in
August. And it can happen from the vine’s own survival mode. Either way, water
leaves the wine berry and that increases the concentration of sugar. The higher
the sugar concentration, the higher the alcohol potential, or leave the wine
sweet. Aroma and flavor continue to wait out the clock, but the high sugar
concentrations force a premature cluster pluck.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">What
Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The
nighttime temperatures are propelling the vines to advance ripening and bring
the harvest window forward. It is as if they are experiencing a warmer growing
region. Can you say Paso Robles? These are not classic Willamette Valley Pinot
Noir growing conditions.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The
growing conditions we are experiencing are changing the ripening curve.
Specifically, this means wine berries accumulating sugars in a shorter time
period. Vines accumulate sugar in the wine berries as a function of heat, or
degree days. The hotter it is, especially at night, the less time they need.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Remember,
they are on a path to ripen seeds and develop a nice purple sugar packet around
them that a bird or raccoon can see and then eat. The seeds are then deposited
far and away, and the vine has accomplished its primary mission – to become
fruitful and reproduce.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Aroma
and flavor are more dependent on time on the vine. A longer, cooler growing
season typically yields lower alcohol potential and more elegant aromas and
flavors. That is why Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is its own thing. It has its
unique terroir driven signature.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The
wine will be good. The wine will reflect the vintage and its growing
conditions. And that pretty much describes our first trademarked piece of
intellectual property. “Wines true to the soil, wines true to the vintage.”®</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">The
Numbers.</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The
month of July recorded a blistering 618 Degree Days. The high temperature for
the month was 103.5 degrees recorded on July 30<sup>th</sup> at 5:12 pm and the
low temperature was 47.3 degrees recorded July 15<sup>th</sup> at 5:30 am. The
20 year average July Degree Day accumulation for the vineyard at Amalie Robert
Estate is 539 Degree Days. A trace of rain fell on July 31<sup>st</sup> - blink
and you would have missed it.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4039890" height="260" id="_x0000_i1037" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/93120e22-558f-d2e9-90a8-6d20ea848540.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 260px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Total
growing season Degree Days through July now stand at 1,658. This is the hottest
growing season we have ever experienced. The first runner up is vintage 2015 with
1,431 Degree Days followed by 2018 at 1,395 Degree Days. The 20 year average
growing season Degree Days accumulation through July for the vineyard at Amalie
Robert Estate is 1,144 Degree Days.</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4039882" height="330" id="_x0000_i1038" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b7962574-bd0b-3fb2-3b75-b948cfaaf747.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 330px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Please
note, the TOTAL Degree Day accumulation for vintage 2010 was only 1,722 Degree
Days. Alternatively, vintage 2003 added approximately 1,300 Degree Days during
the months of August and September for a vintage total of 2,699 Degree Days.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4042074" height="341" id="_x0000_i1039" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/d98c8316-b8f3-8784-0b44-ef13e7093678.jpg" style="border: initial; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 341px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;">
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We
are reminded of the unique perspective <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIkqNiBASfI" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">George Carlin presented when describing baseball and football</span></a>. “Baseball has
no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.
Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden
death.” – George Carlin</div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In
our winegrowing idiom, baseball represents the growing season and heat
accumulation – we don’t know when it’s gonna end. Football is all about
harvest. Once those wine berries are cut from the mother vine, that’s the end
of the growing season game.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">Kindest
Regards,</span><span style="color: #505050;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;">Dena
& Ernie</span></span>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-52808322240792663732021-07-30T15:00:00.003-07:002021-07-30T15:27:05.917-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Vintage Update: 2021 Pinot Noir in Flagrante! <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome Dena, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img data-file-id="4037986" height="626" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/738479bd-8a63-1ad8-b39f-7b28b953277e.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 626px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div>
</span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: center;">I
See You! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">What you see here is Pinot Noir in Flagrante! The first blazing berry of
vintage 2021 appeared on July 28th. This exemplar is Pommard Clone grafted onto
Ernie’s esteemed 5C rootstock. With 5C being so deep rooted, it is a
juxtaposition to see this clone and rootstock combination showing color so
early. Once again this year, it seems like too much, too soon. What ever
happened to waiting until August 15th like we used to do? Those days are
gone, my friend.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span></a></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeveWJ8HVhxAjzBxiinFf8mXIgu5AE6IYBD9L-0p3Y9Iy92820Gvh5kggWT8q-hrEhNxoNwr9UyRLyFwZeUN3f3Roq-ZJmLutRr501CquweCi_JLsV9K_eL3rTE26xBwmFv7aZ7rkotjm/s16000/2021+Do+the+Like+Thing+tan.jpg" /></a></div>A
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are posting on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a>. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get…</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Will
you be in our area? Amalie Robert Estate is open by appointment for vineyard
tours and tastings. Select your preferred day and time with the Big Red Button.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="4037962" height="64" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7a3cf8ae-058d-c937-444e-a69ca69fade6.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 64px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s not exactly <a href="https://www.eater.com/21348867/best-mai-tai-recipe-history" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Mai Tai’s</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahtzee" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Yahtzee</span></a> this year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><!--[endif]--><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ67pmR6suP5K4HZRdy5KfIao09uVBe3Dp9i5yBdWuQqYsspVHO2LN7aSxcIDiBio-gwBA1c_2GZ4zNGhTNGht-3s3lCm8Wf_2oQbz1JgXojntJhG9ScKSG2x8ugxUSs8PGjsLVUinIVMz/s293/2021+July+Veraison+Heat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="293" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ67pmR6suP5K4HZRdy5KfIao09uVBe3Dp9i5yBdWuQqYsspVHO2LN7aSxcIDiBio-gwBA1c_2GZ4zNGhTNGht-3s3lCm8Wf_2oQbz1JgXojntJhG9ScKSG2x8ugxUSs8PGjsLVUinIVMz/s0/2021+July+Veraison+Heat.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>So here we are
staring down the phaser of vintage 2021. What to do? Is it set to stun? As a
dry farmed vineyard, what can we do?</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The chance of vintage extending rains in August is not zero, but it is so close
to zero that, well yeah, it is in fact zero.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">September can bring rainfall, like the record setting rains the first week of
vintage 2019. But it is still July. The battle may be lost by then.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">What we did, and did again, and then for a 3rd time this year, was hedge a
short canopy. A shorter canopy has fewer leaves. Instead of being 7.5 feet
tall, we are closer to 6.5 feet tall. Hedging off that upper story of leaves
provides two benefits and a BONUS!</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="4037982" height="412" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/06147d1f-7f27-aab0-aacf-1f07b4bde501.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: center;">Ernie Hedging a Short Canopy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The first benefit is the vine will be using less water. On the backside of each
leaf are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoma" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">stomates</span></a>. These stomates
open and release water vapor to cool the leaf. Since we are missing about 2.5
cubic feet of leaves, we are saving that water for the vines to cool the
remaining leaves.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The BONUS is that the vine will be less likely to translocate water from the
wine berry to the leaves for cooling. This phenomenon comes into play when we
evaluate sugar concentrations. The less water inside the wine berry, the higher
the concentration of sugar.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The higher concentration of sugar means higher alcohol potential, or dare we
say, leaving residual sugar in the wine. So the decision is often made to avoid
residual sugar and cluster pluck early - before aroma and flavor can fully
develop. Look for another high volume Rosé vintage if this weather pattern
keeps up.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4037978" height="732" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/514d0119-e476-309e-d50e-9d6d085122b2.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hedged as Short as Possible without Hitting the Post!</span></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The second benefit is that with fewer leaves in the upper canopy, the vine is
building less sugar inside the wine berries. All other things being equal
(which never occurs in farming) the vines with the fewer leaves will build less
sugar and have a lower alcohol potential. We are not saying this was the best
option, just the only option.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_Gets_in_Your_Eyes" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Smoke gets in your eyes</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">…
and lungs.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Wildfires continue to ravage the West Coast from Canada through to Southern
California. Smoke is entering the atmosphere and being distributed hither and
yon. We have seen this movie before, and it doesn’t end well. And it is only
July. The dry months of August and September are yet to come.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This graphic is the <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/dallas/97338/air-quality-index/335255?plot=nocircle" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Air Quality Index</span></a>. You
can click on the link and enter your zip code for current air quality
conditions and forecasts. The colors represent air quality with green being excellent,
orange being poor and red to purple being unhealthy. The numbers represent the
air quality, with anything above 50 being poor air quality. Not advisable to be
outdoors working or maybe harvesting.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/dallas/97338/air-quality-index/335255?plot=nocircle" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4037966" height="466" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/41e98a8c-4bbb-9481-8f12-461853081112.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 465px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Our wine producing, and neighboring state to the south has been in the thick of
this “</span><a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru_scenario" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">no win scenario</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">” for several years now. It is
real. It can be devastating and is deadly. It is a test of character we wish to
avoid. The Kobayashi Maru “no-win” scenario as explained by Spock:</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru_scenario" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">"The purpose is to experience
fear; fear in the face of certain death, to accept that fear and maintain
control of one's self and one's crew. This is a quality expected in every
Starfleet captain."</span></a></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=2c495078bc&e=0ccb8eb6d2" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">– Spock, 2258 (Star Trek)</span></a></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Recently, and 2020 specifically, the Willamette Valley has been the recipient
of wildfires and the resulting airborne pollution. Sure, the sunrises are
pretty, and sunsets are nice with a glass of Rosé. But the atmosphere is
starting to look like the wash water wrung from a pair of well loved farming
socks. Fortunately, the aroma has yet to catch up with the view.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4037970" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/793f3b15-cc99-4700-dba5-e774213d3f1d.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #505050;">Smoke Entering the Willamette Valley from the Southeast.</span></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">And here is the view as of July 28th, mid-afternoon facing southeast (with an
Air Quality Index of 37) from the top of the vineyard at Amalie Robert Estate.
Add in some high winds to the intensifying drought conditions and that 410,000
acre Bootleg fire to the south starts to become a little more real. Not to
mention the evolving scene in California.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
The Jet Stream will be the joker in this deck. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_at_11" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Film @ 11…</span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Dena & Ernie</span></div></span></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-53376444719434830482021-07-26T14:00:00.004-07:002021-07-27T16:28:57.990-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Situational Review: The Mid-July Stretch and Lag Phase <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600"
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><!--[endif]--><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGtthUcGrGYaMNexwNb6eEKcMTdSVlQUghXq093CTtaOxIR3AKasXmEMCWELRQJTaqPf65rE4awLiSkfk6EAPku17YpPJ32W-yfJXPoDqixBxLrQT-1QeGP4_41iKE-T8-iQGYzpWuADM/s349/2021+Mid-July+Pleasant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="349" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGtthUcGrGYaMNexwNb6eEKcMTdSVlQUghXq093CTtaOxIR3AKasXmEMCWELRQJTaqPf65rE4awLiSkfk6EAPku17YpPJ32W-yfJXPoDqixBxLrQT-1QeGP4_41iKE-T8-iQGYzpWuADM/w200-h114/2021+Mid-July+Pleasant.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>After June’s month
end record heat wave, July seems downright pleasant. High temperatures in the
upper 80’s mostly, though trending down to the upper 70’s and nighttime
temperatures dipping into the 40’s. Our humidity remains in check at about 40%
during the day and 90% overnight. No matter, the vines are executing their
preordained program. They are just taking a little more time getting it done.
That and they are getting older, just like the rest of us.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">THE BIG PICTURE </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">As we welcome more visitors to the property, we are reminded that not everyone
reading this FLOG has 36 acres of vineyard for a backyard - but we do. So, we
thought it might be nice to introduce you to THE BIG PICTURE. If you are
planning a trip to Wine Country, you can see it all when you get here. Until
then, here is a view of the “back 40”.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMScWda6ne2ASyU4Ar3mjo1GFt3AMRhx826HfnwuM7awOleNnJFeZeCLgDZZb2WRw?key=dEJLVDFqRTlrYzM5NWFUUVl1d3ZlU3E4YVlpZ293" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035770" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/0f822a8e-8ff7-3904-58ae-d6fa95916ae1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 144px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" /></span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">We are farming the dream, so you don’t have to. Click on the image to <a href="https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMScWda6ne2ASyU4Ar3mjo1GFt3AMRhx826HfnwuM7awOleNnJFeZeCLgDZZb2WRw?key=dEJLVDFqRTlrYzM5NWFUUVl1d3ZlU3E4YVlpZ293" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">view the "Back 40"
panorama</span></a>.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MeITJXOYwaI3_lCUqR0i-UmhREcmz0so3AE9LINbi68QZcjmw2MYierkevJL4Thy3aWH7Ak5m2whp1ssEYRKQJQOB1b4_CpftDuov0fdP8jjtzJ8UcbmS89stE1xfS6dz-8CDLGrixma/s0/2021+Do+the+Like+Thing+tan.jpg" /></a></div>A
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are posting on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a>. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get…</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Will you be in our area? Amalie Robert Estate is open all summer by appointment
for vineyard tours and tastings. Select your preferred day and time with the
Big Red Button.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035778" height="64" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/53fa9fe6-e0dc-e190-9b85-70b15cc58c5f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 64px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;">
Fire Update</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">We will be monitoring the West Coast fire situation as we head into the hot and
dry days leading up to harvest. </span><a href="https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=485292c7a3cd4b5ab3d4539162420d4b&extent=-15293678.3364%2C4586960.9504%2C-10597387.3186%2C6859280.9273%2C102100" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Here is a current image of the
Oregon wildfire scene</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<a href="https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=485292c7a3cd4b5ab3d4539162420d4b&extent=-15293678.3364%2C4586960.9504%2C-10597387.3186%2C6859280.9273%2C102100" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035714" height="506" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1b4a6414-94b7-e2bc-a95f-0227b3256ccb.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 507px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br clear="all" />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The largest fire by far in Oregon right now is the Bootleg fire (fire number
210321) located near the border with California. The fire was reported on July
12</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> and as of July 19</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> has burned over 400,000 acres.
For comparative purposes, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_area" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">the state of Rhode Island is
776,900 acres</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035706" height="308" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/388a0b42-24c1-a96f-cf1f-52e117975584.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 308px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">This chart shows how Vintage 2021 compares to the past four vintages of
wildfires. The state of Connecticut is 3.548 million acres and that is pretty
close to our year-to-date average acres burned. How many Connecticut’s do we
have left to burn? How much greenhouse gas and carbon are being released into
the atmosphere? Maybe it’s time West Coast forest management became part of the
national debate.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/air-quality-in-nyc-philly-plummets-due-to-smoke-from-2500-miles-away/984606" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035722" height="372" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/cc7d1892-a180-8410-3282-6dde5faf7409.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 372px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">This graphic shows the </span><a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/air-quality-in-nyc-philly-plummets-due-to-smoke-from-2500-miles-away/984606" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Air Quality Index for the Northeast
region</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. The smoke causing the unhealthy air quality is from the West
Coast wildfires over 2,500 miles away. With all of that particulate in the
atmosphere, someone could make the case for global dimm(witt)ing. We may be
going to hell in a handbasket, but at least we’re enjoying the ride.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Lag Phase and Situational Review</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The month of July appears seemingly out of nowhere after the flurry of activity
in June known as canopy management. Unprecedented growth from rain and excessive
heat in June had to be contained in 3 sets of trellis catch wires. Then and
only then was Ernie able to execute his first hedge. Some blocks, being above
average, earned a pre-hedge before the main hedge. Then there is the obligatory
re-hedge.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035746" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/77b728be-62bb-0124-04ff-ceaf4c46e0a6.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Ernie Getting His Hedge on in the Terraced Rows of the Back 40.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">And the hedging’s will continue until the vines realize it is time to stop
growing more leaves and then direct their energy to ripening their seeds. And
in so doing develop stunning aroma and flavor in our wine berries. They want to
ripen seeds to reproduce; we just want to make the wine! A means to an end to
be sure.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035742" height="412" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/088bb8f6-8ad4-8e72-e542-efc958dbd6a9.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">But it takes a while for the vines to grow more leaves for Ernie to hedge off.
So, we take a week or so to give them some time to grow and focus on updating
our own situational awareness. You should see what it looks like from here…</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035734" height="412" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b3bf874c-b6f8-2d9a-08a6-d8e76059cdfe.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Hedging the Vines, Back to Front.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">For the vines, they call this period “</span><a href="https://grapes.extension.org/stages-of-grape-berry-development/#Stage_II:_Lag_Phase_to_Veraison" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">lag phase</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">”. Lag phase is
an important time in the development of this year’s wine berries. But like </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jy6QTOJYBY" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">skeet shooting low house 6</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">,
you need to be paying attention or you will miss it. Lag phase helps the humans
figure out about how many tons of wine berries will be waiting for them at the
start of The Great Cluster Pluck. This is good to know IN ADVANCE.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You know the vines have entered lag phase when the seeds begin to “harden off”.
After bloom when the wine berries are first formed, the cells are dividing like
rabbits and the tissue is very soft. After the cell division is complete, the
next step is enhancing cell wall integrity and growing the cells – including
the seeds.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">At the very center of a pollinated wine berry is a seed. More specifically in wine
berries there are pairs of seeds – usually two pairs, but sometimes only one.
This is often the result of the weather conditions during bloom. Warm sunny
weather favors two pairs of seeds, where cool and rainy weather can create a
single pair. The other alternative is no seeds because the flower did not
pollinate, and you have no wine berry to ferment the sugar out of.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This year, we seem to have a mix of all three scenarios. More of a casual
observation at this point as the vines are taking their time entering lag
phase. We have not sampled the vineyard and performed the 4 sig-fig analysis
and statistical evaluations – yet. <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/03/the-50-greatest-yogi-berra-quotes" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">But like Yogi Barra said</span></a>,
“You can observe a lot just by watching.”</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We have clusters with fewer than the historical “average” number of wine
berries. This means a greater percentage of flowers did not pollinate this year
compared to the average over the past 30 years. For the flowers that did
pollinate, we see a wide range in the mix of the two pairs of seeds v the one
pair of seeds wine berries.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035702" height="382" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/490b3d1e-f842-0ace-8fc8-4d2c0d726016.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 382px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Pinot Noir Cluster, Berry with 2 Pairs of Seeds, Berry with 1 Pair of Seeds.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Once the seeds begin to harden off, the vines have by definition entered lag
phase. Then it is time to sample the vineyard. We do this by selecting a random
set of vines, we count the number of clusters on the vine and </span><u style="color: #505050;">write that
number down</u><span style="color: #505050;">. Then we clip one off and put it in a bucket. Move on to the
next random vine and repeat.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">When the sample collection is done, we weigh the clusters and divide by the
number of clusters weighed. This is the fun part – getting weighed. The average
weight of the clusters at lag phase will double when we cluster pluck them. So
if we have a cluster that weighs 55 grams at lag phase, it should weigh 110
grams at harvest. That would mean an average size Pinot Noir cluster where it
takes 4 of them to make a pound.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Luck favors the prepared mind. Based on our informal observation, we will be
lucky to see our FINAL cluster weights in the 100 gram category. More likely it
seems that it may take five or even six clusters to make a pound. The marketing
people will tell you that it is a short crop of exceptional quality. And of
course, it will be…</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035750" height="412" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/546ccb24-690c-224e-385b-3520451622f8.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
What does this mean and why should I care?</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Growing two vintages on the same cluster. From a winemaking perspective, wine
berries with a single pair of seeds are significantly smaller and will build
sugar faster than wine berries with two pairs of seeds. This comes into play
when sampling for harvest.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There are at least three conditions for harvest that must all signal “GO TIME!”
The first and foremost is aroma and flavor. If it doesn’t taste good on the
vine, the chance of an ethereal Pinot Noir in the bottle is pretty remote.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4035726" height="274" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7681a38c-fa9f-3943-3691-10c4418244ff.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 274px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Clusters Protected from the Sun to Preserve Aroma and Flavor.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The second attribute is the chemistry, specifically sugar concentration and
acidity measured as pH. Optimal sugar concentrations at harvest are measured
using Brix. A range of 21 to 24 Brix will yield a final alcohol potential of
12.6 to 14.4% alcohol. Here is where the single seed pair berries come into
focus.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">If the mix of wine berries on a cluster have a high percentage of single seed
wine berries, the sugar concentration will read very high. However, the wine
berries with two pairs of seeds are not as mature and they will show a very
high concentration of acid, and underripe flavors. This is good to know, but
fortunately it is not something we need to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problematization" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">problematize</span></a> today.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And the third attribute is scheduling a harvest crew. It is important to
remember, there are only so many skilled labor hands to go around. And those
skilled labor hands are connected to lungs that will need clean, smoke free air
to breath. Just like every other living thing on the planet.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Dena & Ernie</span></div></span>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-35957252708918744812021-07-09T14:39:00.000-07:002021-07-09T14:39:08.227-07:00Amalie Robert Climate Update: June Vintage 2021, Why Is It SO FARMING HOT!? <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></p><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">This is the Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: June Vintage 2021, Why is
it SO FARMING HOT!?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDQ73AqkvX-ML3KiEm3rR9yYjcV-S1Ej28ZS0re6IhFn9c3PkN1ccyO9CsyBPf2CUJicGPfWcL4Z9He86kZQ1TMoahyyDaqNJ-wtPo1pva57UdHLXGq7tcU27kR83dbeNrjQmXAPqh-9n/s345/2021+June+Climate+111+Degrees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="345" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDQ73AqkvX-ML3KiEm3rR9yYjcV-S1Ej28ZS0re6IhFn9c3PkN1ccyO9CsyBPf2CUJicGPfWcL4Z9He86kZQ1TMoahyyDaqNJ-wtPo1pva57UdHLXGq7tcU27kR83dbeNrjQmXAPqh-9n/w200-h151/2021+June+Climate+111+Degrees.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The vineyard at Amalie
Robert Estate has experienced a wide range of events this month including, but
not limited to: record breaking heat, a full spread assault of frozen ice
pellets (what the hail!?), all three sets of catch wires coming up and clipped
into position and Ernie out there hedging the vine’s shoot tips off. Growing
low alcohol wines means growing a short canopy - especially in a hot vintage.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="Precision farming, Ernie hedging a short canopy." data-file-id="4025762" height="629" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/491e4c72-663c-0621-77eb-efcd377a4e82.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 629px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
Precision farming, Ernie hedging a short canopy.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">A Willamette Valley Harvest isn’t here yet. </span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2021/06/amalie-robert-estate-vintage-update.html" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">We estimate Julian calendar day 257
(September 14th)</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">, but it’s starting to come into view. </span><a href="https://www.vinestories.com/will-vall#anchor-link-wv-harvest" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">You can check out our harvest video
courtesy of VineStories</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">.</span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ®</span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="166" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_StfUYiSppaDKvpOalBwhrYdhDS3gf_O09O2_8wFco_IViusoYhWBAjDucH1R1lCjIUrF91lCJ0k5ZnxwM-esMsJDwCwEdBxlM6lzOnGTQN-NoGTLdowTp7f7z8v7ykd6J_JmL_9vKSd/w200-h190/2021+Do+the+Like+Thing+tan.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>A </span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Estate. We
are posting on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get…</span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">June is Dena’s birthday month. She is a Gemini and provides a calming force to
the Taurus in her life. The Pommard clone of Pinot Noir is her thing, and </span><a href="https://www.amalierobert.com/amalie-s-cuvee.html" style="color: #505050; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Amalie’s Cuvée</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> is her
jam. A 300 case production means just 12 lucky barrels find their way into her
final blend. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. A wine that is just about as
natural as the day is long.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Amalie+Robert+Estate/@44.8775244,-123.303085,642m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x54c01d3bb04d2461:0x5cde6a935dc24bb7!8m2!3d44.8775244!4d-123.3009208" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03th5elIfnQnb0-Pv4CKTZoTEk1_lq3Il_m3dU5GHGr_jhft8xAFfwYjeyjpyBzS80bI7zNB0mMBJ-rulDSAa9BWmT_-hW8-uc6yz9BX5rPRwPxbQJKCuGXzqVE5efAD2GgwCRitk7LXA/s16000/2021+June+Climate+Directions.jpg" /></a></div><br />Do
YOU like </span><a href="https://www.amalierobert.com/pommard-clone.html" style="color: #505050; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Pommard</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">? Or </span><a href="https://www.amalierobert.com/wadenswil-clone.html" style="color: #505050; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Wadenswil</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">? Will you be
in our area? Do you want to experience </span><a href="https://www.amalierobert.com/~~-pinot-noir.html" style="color: #505050; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Amalie Robert Pinot Noir</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">?
Or maybe </span><a href="https://www.amalierobert.com/~~-syrah.html" style="color: #505050; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Syrah</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">? Amalie Robert
Estate is open all summer by appointment for vineyard tours and tastings. Click
on the map for </span><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Amalie+Robert+Estate/@44.8775244,-123.303085,642m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x54c01d3bb04d2461:0x5cde6a935dc24bb7!8m2!3d44.8775244!4d-123.3009208" style="color: #505050; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">driving directions</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> and
select your preferred day and time with the Big Red Button.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Big Red Button" border="0" data-file-id="4025470" height="64" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/6e85fa4e-8fc8-d252-1d5b-bfed2073f34c.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 64px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
Why is it SO FARMING HOT!?</span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQWgOJ420DEn-w8kRVrVKCNhCrBZM39bf-3F5hY15jgEHxraADqsQ2hhBQpGZjNQ6DdrEr82wOIunsEV60N9UzfMT5dvEyPvHJBg-mRC-6STcMRTN3PELbyxKb0qo9XBQ_9vAPQQ6Gt74/s389/2021+June+Climate+97+Degrees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="389" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQWgOJ420DEn-w8kRVrVKCNhCrBZM39bf-3F5hY15jgEHxraADqsQ2hhBQpGZjNQ6DdrEr82wOIunsEV60N9UzfMT5dvEyPvHJBg-mRC-6STcMRTN3PELbyxKb0qo9XBQ_9vAPQQ6Gt74/w200-h104/2021+June+Climate+97+Degrees.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The June month-end heat wave has sent past records into
the dust bin of history. At the Amalie Robert Estate vineyard in Dallas,
(Oregon not Texas) Monday morning, June 28</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> saw a blazing 97
degrees - at 9:00 am! And finished the day with a high temperature of 118. That
was after a record high on Sunday of 113 (low of 86) and 109 for Saturday.
Friday was the lead up with a mere 100 and Thursday started the show with a
paltry 98. And there was a strong, recirculating breeze acting like a
convection oven for any living creature exposed to the elements. The average
wind speed during this event was 3.7 miles per hour, with gusts reaching 11.8
miles per hour. With a relative humidity of 25%, our 118-degree temperature had
a heat index of over 130 degrees. It is OFF the chart!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img align="none" alt="Heat index." border="0" data-file-id="4025482" height="321" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/6fa527bc-5082-bce3-fbb9-e0bce3f796a4.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; font-size: 13.5pt; height: 321px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Why, you may ask. </span><u style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Why is it SO FARMING HOT!?</u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> Well, we will tell you why.
In a word, or two, it is the Jet Stream. A high-pressure dome set itself up
over the Seattle area. This allowed an ABUNDANCE OF HOT AIR from the states to
our south to come into the northwest. That airflow established a circular flow
all around the Pacific Northwest including Canada. And it’s not even an
ELECTION YEAR…</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="The Jet Stream circulating HOT AIR into the Willamette Valley." border="0" data-file-id="4025462" height="322" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9d195924-c4e3-55f6-d2fc-9feccd963192.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; font-size: 13.5pt; height: 322px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Jet Stream circulating HOT AIR into the Willamette Valley.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">This breeze kept recirculating the hot air coming north, thus preventing any
cool air to come south from the Gulf of Alaska. The middle of the country was
subject to the cooling effect of cold Canadian air. The result was
unprecedented, prolonged and excessive heat throughout the wine growing area of
the Willamette Valley.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="Forget Climate Change. Somebody has got to straighten out the Jet Stream!" border="0" data-file-id="4025450" height="345" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/c7c5f11f-86e2-e60a-5066-b50ae799a6fa.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; font-size: 13.5pt; height: 345px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Forget Climate Change. Somebody has got to straighten out the Jet Stream!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And aren’t you just a little bit curious how your region stacks up to the
Willamette Valley? This graphic shows the real-time </span><a href="https://www.weathercentral.com/weather/us/maps/current-temperatures" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">temperatures for the entire United
States</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. Alaska and Hawaii seem to have gone missing. That’s where we
would be, if we were to be somewhere other than here.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="That is Portland registering 111 degrees, as of Monday, June 28th." border="0" data-file-id="4025478" height="367" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/724fb3ed-85d3-dcdb-7dcb-a4f2f7a6df5b.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; font-size: 13.5pt; height: 367px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That is Portland registering 111 degrees, as of Monday, June 28</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Where there is FIRE, there is SMOKE.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">FIRE – it’s a four-letter word, and one that is generally unwelcome in the
vineyard environment. And then we move onto the 5 letter words like SMOKE and
TAINT. These are completely unacceptable. The excessive heat in the areas
around the Willamette Valley is of concern. There are </span><a href="https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=485292c7a3cd4b5ab3d4539162420d4b&extent=-15293678.3364%2C4586960.9504%2C-10597387.3186%2C6859280.9273%2C102100" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">wildfires burning now</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">
and we are monitoring that situation. You can read our position on the
ill-fated </span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2021/05/amalie-robert-estate-vintage-2020-bolo.html" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Vintage 2020 here</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. A
post-preview of coming attractions? We hope not.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
</span><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1030" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="BFD Command Post."
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbHVmEieJUcxvCx58f7kViDzv29A9a27xwBIbGSJJqLD-rDHHDB1r-vZsqv-Q4FFtC3PdTW5-hQn7SvvcWeisZJ5bFa_TmLP3PJQwqgNcTInGlP4SUAZQKpJmrxdmPTDoG6X91r5fMucT/s207/2021+June+Climate+BFD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="207" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbHVmEieJUcxvCx58f7kViDzv29A9a27xwBIbGSJJqLD-rDHHDB1r-vZsqv-Q4FFtC3PdTW5-hQn7SvvcWeisZJ5bFa_TmLP3PJQwqgNcTInGlP4SUAZQKpJmrxdmPTDoG6X91r5fMucT/w200-h175/2021+June+Climate+BFD.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The </span><a href="https://projects.oregonlive.com/wildfires/map" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">closest fire to us is designated
S-503</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. It is burning south of Mount Hood and due east of the aptly
named town of Woodburn. This is northeast of us by about 100 miles. Apparently,
there are still some trees left there that were not burned last year. They say </span><a href="https://www.noaa.gov/stories/5-striking-facts-versus-myths-about-lightning-you-should-know" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">lightning never strikes twice</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">;
we say don’t bet on it and NOAA agrees. The Empire State building is hit by
lightning about 25 times each year. Those folks at the Boston Fire Department
(BFD) know how to handle this type of situation. Maybe give them a call…</span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">So, what are we doing about it?</span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We are taking it as it comes, as that is really your only option as a
winegrower. That and a couple of hotel nights with air conditioning. Field
labor stops when the temperatures become unsafe. Ernie can run the tractors,
hedging early in the morning, but excessive heat is not good for the equipment,
or the equipment operator. The excessive heat does provide a good opportunity
to finish up the annual equipment maintenance down in the cool, below ground
level shop. The flail mower took out a bearing this month, and what a helluva
bearing it is!</span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><img alt="Replaced the flail mower bearing, it was all farmed out." border="0" data-file-id="4025862" height="615" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/cf744e67-22f6-084a-32e5-3b5dd4b52fef.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; font-size: 13.5pt; height: 615px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Replaced the flail mower bearing, it was all farmed out.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The vines, however, are making the most of their unsupervised time. Typically,
vines do not get much done when the temperature drops below 50 degrees at
night. That is why the evening cooldowns are such an important climatic
attribute of winegrowing in the Willamette Valley. Cool evening temperatures
prevent the vines from quickly building excess sugars before aroma and flavor
can develop.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div></span>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="The BIG picture at Amalie Robert Estate." border="0" data-file-id="4025742" height="412" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ba59c6d4-6457-43a4-cd66-1d666115278c.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
The BIG picture at Amalie Robert Estate.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Not this week. Like a kid set loose in a candy store, those vines are growing
at a record pace. Over 2.5 inches of rain early in the month, during bloom, is
enabling their growth. The evening temperatures in the mid-70’s and above allow
for a 24 hour growth cycle. There is no evening cooldown to apply the brakes.
The other side of the coin is that at temperatures above 100 degrees the vines
call it quits. The leaves turn away from the sun and the vines go into their
form of a lockdown. The end of June brought with it over 38 continuously
unbearable hours of temperatures maintaining 70 to 115+ degrees.</span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
What Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="Leaves in the fruit zone shading the newly formed wine berries." border="0" data-file-id="4025490" height="271" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/3f87fb5d-1cc2-5850-8894-1d1be99a5313.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 271px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
Leaves in the fruit zone shading the newly formed wine berries.</span><br />
<br /><!--[endif]--><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7tAZjMOz-jJguFefa1-A_hfLn5Eyd0_X-1UkjQVmgnNUWc6wH8LCHu-g5P42FJnuim1qUwVbK3ZZcrEGWF7cYr7cHzNh43Ekob1YvPvDLqtft2zmc7LCG3QczKepkHmAxMnn_80ulg7J/s124/2021+June+Climate+Hell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="110" data-original-width="124" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7tAZjMOz-jJguFefa1-A_hfLn5Eyd0_X-1UkjQVmgnNUWc6wH8LCHu-g5P42FJnuim1qUwVbK3ZZcrEGWF7cYr7cHzNh43Ekob1YvPvDLqtft2zmc7LCG3QczKepkHmAxMnn_80ulg7J/w200-h177/2021+June+Climate+Hell.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>What we did not do. We did
NOT pull leaves out of the fruit zone that shade the newly formed wine berries.
Pulling leaves out of the fruit zone is a standard viticultural practice
intended to reduce the incidence of powdery mildew and our old friend botrytis.
Thanks to botrytis we were able to produce a once in a lifetime wine, </span><a href="https://www.amalierobert.com/pabuk-s-gift.html" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Pakuk’s Gift Late Harvest
Chardonnay</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But botrytis is not the intent. The case for removing leaves is to allow early
morning sun exposure on the wine berries to evaporate the moisture from the
morning dew that may foster powdery mildew and botrytis development. All well
and good, in moderation.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The case against removing leaves is that excessive sun exposure can form
aggressive tannins in the skins or in the most extreme case - sunburn. This
leads to a very harsh finish in the wine. Not attractive in a silky-smooth
Amalie Robert Pinot Noir.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Timing is key. Often times leaves are removed from the fruit zone right after
flowering. This is done for one of two reasons: one is dogmatic as in “we have
always done it that way.” The other is because the vineyard is situated in an
area with high humidity, or restricted cold air drainage. Actually a third
reason for early leaf removal can be because that is when a field crew was
available. The world may run on Dunkin, but vineyards run on field labor. And
diesel.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="A view from the Chief Farming Officer's seat, moving ahead and looking behind." border="0" data-file-id="4025494" height="412" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/7b0efc4a-1f6f-a92c-ff89-53382cc4a74f.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
A view from the Chief Farming Officer's seat, moving ahead and looking behind.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Extended periods of high humidity foster powdery mildew and botrytis infections
– both of these pathogens need moisture to grow. What’s done is done. Woe
betide you if those leaves were removed before this excessive heat and sun
exposure event. The decision to remove leaves early in the growing season may
become evident in wine marked by excessively harsh tannins. Leaves are your
friends, leave them be. They have a job to do. Thank them.</span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
Numbers: The Dichotomy of Farming.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As we look back at the month, we find the view from the </span><a href="https://theindependencehotel.com/" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Independence Hotel</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to be
similar to the view we had here during the ice storm in March. What a messed up
year we have in 2021.</span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div></span>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="The vineyard encased in ice after Ice Storm 2021." border="0" data-file-id="4025486" height="413" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/84e8e1c9-206a-fe1d-d389-c7b18db731c9.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 413px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
The vineyard encased in ice after </span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2021/03/amalie-robert-estate-2021-ice-storm-and.html" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Ice Storm 2021</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">.</span><br />
<br /><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVC4KvBoTHngF5e2Mdw2czXIUwSB9iRs_cEfkvq70VypNeT7_4z-eW5c4tSCSyTbyF_wNvIxsTL39bx3wphI3mKBBRTwyyJ2uXyaumtLJ2Fq10ApI0fq5NONSaBGM_cEfc0em00kFLMztB/s454/2021+June+Climate+Monthly+Graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="342" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVC4KvBoTHngF5e2Mdw2czXIUwSB9iRs_cEfkvq70VypNeT7_4z-eW5c4tSCSyTbyF_wNvIxsTL39bx3wphI3mKBBRTwyyJ2uXyaumtLJ2Fq10ApI0fq5NONSaBGM_cEfc0em00kFLMztB/s320/2021+June+Climate+Monthly+Graph.jpg" /></a></div>As we see from this monthly
graphic, we began June on a high note of 97, then cooled where our high
temperatures just hit the mid-60’s. (what a time that was) and dipped into the
40’s at night. And then the sweltering set upon us.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Bear in mind these temperatures are recorded at a nearby weather station. What
we see on a nice south facing slope at 485 to 640 feet elevation is another
matter.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Vineyards are typically planted on elevated south, southeast or southwest
facing slopes for two reasons. The first is so that cold air does not pool
overnight and frost out your efforts.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The second reason is that south facing aspects have a greater “angel of
incidence” to the sun. The angel of incidence is the angle at which the slope
receives the sun’s rays, with 90% being the maximum. The greater the slope, the
more solar radiation is received. The vast majority of the vineyard at Amalie
Robert Estate faces due south with a 10-15 percent slope. As the Earth tilts
toward the sun, our angle of incidence is very high during June. This maximizes
our solar radiation potential.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
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longest day of the year was just last week! Actually, the length of the day
remains constant, it is the </span><a href="https://sunrise-sunset.org/us/dallas-or/2021/6" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">hours of sunshine that change</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">On Monday, June 28</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> we received 15 hours and 33 minutes of
sunshine. Our high of the day was 118 and our low was 86 degrees. By contrast
the shortest period of daylight hours in 2021 will be December 20</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">,
8 hours and 46 minutes.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We recorded 532 Degree Days for the month of June, Vintage 2021. The first half
of the month accounted for 177 Degree Days and the second half exactly doubled
the first with 355 Degree Days. That in of itself is an anomaly. The high
temperature for the month was 118.0 degrees recorded on Monday, June 28</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">
at 1:18 pm. Again, an odd semblance of numbers. The low temperature was 39.2
degrees recorded on June 9</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> at 5:36 am. The June high and low
temperatures span a 79 degree difference. Vintage 2021 growing season to-date
Degree Days stand at 1,040 through June. And that is a number most everyone is
familiar with.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="June Degree Day Comparison." border="0" data-file-id="4025474" height="340" id="_x0000_i1036" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/d041115d-6106-2156-9f36-27520d908c18.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 340px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We had both forms of moisture during the month of June - Rain AND Hail. As June
began to reveal itself, we were treated to a pleasant first week. Then the
honeymoon was over and we were abruptly pelted by a full spread of high
velocity ice pellets. It was a hail of a lot of fun… Good times in the month of
JUNE! But these were pea sized hail, not the Texas kind. </span><a href="https://weather.com/storms/severe/news/2021-05-02-texas-record-largest-hailstone-hondo-possible" style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Texas recently recorded a hailstone</span></a><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
that weighed in at 1.25 POUNDS. Now that can do a hail of a lot of damage!</span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Rainfall recorded in June is 2.55 inches bring the growing season April through
June total to 3.56 inches. Based on the heat and resulting rapid vine growth,
we can say with confidence that the June rainfall is now long gone.</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dena & Ernie</span></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-44292602236191024952021-06-25T11:00:00.004-07:002021-07-09T17:26:40.033-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Ask a Farmer: Trellis Design and Implementation <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">With
all of the recent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Supermoon</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">eclipse</span></a> activity, we
occasionally look up to the stars and wonder if there is intelligent life
beyond our world. And if there is, do they look back at our world and wonder if
there is intelligent life here? </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><br /><!--[endif]--></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5jR8lR7K_Q" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="363" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhiBisFaQzyk9C7mDs7sDidBgy-5AUKjkIkeZkUnPFrSZsn0HGCyrwXizSNOGEvRyP9lzfABsdeXtXJPmTwHzHJxcO747hBX2oEPyIcjY2iM9jT5o_3_MpEtELNnwgXFWMdGCNfANzUKr/w199-h200/2021+June+Wires+UFO.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>The most recent federal
government position seems to be “We can neither confirm or deny…” The report
was written by a task force set up by the US Department of Defense. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57355192" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">You can read all about it from the
BBC.</span></a></span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ernie sees Unidentified Farming Objects all the time. If it looks like a dirt
clod, but hops away, most likely a bunny. If it flies away, most likely a
quail. No big deal.</span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5jR8lR7K_Q" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Click to view the statement from
Dr. Anrak</span></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPgzQWbuFXQTzkOaLbtYkXu0UvKtjrOTVjIA_3SsyeVZcB-V8m-ecjouwGV84xMM7TlaafJhi_cl527OBNMPfegMFQUvoBVld8fCit7p3rPqClIElrqJDdZvscwZzU2t_h3Tq-lFCgrfE/s16000/2021+Do+the+Like+Thing+tan.jpg" /></a></div>Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.® A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are posting on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a>. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get… Have a question? <a href="mailto:cuvee@amalierobert.com?subject=Ask%20a%20Farmer" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Ask a farmer</span></a>.</div></span></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Situational Review</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The recent rains in the Willamette Valley helped bring cool temperatures to
slow down the vines’ rate of growth. The vines respond to the growing
conditions, but in the end they will not be denied. Excess soil moisture in
June, followed by seasonal heat is going to supercharge the vines’ growth. And
it is our job to catch that growth in our 3 sets of handy dandy trellis catch
wires. And then we gain the upper hand by hedging off the excess growth.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img align="none" alt="June growth in Pinot Noir, already above the line post!" border="0" data-file-id="4016674" height="732" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/e41a714b-eedf-a3ed-8271-db444fa5aaae.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">June growth in Pinot Noir, already above the line post!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The longest day of the year, meaning the day with the most sunlight hours was
June 20</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;">. From here on the daylight hours decrease until we reach
the winter solstice on December 21</span><sup style="color: #505050;">st</sup><span style="color: #505050;">. The vines will be asleep by
then, but they will start to notice the reduction in daylight hours RFN (right
farming now).</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Summer is officially here and we expect very little if any rain and low
humidity through the month of August. It’s a nice time to visit wine country.
Farming is taking center stage and it’s time for the annual parade of farm
equipment maintenance. Change my oil, tighten my belt, grease my zerk, change
my filters – the usual clown show. And a specialized form of farm equipment
maintenance is called percussive maintenance.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><a href="https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/09be04ae-e552-4e55-8d38-f8c6c7543e04" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;"></span></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/09be04ae-e552-4e55-8d38-f8c6c7543e04" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/09be04ae-e552-4e55-8d38-f8c6c7543e04" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="259" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaM39LvodMdCyT2dImshQv7s4vgvShFbhbVMMbrLZfRxacsl8V_16siVhifB5LZVjJv40_vVRQ9eko5qd0GpGiZB7i8UGNqikBmLgoOHnIy0m7bbPd2ciYd9Abl_V92t5aeByCXUFMPwGK/w200-h134/2021+June+Wires+Lucy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/09be04ae-e552-4e55-8d38-f8c6c7543e04" style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">You better cut it out, or I’ll pound you!</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Percussive maintenance is employed when a piece of FARM EQUIPMENT is performing
below its specified service level and recommended adjustments, or approved
repairs have not corrected the deficiency. This form of maintenance borrows
heavily from the unofficial office motivational handbook. To wit: The beatings
will continue until performance improves or the equipment in question is no
longer serviceable. Having arrived at this juncture, it is time to go shopping
for NEW FARM EQUIPMENT.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Ask a Farmer: Trellis Design and Implementation - DEEP DIVE!</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">It seems we created some confusion during our last communique regarding trellis
catch wires. This highlights the fact we don’t get off the farm enough in the
summer. We are working the vines every day, and sometimes lose sight of the
fact that not everyone is as deeply versed in the ways of viticulture as we
are. We will try and be less careless.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img align="none" alt="Ernie working in the vines, June 2021." border="0" data-file-id="4016682" height="732" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/e521495e-7d41-567f-79dc-7b5f90ed5c2e.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Ernie working in the vines, June 2021. </span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The question centered around the catch wires and specifically how we designed the
trellis to function. Note that while we designed the trellis system to be
efficient, functional and easy to use, it is the field labor crew that actually
implements the strategy. And here it is worth pointing out that a good strategy
well executed, is better than a great strategy that no one can understand, nor
implement. That is what you learn in Farming 101. And just a little bit about
percussive maintenance.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The trellis catch wires are a permanent fixture in the vineyard. We run the
catch wires after we plant the vines and pound the end posts and line posts.
The catch wires are permanently attached to each end post.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="Catch wires permanently attached to an end post." border="0" data-file-id="4017218" height="364" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/8263e258-cbe1-4ce1-2f6d-cb3bc708f0fb.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 364px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Catch wires permanently attached to an end post.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">What we do is move the catch wires vertically up and down the line posts
(spaced every 20 feet in the row) to catch the vines’ growth. Hence the term
catch wires.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="Notched line post in the VSP trellis design." border="0" data-file-id="4016686" height="732" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/0d3a6cc0-d36b-8157-fca8-e6942aefea02.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Notched line post in the VSP trellis design.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Winter pruning starts in November after harvest. At that point in the growing
season, the catch wires are in their up position. After pruning, the canes are
pulled out of the catch wires and laid in the grass rows for mowing. This
clears the trellis so we can reposition the catch wires to catch the next
year’s growth.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="First wire dropped so Ernie doesn't catch it in the rototiller." border="0" data-file-id="4016678" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/ac5aca08-7817-6a0e-ce78-6d4ca9956c3c.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
First wire dropped so Ernie doesn't catch it in the rototiller.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">We run 3 sets of catch wires. After pruning, the two upper sets of catch wires
are clipped into the upper most position. The lowest catch wire set is on the
ground. As the vines wake up and the shoots begin to grow, we lift the first
set of catch wires off the ground and clip them into the line posts capturing
about 12 to 15 inches worth of growth.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">During this pass, we also lower the second set of catch wires to the ground.
The idea is to raise the catch wires from below and catch the shoots. Please
note, the galvanized steel line posts we use are only 2 inches wide. They are
pre-notched with catch wire positions spaced 4 inches apart.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="Line post with notches 4" apart for catch wire positions." border="0" data-file-id="4016670" height="732" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7661d9ba-c6ae-d3b5-e84d-70045f886b4d.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Line post with notches 4" apart for catch wire positions.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">While it would be ideal if every shoot grew into this 2 inch opening, they
simply refuse to comply. So, we lower the catch wires before the shoots are
tall enough to reach the catch wire position on the line post. Otherwise, the
shoots grow into the catch wires and get all tangled up and attached with their
tendrils. That is a time-consuming mess to untangle, so we try to avoid it.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="Catch wire set with 2" opening." border="0" data-file-id="4016662" height="412" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/16c3b7af-4f9d-fc6d-89a3-67ff260a45d9.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Catch wire set with 2" opening.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Then when the shoots are about 3 feet long, we come along and raise the second
set of catch wires and clip them into the line post. At the same time, we lower
the top catch wire to the ground. Once the vines reach beyond the top of the
line posts at 5 feet, we come back and raise the third set of catch wires and
clip them into position.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Catching the vines growth at the right time makes all the difference. If they
are too short, you miss the shoots and the tractor tires take them off – and
their goes your wine berries. If they are too tall, they are unwieldy and
difficult to tuck into the wires.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the essence of a Vertical Shoot Positioned trellis system. At about a
minute per vine, per set of catch wires, it is also quite labor intensive. But,
if you want to grow the best wine on this planet, you have to do your part.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="border: initial; color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img alt="Mount Hood keeping a watch on the growing vines." border="0" data-file-id="4016666" height="412" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/696604a8-0dcf-d50f-78f9-6a4fa3dd8f0e.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Mount Hood keeping a watch on the growing vines.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">We are not too sure what the other galaxies are doing, but for now we are the
only planet that grows wine. But things being what they are, maybe that will
all change and we will start to see </span><a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Alcoholic_beverages" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">intergalactic trade in the Adult
Recreational Beverage biosphere</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We have often wondered what <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Romulan_ale" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Romulan ale</span></a> tastes like.
Probably best to avoid the <span style="color: #336699;"><a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ferengi_wine" target="_blank">Ferengi</a> wine</span>. Most
likely counterfeit anyway.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Will you be in our area? Amalie Robert Estate is open all summer by
appointment for vineyard tours and tastings. Select your preferred day and time
with the Big Red Button.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Amalie Robert Tasting Appointment Request" border="0" data-file-id="3997674" height="64" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7868d1f8-3187-015f-6578-c21094a13e83.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 64px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
<br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dena & Ern</span></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">ie</span></div></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-1058532454611031202021-06-08T14:00:00.003-07:002021-07-09T17:24:53.091-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: May 2021 <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">Hello and Welcome, </span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Got a minute? That’s what we hear this time of year. It comes from 36 acres of
vines. Each one of them is looking for a minute of our time. It’s pretty simple
math really, 52,000 vines need about 870 hours of hand labor to put up the
first set of trellis catch wires and tuck their shoots inside of them. Once
that is completed, the weather heats up in June and the vines grow an inch (or
more) each day. Then the vines are ready for the second set and finally the
third set of trellis catch wires. Each set of wires needs another minute of
time, or 870 hours - depending on your perspective. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img data-file-id="4009326" height="412" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/445c7273-81d3-cf45-162a-8917f03f93d9.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Mt. Jefferson making an appearance.</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="202" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55mIDuTd9Bg7LBE7qJKETftKNhcvBsp3rPEND1-QbkM35qieK_-o8pSUiu1YLEPMsBXMqdavui4tMR7mYtk6unJDir9aNkT4JuP952ZuUrqB6PkiJRpYVsD_Q1EnO_RAqP7qfkiZ4MJZV/w200-h192/2021+Memorial+Do+the+Like+Thing.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.® A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are posting on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a>. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get…</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">May is Ernie’s Birthday Month. He is a Taurus. And for those of you who hadn’t
figured that out yet, we felt it was about time to let you in on it. His
contribution to the Amalie Robert Estate Pinot Noir portfolio is called </span><a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=0515c60d12&e=0ccb8eb6d2" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Estate Selection</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. (Men
make selections, and women make cuvées.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Will
you be in our area? Amalie Robert Estate is open all summer by appointment
for vineyard tours and tastings. Select your preferred day and time with the
Big Red Button.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4009506" height="592" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/be3f01b5-5b46-e06d-805a-bb8e56210e2b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 592px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 486px;" width="486" /></span></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Amalie Robert Estate about 15 miles southwest of Salem.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3997674" height="64" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7868d1f8-3187-015f-6578-c21094a13e83.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 64px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;">
Canopy Management - It’s catch wire time in Willamette Valley wine country.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Miles and miles of hi-tensile wires. Readers of this </span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG</span></a><span style="color: #505050;"> know that an </span><a href="https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/conversions/area/square-feet-to-acres.php" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">acre (43,560 square feet)</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">
of vines at Amalie Robert Estate represents 5,808 lineal feet. Just imagine all
of those vine rows put end to end, instead of next to each other. For
comparison, a mile is 5,280 lineal feet. Thanks to farming math, we can easily
figure there are 1.1 lineal miles of vines per acre.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4008882" height="311" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/4872b21f-da7f-bab4-09e4-83d609d5d7cd.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 311px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
And on that acre there are some posts, EIEIO!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4008830" height="733" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/5e5b2197-f7f8-111c-44fb-f03a048cc5ee.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
And on those posts we ran some wire, EIEIO!</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">In fact there are 8 wires on each of those posts. And thanks to our 1.1 lineal
feet to square feet ratio, we know that’s 8.8 miles of wire per acre. There is
a fruiting wire which holds the main cane and bears the weight of all the wine
berries. There is a tendril wire about a foot above the fruiting wire so this
year’s shoots have something to wrap their tendrils around, and then there are
3 pairs of catch wires.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4008874" height="415" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/de63a836-7659-353f-f924-a71e4f520379.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 415px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Tendril holding on to a catch wire.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The fruiting wire and tendril wire are permanent. In other words they do not
move up and down the post to hold the vines growth. They do move however, if a
wayward tractor were to inadvertently run into a post. This is an unfortunate,
but not uncommon, occurrence in farming.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Catch wires, do your job!</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Their job is to contain the vine’s explosive springtime growth. Did we mention
the trellis design at Amalie Robert Estate is called VSP? That stands for
Vertical Shoot Position. Left to their natural tendencies, vines grow along the
ground until they find someone they can lean on, like an oak tree. Then they
use their tendrils to climb right up it. They are vines, that’s what they do.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4008878" height="291" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/901110ec-8299-a73e-bc2d-710ed744c811.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 291px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">VSP (Vertical Shoot Position) trellis at Amalie Robert Estate.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Since
they can’t find any oak trees, they lean on us. More specifically, they grow
into the trellis and our job is to vertically position their shoots into a set
of horizontal wires. Surely, you can see how the vines upward growth is
confused by this juxtaposition of horizontal wires. They need help. In our
case, 870 hours worth of help.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4009346" height="412" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ef847a6b-e76e-ef9e-e780-61c15823b153.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span> </div></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Vertical shoots clipped between horizontal wires.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;">
What does this mean and why should I care?</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">The goal is to harvest clean wine berries and ferment the sugar out of them. A
properly trellised vine will more likely than not produce perfectly developed
aroma and flavor wine berries free of rot, mold or any other affliction. Those
wine berries make the best wine.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Rotted wine berries are no good. The birds won’t even eat the rotted ones. They
will just fly over you and your picnic and drop little white spots on
everything to show their disapproval with your lackadaisical approach and
viticultural ineptitude.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This is something a 14 gauge can help with. Our 3 pairs of trellis catch wires
are 14 gauge hi-tensile wire. When properly positioned at the most opportune
time, we can catch the vines growth and direct the shoot growth upward allowing
for sun exposure and airflow around each cluster of wine berries. This is the best-case
scenario of canopy management. Ignore this step of winegrowing at your peril.</div></span>
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="4008834" height="413" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/47cf180f-c753-c658-5eb0-447d4577d9fd.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 413px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Amalie Robert Pinot Noir clusters enjoying the sun.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
It’s most likely junk.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Welcome to the equipment corner. Our spring surprise THIS year was an
inoperative UDOR diaphragm pump on the Turbo-mist Sprayer. Ernie discovered
this early one Saturday morning. Being Saturday and all, there was no help
available from the sprayer or pump manufacturer. Fortunately, there was still
some downed branches from the ice storm to clean up. Ernie sent the appropriate
E-mails so they would be waiting for the unsuspecting recipients early Monday
morning and then he pivoted.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4009374" height="412" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/cc4b4839-77cf-395e-a7ef-1b830663f16b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Turbo-mist sprayer with UDOR pump.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Monday morning arrived with a mission. </span><a href="http://www.udorusa.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">UDOR is the Italian company that
manufactures the pump</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. And that was Ernie’s first call. Clint was a
fairly helpful engineering type and he said “Well, maybe you got lucky.” Ernie
had to remind Clint that even though he was growing wine, this was really just
plain old farming. Agriculture at its finest.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">“Well then, if the diaphragms in the pump failed and the water mixed with the
oil, its most likely junk.” This is what Ernie was looking to hear. A
definitive “GO or NO GO” evaluation. Clint imparted a few words of wisdom,
including some other farming anecdotes that can not be reproduced here, and
sent Ernie on his way.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4009362" height="733" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/5043f29a-6349-3033-ba2a-7a0436d2700f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
UDOR diaphragm pump "in situ".</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Once the pump was separated from the sprayer, it was time to pull the drain
plug. Like most other pumps or engines, water in the crankcase (where the
crankshaft is located) is not a good sign. That is where the oil goes to
lubricate the metal surfaces that have very tight clearances. Water in the oil
is a telltale sign that you have exceeded the equipment’s mechanical
limitations. Do not pass go and PAY $200.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4009370" height="733" id="_x0000_i1036" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/55b45f21-19b5-1e7a-aea7-88cc4490e890.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
"Open pump" transplant.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">With that diagnostic step out of the way, Ernie was looking for a new pump –
RFN. Tuesday morning the Turbo-mist E-mails were finally replied to. Those guys
are up in Canada and may be a little slow in understanding the urgency of the
situation. But again, this is farming, so what’s the big rush?</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Turbo-mist guys said call the Oregon dealer, and they provided a phone
number – to Yakima, Washington. The dealer in Yakima, said he had a few pumps
on order, but didn’t know when they would arrive. Then he asked why Ernie
didn’t call the Oregon dealer. Right. Continue farming.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The parts man in Oregon said he had 3 pumps in stock. Ernie said put my name on
one and he would come up to look at it right after lunch. In faming parlance
“lunch” is a mythical time period that often buys you some time to finish doing
whatever in the hell you were trying to get done before taking on a new (and
unexpected) project. It rarely does, but sometimes can, involve food.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">On the way out the door, the phone rings. It’s the parts man calling to say he
can’t find the pumps. They are not in the parts bin where they are supposed to
be. OK, thanks for the call. Turns out it really was time for lunch. After
lunch, the phone rings again, and the pumps have been found. Procurement
resumes forthwith.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Other than the fact this pump was green, and Ernie’s was red, everything else
seemed to check out. Ernie buckled his precious cargo into the front seat for
the 90 minute drive back to the farm. And that’s about all that gets done
“after lunch.”</div></span>
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4008850" height="732" id="_x0000_i1037" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/916bb6cf-30d1-45ac-cfe0-4a7a67732758.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Ernie's precious cargo belted in and ready for the ride back to the vineyard.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Then next morning it is installation time! A few parts specific to the
Turbo-mist application needed to be swapped over from the old pump to the new
one. The water manifolds were quick AND easy. All was going well until the
drive sprocket had to be removed from the old pump and affixed to the new pump.
Oh fudge. But Ernie didn’t say fudge.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Farming is a fairly basic proposition. Legal contracts can change that, but the
agrarian endeavor is essentially digging in the dirt, tending whatever grows up
and then trying to consume it. Dogs also have a simplistic view of their
condition. When they see something new they either want to eat it or mate with
it. And rhubarb DOES taste different if you own a dog.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4009378" height="269" id="_x0000_i1038" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7ec7b336-c8b1-e915-16cf-16e6994dc38f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 269px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Drive sprocket and slip bushing before assembly.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Ernie has adopted the Sherlock Holmes approach to farming. Once you remove the
impossible, all that remains is the improbable. The pump’s drive sprocket is
held onto the 6 spline shaft with a slip bushing. The outside diameter of the
shaft is just a micrometer larger than the inside diameter of the slip bushing.
The idea is that the slip bushing slides over the shaft with the sprocket
attached. The tight tolerances keep everything from moving around.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4008826" height="732" id="_x0000_i1039" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/058a9291-dd5f-7c24-3561-37001d37d374.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Installing drive sprocket using percussive maintenance.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">A final call to the Turbo-mist guys. “No, you should not have to go to a
machine shop to press the drive sprocket on.” The only solution left was
percussive maintenance. Once the splines were aligned in the bushing, it was
tap, tap, tap with a small hammer. It actually started to “slip” onto the
shaft!</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Excited and encouraged, Ernie found the next bigger hammer, pow, pow, pow. A
little more progress, but that was the end of the low hanging fruit. The next
90 minutes yielded another 1.5 inches of “slip” and the sprocket was finally
installed on the new pump. Hallelujah! The sprayer is operational – for now.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4009366" height="733" id="_x0000_i1040" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/0fec62aa-5eda-fefc-2b66-1b09d9d8e007.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Successful pump transplant.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Well look at the time! It’s numbers time!</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">May vintage 2021 was a fairly moderate month. Our high temperature was 92.7
degrees F recorded on May 31</span><sup style="color: #505050;">st</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> at 5:24 pm. Our low temperature for
the month was 33.8 degrees F recorded on May 8</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> at 5:48 am. May
Degree Days were 281.2 bringing the season total to 518.0 Degree Days.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4008822" height="350" id="_x0000_i1041" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7719e34c-7733-d3a0-4d40-7831ef915548.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 350px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Year to date May Degree Day comparison.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">We did not record any measurable precipitation for the month of May. We are not
saying there wasn’t any, we just didn’t record any. This anomaly simply
highlights the undeniable fact that for all of the statistical analysis you
read, or are forced to absorb, it is all based on data collection.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And in some cases, data collection includes adjustments or “normalizing” of the
underlying data. In other cases, data anomalies can result from: not observing
or recording the data, just making it up as you see fit or deleting
nonconforming data points. The final analysis may be distinct and unambiguous,
but <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-covid-groupthink-functioned-like-chinas-repression-11623085417?st=lv9zd58xjyaofmp&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">the underlying data often
illuminate shades of gray</span></a>.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Not unlike the likelihood of a “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-science-suggests-a-wuhan-lab-leak-11622995184?st=31qdgqcwkve28cj&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Double CGG</span></a>” sequence
occurring naturally. It could happen, but never has. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Once the impossible is eliminated,
all that remains is the improbable</span></a>.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on his time abroad, Ernie has developed the European corollary: The
facts, however interesting they may be, are irrelevant to the narrative.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Dena & Ernie</span></div></span>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-13417570123182658702021-06-03T14:00:00.002-07:002021-06-03T14:41:20.164-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Vintage Update: The Great Cluster Pluck in 105 Days - and Counting <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> <br />
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><img data-file-id="4004866" height="282" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ba031ab1-ef4e-387d-a2ef-40ff12576768.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 282px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
Flowers in Pommard Clone Pinot Noir. <br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It seems everyone is back to work after the long weekend, including the vines.
It’s not like you are going to tell 20 year old Pommard vines when to flower,
especially those grafted onto 5C. But in the course of putting up our first set
of trellis wires, they have decided now is their time. On June 1<sup>st</sup>
we spied our first Pinot Noir flowers, and it was 103 degrees. We chose to
commemorate the event with a glass of Pinot in Pink Rosé!</div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CyC3_KHC40kBgU3_XZC876UnznX3mbJiTKd4foGh3jZSXzhToqDQSNATvKyjtHFRI6GtcFANkcVds4anYcqinKp4By8OQofzko2LIurdCYajcqKI_84gI6oFn5x_QuCA6-2PU2GJEsWG/s202/2021+Memorial+Do+the+Like+Thing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="202" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CyC3_KHC40kBgU3_XZC876UnznX3mbJiTKd4foGh3jZSXzhToqDQSNATvKyjtHFRI6GtcFANkcVds4anYcqinKp4By8OQofzko2LIurdCYajcqKI_84gI6oFn5x_QuCA6-2PU2GJEsWG/w200-h192/2021+Memorial+Do+the+Like+Thing.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Winemaking: The
Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.® A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Farming bLOG (FLOG) communication</span></a>
from Dena & Ernie. Estate grown Amalie Robert Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
from the Willamette Valley. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are posting on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a>. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Harvest Window Appears</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the past 30 years or so, Pinot Noir wine berries in the Willamette Valley
have usually achieved full aroma and flavor development 105 days AFTER
flowering. So, we can now pencil in a harvest window, and that is a handy thing
to have as we move through the growing season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">From the vine’s point of view, they are simply trying to ripen their seeds and
attract some creature to deposit them hither and yon so they can reproduce.
Kinda makes you feel bad for seedless grapes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We just want to make wine. If you are into the Julian calendar, as we are, you
can take June 1<sup>st</sup> (Day 152) and add 105 growing season days to get
Day 257. And that day is the first potential day of harvest, September
14th. <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26228_01/doc.93/e21961/julian_date_conv.htm#WEAWX263" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">You can check our Julian Calendar
math here</span></a>.</div>
<br />
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4004862" height="187" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/3db9543e-a834-4086-9ef8-e54cf1e1a05c.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 187px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
Stages of wine berry flowering.<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">But first we must have pollination. Flowers are nice, but we are not going to
have any clusters to pluck if there is no pollination. Good news is that the
weather is supposed to be nice and wine berries are self-pollinating – they do
not depend on bees as most other crops do for pollination.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a couple weeks of pollination, we can check out the fruit set. The
flowers that do not pollinate are called shatter and they fall off the stem.
What is left are tiny green wine berries. Quantitatively speaking, if there are
“a lot” of them, then the “fruit set” was good. If there are only a few, then
you have a “poor set”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The quality of fruit set gives you an idea of how many tons of wine berries you
have on the vine. Watching the temperature over the next 45 days gives you an
idea of how hot the growing season may be. If you are paying attention,
somewhere in there is a plan to thin the potential crop load to match the
growing season.</div>
<br />
<span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="4004854" height="412" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b5bbfeef-411e-d88a-3664-6e394284d7d1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
Flowers in Dijon Clone Chardonnay.<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Vintage 2021 reminds us of vintage 2009 where we harvested early because the
vines flowered early. And thus denied the birds their opportunity to freely
feast upon our wine berries. It was a wonderful thing. However, in 2011 we
flowered in July, and harvest was not scheduled until late October. The birds
were back early that year with a vengeance (and friends and relations) when
several TONS of wine berries took flight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">That’s what’s in store for us. Along with everything else Mother Nature and the
farming endeavor can send our way. What are you going to be doing in 105 days?</div>
<br />
Kindest Regards,<br />
<br />
Dena & Ernie</span></span>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-81874151335998032962021-05-25T15:00:00.002-07:002021-05-25T15:53:28.128-07:00Amalie Robert Estate: Vintage 2020 BOLO & Memorial Day Weekend Open House <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hello
and Welcome,</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img data-file-id="3997678" height="490" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/627d115b-b863-e078-ff3b-581d624f7bd4.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 490px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;">
May has been quite a busy month for the Pinot Noir vines at Amalie Robert
Estate. They know there is only about 4 months to go before The Great Cluster
Pluck. Yep, they are sitting pretty just waving in the breeze! Enjoy it while
it lasts, because the first set of trellis catch wires is coming for you.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqE_bBY-4lLvZ7Gppf4umh6v8USista5mSIC_uNTbqI4pyYgyIWtORKMwrVygJYkyuk8t5Fo-vlq7ZcX8yKMWLVru6jh15dIntNMxGIhkvTEMs5HRrljzEVgNG0WPAy4M0leMdwhpCj-m/s202/2021+Memorial+Do+the+Like+Thing.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="202" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqE_bBY-4lLvZ7Gppf4umh6v8USista5mSIC_uNTbqI4pyYgyIWtORKMwrVygJYkyuk8t5Fo-vlq7ZcX8yKMWLVru6jh15dIntNMxGIhkvTEMs5HRrljzEVgNG0WPAy4M0leMdwhpCj-m/w200-h192/2021+Memorial+Do+the+Like+Thing.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Winemaking: The
Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.® A </span><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Farming bLOG (FLOG) communication</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">
from Dena & Ernie. Estate grown Amalie Robert Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
from the Willamette Valley. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a><span style="color: #505050;"> Estate. We
are posting on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Facebook</span></a><span style="color: #505050;"> and </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">LinkedIn</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. Check us out
if you can. We can use all the likes we can get…</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<u style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Open House Weekend!</u></div></u><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The winery will be open for outdoor tastings and guided vineyard tours this
Memorial Day weekend, Friday through Monday, 10 am to 3 pm by appointment. If
you can make it, please click on the BIG RED BUTTON to be among the very first
to access our NEW tasting appointment page!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://mailchi.mp/e1122f719479/tasting-appointment" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3997674" height="64" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7868d1f8-3187-015f-6578-c21094a13e83.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 64px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
If you are going to be somewhere other than here, we have for you the BIG BLUE
BUTTON! With a click of this button, you will be transported to a matrix of
wines to select from without leaving the comfort of your digital appliance. All
purchases above $300 include domestic ground shipping (your PROMO CODE is
preloaded). And the NATIONWIDE spring shipping window is WFO (Wide Farming
Open)!</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://direct.amalierobert.com/pinot-noir-c7.aspx" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3997670" height="86" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/355bf0bd-7c52-70d3-86a9-8bc150339639.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 86px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<u style="color: #505050;">Vintage 2020 Preview.</u><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
It is about that time of year when you get to taste the latest vintage Oregon
White and Rosé wines. You won’t be seeing any from Amalie Robert, as we chose
NOT to release any wine due to smoke taint. However, we can give you a few
discussion points as you taste and talk your way through the valley.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3997698" height="412" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/5d155008-e209-148f-3d86-7aa10e6b7df7.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Heavy Smoke in the Willamette Valley Vintage 2020</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
When: The most important question you can ask is when was the harvest date. The
smoke entered our part of the Willamette Valley around Tuesday, September 8</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;">
right after Labor Day. If the grapes were harvested prior to that, there is
little cause for concern. UNLESS the wines were blended with grapes harvested
after the smoke entered the valley.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Where: Location made a significant difference in smoke exposure. The big fire
that created the most smoke for us was from the Beachie Creek and Lionshead
fires. They were due east of Salem, and our vineyard, by about 60 miles. High
winds helped the fires grow quickly and rapidly filled the valley with smoke.
There were also large fires generating smoke south of Salem. We think the least
affected areas early on were located at the north end of the valley, but
eventually we all had some exposure.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
How Much: Most wineries did micro ferments (using 5 gallon buckets) and sent
the resulting wine out for analysis. While this was a good idea, the main lab
we rely on, ETS located in St. Helena, was backed up. They were overloaded with
samples, and closed due to fire danger for a few days, so getting results back
before harvest was typically not possible. When we called, they suggested
sending wine samples to Australia for testing, as they had experience with
smoke taint and the turnaround time would be faster.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Exposure: When the grape skin is exposed to smoke, the particles cross the cell
membrane and bind with sugar molecules (</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Glucose</span></a><span style="color: #505050;"> and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Fructose</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">). When tasting
fresh grapes, they don’t taste smoky as the smoke compounds are bound to the
sugars. After fermentation is complete, the smoke compounds are unbound from
the fermented sugar molecules and can then be detected. The question is how
much and at what point in the wines’ maturity will those aromas, flavors and
textures be present. Sometimes right away, sometimes after a while and
sometimes never.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Smoking Gun: The indicator compound is called </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaiacol" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Guaiacol</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. If the winery
has tested the FINISHED wine for Guaiacol AFTER fermenting, but BEFORE going
into toasted oak barrels, that would be good to know. Toasted oak barrels can
also impart Guaiacol into the wine. And get this, you cannot test Syrah for
smoke taint using Guaiacol as the marker, because Guaiacol is a naturally
occurring compound in Syrah. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Our test after fermentation came back at over 8.0 </span><a href="https://apps.sfwmd.gov/sfwmd/SFER/2017_sfer_final/front_matter/conversion.pdf" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">parts per billion (ppb)</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">
and that is why we have no vintage 2020 wine to offer. Anything over 4.0 ppb is
circumspect. Here is a </span><a href="https://etslabs.app.box.com/v/InterpretationGuidelines" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">resource from ETS covering the
topic.</span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://etslabs.app.box.com/v/InterpretationGuidelines" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3997694" height="717" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/86f7f6ef-1cfb-f09c-58e3-13e0f1c025a2.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 717px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
The Final Analysis: There were some fantastic wines made from vintage 2020.
They are out there waiting to be discovered. And hopefully, vintage 2021 will
be free of any environmental encumbrances and we can all get back to the task
at hand.</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<u style="color: #505050;">Amalie Robert Estate Vintage 2020 Statement.</u><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKkmWbbxSEJkD3Qkv1mi1RCwDoTKeJ3DfOLtFalj_dUuRWL6ZYC8F_GC4Q9d6MP3dj0scS8Gs6fop17POk94cdsphMOOJzw_WMJgO3-CLGJ9lRZAe5EzB2JLuBAf9RmU8q2JjQus-x8NY/s179/2021+Memorial+Dena-Ernie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKkmWbbxSEJkD3Qkv1mi1RCwDoTKeJ3DfOLtFalj_dUuRWL6ZYC8F_GC4Q9d6MP3dj0scS8Gs6fop17POk94cdsphMOOJzw_WMJgO3-CLGJ9lRZAe5EzB2JLuBAf9RmU8q2JjQus-x8NY/s16000/2021+Memorial+Dena-Ernie.jpg" /></a></div>We have chosen to
involuntarily withdraw from vintage 2020. We live on our vineyard and winery
property and bore firsthand witness to the smoke event that spanned September
7th though the 16th. The intensity, duration and physical impact on our vines
is undeniable.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Our underlying philosophy is to express the purity of our site through the
unique characteristics of the vintage. We ferment with whole clusters,
indigenous yeast and barrel age our wines for 18-24 months. We bottle without
the addition of fining agents such as egg whites and we do not filter or
otherwise manipulate our wines before bottling. We are 100% estate grown.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">These traditional wine making fundamentals have stood the test of time well
before we founded Amalie Robert Estate. They have also served us well for the
past 20 years. When we release a bottle of wine you can depend upon our
stewardship of the land from vine to bottle and commitment to excellence.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">To make smoke taint free wine in vintage 2020 by following our guiding
principles was simply not possible. We knew there was no pathway to release a
premium quality wine under our name.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">These are our choices, and they are the right choices for us. We have high
hopes that these fires and the devastation they have caused will provide a
strong impetus to better manage our natural resources, including the life
sustaining air that all earthbound plants and animals require.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Additional Resources.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;">
You can read our real-time, on-site updates written from the vineyard here.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/09/2020-vintage-update-earth-wind-fire.html" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3997690" height="307" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/af19b870-a7bc-7f02-2b01-53b5262f728b.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 307px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/09/2020-vintage-update-earth-wind-fire.html" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">2020 Vintage Update: Earth, Wind, Fire
& Smoke</span></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/09/special-update-oregon-wildfires-and.html" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3997702" height="396" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/959a4ac0-c624-ac48-8400-db914c216ac6.gif" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 396px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/09/special-update-oregon-wildfires-and.html" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Special Update: Oregon Wildfires
and Potential Harvest Impacts</span></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/09/special-update-oregon-wildfires-ii-and.html" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3997706" height="708" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/fbadefd1-0e48-c83a-b4ea-a8d76870fc40.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 708px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/09/special-update-oregon-wildfires-ii-and.html" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Special Update: Oregon Wildfires II
and Wine Implications</span></a><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/10/amalie-robert-estate-harvest-after.html" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3997686" height="409" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1b851289-a83c-a642-2bd0-41e3983d2dcc.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 409px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 500px;" width="500" /></span></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2020/10/amalie-robert-estate-harvest-after.html" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Amalie Robert Estate Harvest After
Action Report: Vintage 2020 Creates a Vacuum & Our Vintage Statement</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Kindest
Regards,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Dena & Ernie</div></span></span>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-4568310649489442292021-05-19T15:00:00.002-07:002021-05-19T15:23:57.916-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Situational Review: Inflorescence, Vine Spacing and PAR, Oh My! <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This
is the status of vine growth mid-May vintage 2021. The vines are a bit ahead of
themselves this year and we, as farmers, are following their lead. But we know
where they are headed, we have seen this movie before. Funny thing is, the
ending changes every time. </div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img data-file-id="3994898" height="412" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/beb45842-6838-d989-9d7f-3793d03e456b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Wadenswil inflorescence in Amalie Robert block 10.</span><br />
<br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Do you see those bumpy looking things in the middle of that shoot? Those are
called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflorescence" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">inflorescence</span></a>. If all
goes well and according to plan, they will become clusters of wine berries. In
this case Wadenswil wine berries, the best kind!</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are ramping up on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FaceBook</span></a>! (If you don't
like us, we don't wanna know…)</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3995250" height="425" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/c8683f6f-b9ee-bbe2-168f-9f2aee4994ed.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 425px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Inflorescence to flowers to wine berries.</span><br />
<br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Around mid-June they will flower and look like little golden pinecones. Come
the middle of August they will start to turn mauve one by one and in no
particular order that is apparent to humans. All of this precedes The Great
Cluster Pluck that typically starts in October, but that is yet to be
scheduled. We normally add 105 days to flowering to pencil in a harvest date -
but not always.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3994882" height="427" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9bea64a5-439b-ee9c-5b67-58b318a7fda9.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 427px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Now you may be wondering how many of these yet to be clusters it takes to make
one bottle of wine. We like the way you think! The simple answer is one ton of
wine berries will produce about 60 cases of FINISHED wine. NOTE: Finished wine
is the wine you have left over for bottling after sampling, laboratory
analysis, spillage and wine tasting from barrels - repeatedly.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3994890" height="730" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/0e33ce21-e2d9-de79-fe40-c32079b4108f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 730px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Wine tasting from barrel at Amalie Robert.</span><br />
<br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">While this answer is accurate, it is not very illuminating. By the miracle of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Completion_Backward_Principle" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">The Completion Backwards Principle</span></a>
(credit to The Tubes), we know that one 750 milliliter bottle of wine is
produced from 2.78 pounds of wine berries. And this lays bare the inherent flaw
in winemaking – we are mixing the <a href="https://www.mathsisfun.com/metric-imperial-conversion-charts.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">US/Imperial and Metric system</span></a>.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">As most people who grow Pinot Noir will tell you, a typical cluster of Pinot
Noir weighs in at about a quarter pound (112 grams). So logically, you would
surmise that you need about 11 clusters of Pinot Noir to make a bottle of wine,
more or less.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">As a domestic producer of Pinot Noir, we know that a single acre of land is
43,560 square feet. If that land yields about 2.5 tons of wine berries, which
is pretty close to the historical average for Willamette Valley Pinot Noir,
then we will produce about 150 cases of wine. The birds, deer and other
nefarious creatures help to maintain a natural ecological limit on wine
berry yields.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Now let’s drive home the point - 150 cases of wine from that one acre is
roughly 20,000 clusters (5,000 lbs. X 4 clusters per pound). But how many
clusters are we asking EACH VINE to produce? How many bottles of wine is that
per vine?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3994894" height="337" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/e198fb3d-a5f0-caa1-d225-b0ffd485b6b4.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 337px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Clusters on one Amalie Robert Pinot Noir vine. </span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">It depends on vine spacing. Right now the vines are not too concerned with any
of this. They are busy growing leaves to harvest sunlight. Leaves form their
solar array and that will provide energy to the vine and negative pressure to
the roots to extract soil moisture. And they are looking for a specific
spectral range of light from 400 to 700 nanometers. This spectral wave band is
what vines use in the process of photosynthesis. This is known as </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthetically_active_radiation" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Photosynthetic Active Radiation</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">,
abbreviated as PAR.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Typical Willamette Valley Oregon vine spacings for Pinot Noir using a Vertical
Shoot Positioned (VSP) trellis are often between 6 and 8 feet. Since most
vineyard sites are on hillsides with side slopes, much narrower spacing is not
sustainable due to tractor rollover potential.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3994906" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/47e2ce3d-1350-b641-f246-904c5e46657a.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
7.5 foot row spacing of solar array at Amalie Robert.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">To get the lineal feet per acre of solar array (trellis) for each spacing,
divide it into 43,560 square feet. For example, at our 7.5 foot row spacing, we
have a solar array that is 5,808 feet long. Just imagine the vines all planted
in a single row. The height of the canopy should then be 1:1 with the width of
the rows to maximize sunlight harvesting. Pro Tip: Unless you want lower
alcohol potential in the wine, then cut a shorter canopy.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3994902" height="629" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/18cf8793-c3f6-214e-1cce-1c836e9aab98.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 629px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
4 foot spacing between vines at Amalie Robert.</span><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Assuming a 4 foot spacing between the vines, we will have 1,452 vines in an
acre of land. That is our 5,808 lineal feet divided by a vine every 4 feet. And
each vine only has 30 square feet to work with which will help drive deep
roots. Using our historical Willamette Valley Pinot Noir yield average of 2.5
tons per acre, this means we will end up with about 3.44 pounds of Pinot Noir
clusters per vine. And at 4 clusters per pound, that works out to 14 clusters
per 4 foot of solar array.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The wider the row and/or vine spacing, the more clusters are required of each
vine. Here is another way to look at it – how many bottles are produced from a
single vine? Or maybe how many vines are represented in a single bottle?</div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3994878" height="269" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/4b282071-c787-d004-3166-3d0dd381cd7f.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 269px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 448px;" width="448" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">That brings us to the final conundrum – how many glasses of wine are there in a
bottle of wine? This is an empirical evidence exercise best left to the
individual reader. However, we do recommend replicated trials in a controlled
environment. Hint: The answer is the same using milliliters or ounces.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Dena & Ernie</span></span><br />
<!--[endif]-->Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-5811268516183166882021-05-06T14:00:00.001-07:002021-05-06T15:17:52.167-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: April 2021, Tilling and Drilling <p><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hello
and Welcome, </span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img data-file-id="3986534" height="490" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/07aac4cb-c47d-683c-d821-289c02bf2c09.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 490px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /></p><div style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The </span><a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-april" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">April Pink Super Moon</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">
(on </span><a href="https://www.nhra.com/news/2021/426-it-s-426-hemi-day-celebrate-legendary-engine-s-1964-nhra-us-nationals-super-stock?feature=2020-04_426_hemi_nhra_race_engine-1_jpg" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">National HEMI Day 4/26</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">)
was quite a sight to see all up close and personal. Not that it was actually
pink in color, but instead it derives its pink moniker from </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlox_subulata" style="font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Phlox subulata</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">—commonly
called creeping phlox or moss phlox—which also went by the name “moss pink”
which blooms in the northern HEMIsphere this time of year. And as you would
imagine, the blooms are pink. </span></div>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<!--[endif]--><p></p><p><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3986538" height="367" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/5588881e-c0f1-5d65-2003-345ec5e8c877.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 367px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br /></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are ramping up on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FaceBook</span></a>! (If you don’t
like us, we don’t wanna know…)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div>
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combustion engine world by force. The highly innovative and new design proved
worthy on the racetracks, dragstrips and backstreet grudge matches. While <a href="https://autowise.com/every-single-chrysler-hemi-engine-ever-made/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">several HEMI displacements</span></a>
were engineered from the early Red Ram 241, to the 331 “Baby HEMI”, the 354 and
dual 4 barrel carbureted 392 in your Dad’s Chrysler Imperial, the final
factory displacement of 426 cubic inches just made the 7.0 liter cut off for
sanctioned racing. And that is why the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Three_(automobile_manufacturers)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">BIG 3 auto manufacturers</span></a>
of the day each had 426, 427, 428 or 429 cubic inch racing engines. Their goal
was to put them into the lightest cars possible in hopes of winning races at
racetracks and dragstrips across the country to promotion their brands. <a href="https://www.dodgegarage.com/news/article/racing/2019/01/the-elephant-in-the-room.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">The HEMI engine was a mechanical
marvel that was so successful it was banned from NASCAR after its first year</span></a>.
And then along came the <a href="https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1208rc-the-ed-pink-story/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Pink Elephants</span></a>.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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Mother’s Day is THIS weekend. With these series of events occurring so close
together, who can doubt it means Rosé Season is in full bloom?!</span></span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While there is no vintage 2020 Rosé due to the potential for smoke tainted
wine, we do have a little bit of the sublime 2019 and a few bottles of the
highly perfumed (think Wadenswil) 2018 barrel aged Pinot in Pink vintage Rosé
to offer. You can read our FLOG posting on the <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/search/label/Oregon%20Wildfire" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">smoke impacted vintage 2020</span></a>
here.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Note: We have been doing some structural updates to our on-line presence, so if
our pages are not displaying correctly, you may need to toss your cookies. More
specifically, the cookies in your browser settings.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<u style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tilling and Drilling – Preparing the Vineyard Floor for Vintage 2021</span></u></div></u><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The vineyard floor is what we refer to as the top foot of soil. This area is
where we as winegrowers can impact the nutrients and soil moisture that will be
available throughout the growing season. And like everything else in farming,
there is a specific and limited window of opportunity available.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The vineyard floor is really 2 vineyards in one. Every other row is planted to
a permanent cover whose only treatment is mowing. In our case, permanent grass
means Tall Fawn Fescue – it’s a bunch grass also known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festuca" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Festuca</span></a>.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Viticulturally speaking, mowing this permanent cover can significantly impact
the amount of soil moisture available to the vines. A short cut means the grass
uses less water, leaving more available to the vines. Letting the grass grow
takes more water out of the soil profile. This can be useful in areas that have
deep moist soils.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3986498" height="377" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/a75b85b1-0ead-df21-856a-171b0d864bcf.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 377px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Canes before and after mowing.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And we mow up last years canes in the permanent cover crop rows. The browns and
greens are what keeps our soil microbes busy digesting and then releasing all
of these nutrients for our vines. The permanent cover crop rows also provide
our beneficial insects (think lady bugs, ear wigs and all kinds of
spiders) a place to call home.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3986542" height="563" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/fa106970-e1f2-5ff2-8ca6-0e2c9cc52fb7.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 563px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Ernie drilling in cover crop.</span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The cover crop rows are where we till the soil and incorporate the cover crops
to naturally supply nutrients to our vines. Last fall, Ernie drilled in a
winter cover crop of Austrian winter Peas and Barley. These two plants help to
hold the soil onto the hill during the winter rains and provide nutrients when
tilled into the soil the following spring.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3986546" height="412" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/7fff7232-b3fa-2842-923e-84eaad0d2be8.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Opening up the soil with the chisel plow and the open air crawler.</span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But first we open up the soil with a chisel plow. This tool has a fairly simple
job. It breaks up any tire compaction, trims off shallow vine roots and helps
to aerate the soil. And it is hooked up to the open air crawler, so Ernie gets
a refreshing springtime ride. It’s kinda like driving around in a top down 911
Porsche. Kinda…</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3986550" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/b90e2ab6-f975-b70b-c29b-3fc7d76bf959.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Mixing in the cover crop with the rototiller to feed the vines.</span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Next up is the rototiller. This tool mixes the green cover crops with the soil
and places it right below the surface. We consider the soil to be the plant’s
stomach, and dinner is served!</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3986514" height="732" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/95d3373d-3e9b-4116-9abd-e5fbc000fbd2.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Buckwheat and vetch starting the growing season.</span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXIV5Lns3GKjwpzj-08BBHfPinmyrs_cDGNVOwJQ2YVGEHm6RL8efs9BqNK8L64DaOBltBoOwr6Q8r5OaRzRRj1gYphck2ZWbbJPVpEDySmFZ_JnEhqtEniIlEgtnkDRRWer-k9YmWJdM/s270/2021+May+Pink+Quail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="183" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXIV5Lns3GKjwpzj-08BBHfPinmyrs_cDGNVOwJQ2YVGEHm6RL8efs9BqNK8L64DaOBltBoOwr6Q8r5OaRzRRj1gYphck2ZWbbJPVpEDySmFZ_JnEhqtEniIlEgtnkDRRWer-k9YmWJdM/w136-h200/2021+May+Pink+Quail.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>Planning ahead, Ernie
then drills in the summer cover crop of Buckwheat and Common Vetch. Just like
Pommard and Wadenswil, they were made to go together. Both of these plants are
easy on the water budget, but at 20+ years of vine age our roots have gone
deep. And it is kinda funny to see the quail lined up in each of the furrows
scratching out a few of the Common Vetch seeds for themselves. They are not big
fans of Buckwheat, you see.</span></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Buckwheat is a fantastic little plant with Superpowers! First off, it can start
to bloom about 3 weeks after it germinates. Pollen is protein and a good
dietary supplement when our army of carnivorous predatory insects can’t find
any mites or other hapless victims to feast upon.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is also a great soil conditioner and enhances the activity of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">mycorrhiza fungi</span></a>.
Mycorrhiza fungi function as a symbiotic extension of the vines root system.
The plant makes organic molecules such as sugars by photosynthesis and supplies
them to the fungus, and the fungus in kind supplies the vine water and mineral
nutrients, such as phosphorus, taken from the soil.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Common Vetch (and Austrian winter Peas) adds to the mix by fixing nitrogen from
the atmosphere to its root system. Both the Buckwheat and Common Vetch survive
in our dry farmed vineyard from the morning dew of an “on-shore flow”, meaning
moisture and humidity riding the jet stream in from the coast. Once these cover
crop plants are tilled into the soil, the soil microbes convert the green plant
material into nutrients the vine can use. Spring or fall, we till it all!</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3986506" height="412" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/aab83e70-d9f9-53a6-52ae-2d5f22b55661.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Spring growth in the Chardonnay block.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>The numbers.</u> April 2021 was a bipolar month if ever there was such a
thing. Our high temperature blazed 90.9 degrees on April 18th at 3:30 pm, while
our cold temperature was a frosty 27.9 degrees on April 5th at 6:30 am.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Our Degree Days reflected the warm temperatures later in April logging a total
of 236.8 Degree Days. The first half of April contributing 89.8 and the second
half with the remaining 147.0 Degree Days. Quite a respectable start to the
vintage and it certainly explains the rate of growth in the vines and the
grass. Ill-fated vintage 2020 began the growing season with 133.5 Degree Days.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3986502" height="340" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/785713c0-f937-ed8c-53a6-7ce22fcf2289.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 340px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rain showers totaled 1.01 inches and came in two tranches, both at the end of
the month. The first recording 0.43 inches and the second 0.58 inches. These
showers are exactly what our cover crop seeds needed for germination and
establishment. So far, so good!</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;">
Kindest Regards,</span><br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dena & Ernie</span></span></div>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-43857558359126969402021-04-22T15:00:00.002-07:002021-04-22T15:22:08.985-07:002021 Earth Day, Vineyard Anniversary & Bud Break <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span style="color: #505050;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img data-file-id="3976994" height="444" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/f7cd4123-8ef4-4aff-bcfc-959b625f4dc9.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 444px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div>
</span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Willamette
Valley cherry blossoms, aka popcorn trees. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The
popcorn trees are blooming, and the bumble bees are tending to the trees and
the grape hyacinths. The swallows have returned from their southern vacation to
build nests and hatch their chicks. The last of the daffodils are making way
for the first tulip and iris sightings. Bud break on April 15th in the Pinot
Noir vines puts us on notice that in about 20 weeks they will be ready for The
Great Cluster Pluck – Vintage 2021, the <span style="color: #336699;"><a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/2021/04/amalie-robert-estate-easter-culinary.html" target="_blank">Year of the Dijon Clones</a></span>.
It’s Earth Day in the Willamette Valley, and don’t we know it! </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3976998" height="391" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/21de53e7-46f6-4510-b8f4-eafe53258f35.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 391px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Bumble bees are responsible for nearly 2/3's of US pollination.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a> (Farming bLOG) by Dena
& Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Chardonnay and
Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We are ramping up on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FaceBook</span></a>!
(If you don’t like us, we don’t wanna know…)</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
</span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3977002" height="474" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/8bc19c62-b917-49f4-b0b9-a166627fd977.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 474px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Welcome Vintage 2021! Good luck, you are going to need it!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In the vineyard business, bud break is the visual start to the vintage. Those
buds, they look oh so innocent and cute just waking up to the possibilities of
vintage 2021 - all 1.4 MILLION of them. Yeah, they look cute now, but give them
a few weeks and those buds will have produced 6-foot canes that will need
trellis catch wires and their first hedge. They grow up so fast…</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><!--[endif]--><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBL_cbrySByUTGSdtELYrjkn4Bka3HsbbsE2eTETp_mwd_VTdzabGPY3aTEZLlt_DkPVc7hHON3_z1BDGU506xGEbvcdcOLucPlb9j1OKj08KIReZRXQ1XUSR6ZmhWlKj3K4l2PIhSknXh/s159/Alligator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="155" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBL_cbrySByUTGSdtELYrjkn4Bka3HsbbsE2eTETp_mwd_VTdzabGPY3aTEZLlt_DkPVc7hHON3_z1BDGU506xGEbvcdcOLucPlb9j1OKj08KIReZRXQ1XUSR6ZmhWlKj3K4l2PIhSknXh/w195-h200/Alligator.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>We welcome the
farming challenge and in turn, celebrate Earth Day. While we focus on the land,
because we grow wine, it is important to remember that 71% of the Earth is
covered with water.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">So sure, go ahead and plant a tree this weekend, but if you are wading into
aquaculture that is a whole different matter. As you make your way through
life’s carnival, it is important to remember: Don’t pet the alligators.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">And it’s our Anniversary! We established the vineyard at Amalie Robert Estate
on Earth Day at the turn of the century. When we found the vineyard, Mr.
Shingler had his Montmorency cherry orchard sitting on top of it. That was
1999, and 80 tons of cherries and 1,188 cherry trees later we are growing about
55,000 vines over 36 acres. They are viticulturally spaced at 4 feet apart.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3977010" height="315" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/9794ccff-3b7e-4e1b-9efb-f5873e72c24b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 315px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Our little red wild cherry sporting popcorn blooms.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">But there are three wild cherry trees we keep. One is a plump dark red cherry,
one is a Montmorency cherry, and one is a little red wild cherry with a pit
that makes up about 95% of the diameter. The latter of these three cherries are
mostly propagated and sold by dentists.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The last of the first 15,000 vines went in the newly prepared soil 22 years
ago. And while our communication has become more and more digital with E-mail
and Zoom and INSTANT text messaging, we still find time to speak to each other
face to face. Maybe even over a glass of wine. Remember those days? They are
coming back into fashion. Sometimes the old ways are still the best ways… just
as soon as we can get rid of these masks.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The numbers. We don’t have any climate data to share yet, that will be coming
at the end of April. What we do have is the roadmap for vintage 2021. Bud break
is the first major event and we were lucky to escape any frost damage from the
near freezing temperatures at the start of April. But every vineyard site is
different and low elevation sites without proper air drainage may not have
fared as well.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">They say old cherry orchards make for good vineyards and frost damage is
exactly why – cherry trees bloom (flower) about the same time vines experience
bud break. Cherry trees are an indicator plant of where you could plant a
vineyard. Just imagine if <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Johnny</span></a> was spreading cherry pits instead of
apple seeds... Oh man!</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3976990" height="232" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/d5cdc4ca-fc05-49f6-b42f-429da72a6349.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 232px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Cherry trees are an indicator plant for wine grapes.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">If a cherry orchard has a history of frost damage when they bloom, there is a
very good chance that vines planted there will suffer frost damage during bud
break. And if those buds get frosted and die, that pretty much cancels the
vineyard growing season. Kinda like smoke taint, but at the beginning of the
growing season, not the end.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The next big event in the vineyard is bloom (flowering) which is what the
cherry trees are doing right now. The time from bud break to bloom is quite
variable and hard to predict. However, once we see bloom we are on autopilot.
For Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley, the historical average is bloom plus
104 days equals harvest. Now harvest may change a few days either way depending
on Mother Nature, but no matter, Willamette still rhymes with Janet, damnit.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Kindest Regards,</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Dena & Ernie</div></span></span>
<!--[endif]-->Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-76310459859636067162021-04-01T17:30:00.004-07:002021-04-02T10:42:26.285-07:00Amalie Robert Estate: Easter Culinary Inclinations and The Year of the Dijon Clones <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Hello and
Welcome, </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Easter is just around the corner. The first Sunday in April this
year, but it is not always the first Sunday, and sometimes we have to wait
until May. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon
that occurs on or just after the spring equinox. This year, the spring equinox
happened on Saturday, March 20. The first full moon, the </span><a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-march" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Worm Moon</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">, to occur
after that date was Sunday, March 28, so logically, Easter will be Sunday,
April 4. </span><a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/when-is-easter" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Alternatively, there is the Golden
Number method</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">. </span></span></div><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<img border="0" data-file-id="3929666" height="489" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/962f4707-9846-4127-a6dc-2e3e8d425117.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 489px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /><br />
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It may seem complicated, but it is clearly more rational than the bespoke
“Inner Circle” </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punxsutawney_Phil" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">assembling at Pennsylvania’s
Gobbler’s Knob and rousting an oversized rodent</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> to determine how
much more winter is coming our way. They call it a ground hog, but it’s really
a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmot" style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #336699;">marmot</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are ramping up on <a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=11fd8ad392&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FaceBook</span></a>! (If you don’t
like us, we don’t wanna know…)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Easter’s culinary inclinations are many and as varied as our diverse cultures.
However, there is one universally accepted abstinence for Easter dinner, and
that is rabbit. This is quite unfortunate, as small game such as the furry,
long eared rabbit is a perfect pairing with Pinot Noir. But alas, it is not to
be. Grilled rabbit saddle wrapped in prosciutto will have to wait. Braised
rabbit quarters falling off the bone in white beans, with parsnips and
chanterelles over creamy roast garlic polenta – not happening. Rabbit stew?
Nope. Rabbit paté or terrine? Verboten! That rascally rabbit should have Easter
subtitled as World Wabbit Day.</div></span>
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="3929662" height="310" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1e7f9692-bcf5-4262-871b-6a72ba1b8c54.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 310px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 346px;" width="346" /> <br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">
A duck trying to disguise itself as a rabbit.<br /></span>
</span></div><p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">So, that leaves us with lamb or maybe duck. That’s not so bad. Could be worse.
Duck thighs and rabbit hind quarters are kinda the same size and shape, sort
of. Better to not risk it. We are going with rack of lamb in a Dijon mustard
crust. It ties right into the Year of the Dijon Clones - imagine that, what
great timing! Note: this preparation works equally well for a rack of pork. Or
maybe beef rib roast, but that is an exercise left to the reader.</span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1nUEX3CWMtXS9BpWW-Ph_cq1P4sVk8CAso0qsw7ChZ98vRiCixHcZK89Up0g5Lx1FTKl0AXY9T5qGzRf6PUtOuMT2HW9_pVZx3dcP-haZNP_Z0tpV2Ig-aKECiis35Ypx19rAc8NOMvQ/s147/2021+March+Easter+Lamb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="111" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1nUEX3CWMtXS9BpWW-Ph_cq1P4sVk8CAso0qsw7ChZ98vRiCixHcZK89Up0g5Lx1FTKl0AXY9T5qGzRf6PUtOuMT2HW9_pVZx3dcP-haZNP_Z0tpV2Ig-aKECiis35Ypx19rAc8NOMvQ/w242-h320/2021+March+Easter+Lamb.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Are you looking for me?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The first step here is to secure a proper protein specimen from
your favorite meat purveyor. Trim off any “excess” fat and slice between the
bones up to, but not into, the meat. For the Dijon mustard crust, we like the
texture that a coarse stone ground mustard provides. And it makes you feel like
you are getting your money’s worth out of the daily flossing routine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Depending on the size and quantity of your protein, start with a few dollops of
mustard in a small ramekin and add a pinch of dried Italian herbs, a bit of
smoked hot paprika and a little powdered ginger. Optional: you can add a few
(or more) drops of sesame or hot chili oil. Mix this all together with a small
fork until fully blended in. Depending on the amount of paprika, this will be a
yellow/tan mixture or coral pink. Nice!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBaQBCdTOKNa9TZNNnIgQD0IvYdonFIt_mDqZLhcL5yvpYduRVPmXObp-SxrTRCOh-jsHCoFaHH8phlmrSXC_3kMvcDjCXdKVWwe93Of0Sfkx-vEbPry-bUzpQ-Xol_1SYkmNMg4gEe-hw/s349/2021+March+Easter+Lamb+Rack3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="236" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBaQBCdTOKNa9TZNNnIgQD0IvYdonFIt_mDqZLhcL5yvpYduRVPmXObp-SxrTRCOh-jsHCoFaHH8phlmrSXC_3kMvcDjCXdKVWwe93Of0Sfkx-vEbPry-bUzpQ-Xol_1SYkmNMg4gEe-hw/w135-h200/2021+March+Easter+Lamb+Rack3.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apply the Dijon mustard crust mixture with the fork horizontally
across the meat. This will form small ridges that will add contour to the final
presentation. Apply fresh cracked pepper over the mixture, black or white
sesame seeds (more grist for the floss) and additional paprika for color
matching if desired. People eat with their eyes, usually just as soon as it
comes out of the oven. When they say “Damn, that’s HOT!” You can simply say
“Yes. I know.”</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cook to the proper internal temperature and let rest undisturbed for at least 5
minutes. Place your plates and bowls into the oven to warm them before serving.
Move on over to the wine station where your Pinot Noir, cork removal device and
appropriate stemware stand ready. This little interlude provides for ample
sample time and perhaps a thought to ponder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBJArGFBTJMQmiMHH1wjYEjx4-hINfUaS2v_tq9aort1Po-1-i7yFXc5SLhgdHi7PvbIZMLvXBaqDjw1FB3iL1FezvD_LF0vPjwkRl8qrLEipva3sD5YnePV-MbBA1TZy13PzJm0Uqlfk/s2048/2021+March+Easter+777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="2048" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBJArGFBTJMQmiMHH1wjYEjx4-hINfUaS2v_tq9aort1Po-1-i7yFXc5SLhgdHi7PvbIZMLvXBaqDjw1FB3iL1FezvD_LF0vPjwkRl8qrLEipva3sD5YnePV-MbBA1TZy13PzJm0Uqlfk/w400-h301/2021+March+Easter+777.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dijon Clone 777 Pinot Noir in Amalie Robert Block 2.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The year of the Dijon Clones – What are they and why should I care? We get this
question a lot. As a grower of wine, we have to be up on the latest plant
material (clones) and the characteristics those clones will impart into our
wine. From a consumer point of view, Dijon Clones is a fanciful name that helps
keep your cellar records organized. But really, it is so much more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first misconception we would like to clear up is that these Pinot Noir clones
have NOTHING to do with mustard. However, we do hope you find the mustard
encrusted culinary inclination pairs quite nicely with our Dijon Clones Pinot
Noir. And Willamette rhymes with Janet, damnit!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Dijon clones of Pinot Noir (and Chardonnay) were developed at a research
station in Burgundy near the town of Dijon. Each of the clones are numbered,
more on that in a bit, and several of them came to the US at the same time.
They were collectively referred to as the “Dijon Clones.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3930510" height="514" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/fa01f196-0ec2-4a1d-b175-2d1fcba79681.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 514px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 385px;" width="385" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dijon Clone Chardonnay.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other clones of Pinot Noir were just coming on the scene as well, but without a
proven track record of quality, they were left on the grafting bench. Farmers
are risk averse people (except for their stated profession – farming) and
without a “for sure” buyer they were not going to take a runner on an unproven
clone. That is one reason why the Jackson clone of Pinot Noir is not widely
planted. However, <a href="http://fps.ucdavis.edu/grapebook/winebook.cfm?chap=PinotNoir"><span style="color: #336699;">Ernie has a little of the Beba clone planted</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Beba” from Spain” <a href="http://fps.ucdavis.edu/grapebook/winebook.cfm?chap=PinotNoir"><span style="color: #336699;">From Nancy L. Sweet, FPS Historian, University of
California, Davis</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Another Pinot noir clone from that 1951 shipment of grape clones from Europe
remains in the FPS grape collection with ambiguity surrounding its origin. The
Hewitt import binder and FPS database give the origin of the “Beba” variety in
the shipment as “Spain”. Spain has never been noted for its Pinot noir
production. Olmo wrote in his journal for the 1951 trip that he did collect
cuttings in Spain for a variety known as “Beba”, a white Spanish grapevine
variety used to make sherry. Olmo’s journal indicated that he collected the
“Beba” cuttings a few miles outside of Seville. The name “Beba” became assigned
to Introduction number 804 in the Hewitt import binder at FPS.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pinot noir and Beba are clearly unrelated varieties. The facts suggest a label
mixup at some time when the vines were sent from Europe. The plant material
with Introduction number 804 was named Beba upon arrival at FPMS and was
planted in the foundation vineyard in 1961 under that name. The selection
remained on the list of registered vines with the name Beba until 1966, when
the name was changed to Pinot noir 07A. The selection was renamed again in 1967
to Pinot noir 10. The variety identification as Pinot noir was made at that
time by experts at FPMS using visual identification techniques.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">No one has solved the mystery behind the Beba Pinot Noir clone, but what the
hell? And then there is Dick Erath’s clone 95, another mystery wrapped in a
riddle. Yeah, we grow that too.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfaDHVcLyi7KeuIpFQ2ssKNt8gFrRf4RwQFeNoohAPCUNLX6FkHzBZdyatApG4cEuHG-10xG7-m6sIOdjbAbfkCcVYVnSHz-GiRq77NXKRFmL42ke-hoY-MnJBpbfuwNZzplbQ3FBPLL6B/s203/2021+March+Easter+Eggs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="203" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfaDHVcLyi7KeuIpFQ2ssKNt8gFrRf4RwQFeNoohAPCUNLX6FkHzBZdyatApG4cEuHG-10xG7-m6sIOdjbAbfkCcVYVnSHz-GiRq77NXKRFmL42ke-hoY-MnJBpbfuwNZzplbQ3FBPLL6B/w200-h161/2021+March+Easter+Eggs.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Right. What’s a clone? Check your Easter basket. All of those
eggs are pretty similar in size and shape, not exactly but close enough –
unless you have a mix of chicken, duck, pheasant and quail eggs. These
individual species represent the different wine grapes. Within each species,
their Easter dye colors are different, and that is what sets them apart. But
when you crack one open you know what awaits inside is going to have
similarities across that species, or wine varietal. But your fingers will be
very colorful for quite some time. Pheasant eggs make a very nice frittata,
just saying.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note: This may be a good time to point out that Pinot Noir is one of the few
wine grapes that is not a blending grape. Think about that. Do you know of any
respected wine growing region that makes a blend of Pinot Noir and another
grape? Burgundy does a little blending with Gamay, as does Switzerland, but
that is about it. And of course, there is Champagne. You have to have
Champagne.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/red/gamay"><span style="color: #336699;">From Jancis Robinson:</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Gamay’s stronghold is Beaujolais but it is also grown widely just to the north
in the Mâconnais – indeed red Mâcon is usually based on Gamay – although in
southern Burgundy, as in Switzerland where quite a bit of Gamay is grown, there
is a tradition of blending Pinot Noir and Gamay, specifically in the ubiquitous
Dôle. <a href="https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/bourgogne-passe-tout-grains,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9MjU0Jnw%3D"><span style="color: #336699;">The official Burgundian name for this is Bourgogne
Passetoutgrains</span></a>, a wine of declining interest that is supposed to
taste more and more like Pinot with time.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3930518" height="412" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/2678b610-0cc8-406a-bce1-4d8a6d8bae2b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dijon Clone Pinot Noir Pre-Cluster Pluck.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wine grapes are a specific type of grape. They have specific sugar and acid
profiles that are uniquely suited to wine production. They are different from
table grapes or juice grapes or grapes used for raisins such as Thompson
Seedless. Although it may be the case where some of these grapes do get made
into wine. But thanks to the foresight of the wine growing forefathers and
mothers in Oregon, it doesn’t happen in the Willamette Valley. Any wine
produced in Oregon with Pinot Noir on the label, MUST contain at least 95%
Pinot Noir in the bottle. The federal mandate is only 75%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thinking and drinking. We can segment wine grapes into varieties such as
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and then into clones such as Wente (Chardonnay),
Pommard, Wadenswil and Dijon Clone 777 (Pinot Noir). Most varieties of wine
grapes have several clones. Some have just a single clone such as Viognier. If
a new bacteria, fungus, or virus takes a liking to Viognier and eradicates it,
well, that's just not good.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Within each vine variety, new clones are developed through propagating seeds.
Each wine berry typically has 2 or 4 seeds. Much like any offspring, these
seeds are genetically similar to the parent, but not exactly the same. And
where did Prince Harry get that flaming red hair? The seeds are propagated and
new vines are grown - just like in The Matrix.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Each of these vines are evaluated for quality. The first step in evaluation is
whether the new clone is fruitful. Will the flowers pollinate and set fruit?
This has a lot to do with the weather during the flowering period in the region
where the varietal is grown. A vine that cannot set fruit is not a contributing
member of the trial and is culled. Sorry Coppertop.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3929678" height="829" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/533e7a35-0b12-46ab-b324-25266db5d0f1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 829px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If the vine does set fruit, then a multiyear trial begins. The vine is
evaluated on several factors including, but not limited to, accidentally being
left without irrigation over the August holiday period. This is formally known
as a “drought tolerance” evaluation. The main factors used to evaluate the
production potential of any wine grape clone according to the French Ministry
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><u style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Fertility (F)</u><u>:</u> This is the ratio of the number of clusters produced from
the number of buds left on a cane after pruning. We typically leave 12 buds on
a 4 foot cane and can expect anywhere from 16 to 30 clusters. An acre of vines
at Amalie Robert Estate represents 5,808 lineal feet. Therefore, we have a
potential yield of 23,232 – 43,560 clusters per acre. An AVERAGE Pinot Noir
cluster comes in at 4 to the pound.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><u style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Cluster Weight (CW)</u><u>:</u> This is a comparison of the median cluster weight
of the specific clone to the entire population of clones within the variety. In
other words, how big is a cluster and how many of the flowers on a cluster
successfully pollinate and set fruit. Sometimes it only takes 3 clusters
to make a pound, sometimes it is 5.</div></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><u style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Level of Production (LP)</u><u>:</u> This is a function of Fertility and Cluster
Weight. Vines that produce small clusters and just a few of them, may produce
wines of high-quality that are representative of the variety. The highest
quality potential is A and extends down to the lowest which is D.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><u style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Sugar Content (SC):</u> This is the sugar concentration measured at the time
of full aroma and flavor maturity compared to the average of the other clones
within the variety. The ideal is that the sugar concentration does not get
ahead of the sensory aroma and flavor development.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here it is in tabular form. This is what the researchers get paid the big bucks
to figure out. Then it is up to the growers to decide what to grow, usually
based on the input from the wineries on what they want to buy. Here is a subset
of the Dijon Clones we have chosen to make wine from at Amalie Robert Estate.
The decisions to use these clones, along with a selection of rootstocks, was
made at the turn of the century, and as is the case with any endeavor – luck
favors the prepared mind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><p></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="text-align: justify; width: 624px;">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Variety<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Clone<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">F<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">CW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">LP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">SC<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Enological Attributes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Chardonnay<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">76<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">B<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Superior<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well balanced, aromatic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Chardonnay<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">95<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">B<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Superior<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Full, rich and balanced<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pinot Noir<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">113<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">B<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Superior<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Balanced, light wine<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pinot Noir<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">114<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">B<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Superior<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Interesting for blending<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pinot Noir<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">115<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">B<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Superior<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Typical, rich and bodied<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pinot Noir<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">667<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">B<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Superior<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fine aromatics & tannins<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 69.75pt;" width="93">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pinot Noir<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 43.5pt;" width="58">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">777<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 58.5pt;" width="78">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 66pt;" width="88">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Inferior to medium<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 25.5pt;" width="34">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 57.75pt;" width="77">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Superior<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in; width: 148.5pt;" width="198">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Very good quality<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Source: Catalogue of
Selected Wine Grape Varieties and Clones Cultivated in France.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first thing to note is that there is only one ”A” clone and that is Dijon
Clone Pinot Noir 777. This attribute was quite the buzz when the vines were
first made available in the Willamette Valley. In practice, we find small
clusters and typically our yield per vine is less than other clones, except
667.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sugar accumulation is in line with the rest of the Dijon Clones we grow.
Rootstocks and placement on the property contribute significant complexing
factors, so it is difficult to separate correlation from causation. And if you
think this is cool, consider the fact that we grow 3 Syrah “A” clones. Of
course, we are not at liberty to divulge which ones…</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3930514" height="412" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/e238d7b5-d56c-4da0-a164-8341c0255512.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dijon Clone Pinot Noir Post-Cluster Pluck.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We have been paying attention in the cellar over the past 20 years and have a
pretty good feel for what these clones can contribute. Some find their way into
our reserve level wines, and some are targeted for a specific blend. We each
have our favorites. Dena likes the elegance of 113 and the brawn of 115 – she
is a Gemini. Ernie is all about the texture that 114 adds to the mid-palate.
The 667 clone adds an almost Syrah like tannin and a depth of color not matched
by the other clones. And then there is 777. The only “A” clone. This is a very
well balanced clone that hits all the right notes at just the right times. Well
deserving of its moniker.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckdeedRQuDYKfpVT1b8IR3_xJAf3DxS14mnOXKcIqmgYI8DZZz9_YCtqjZHkviTFORZudq5WC0HJFkfQqlDQFfXhTSt_yJfbV3Bk0YD2ZKDq7xuqNkISXnZAH6IEFvRMMQ72e1aUZzQFH/s814/2021+March+Easter+16DC.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="814" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckdeedRQuDYKfpVT1b8IR3_xJAf3DxS14mnOXKcIqmgYI8DZZz9_YCtqjZHkviTFORZudq5WC0HJFkfQqlDQFfXhTSt_yJfbV3Bk0YD2ZKDq7xuqNkISXnZAH6IEFvRMMQ72e1aUZzQFH/w200-h193/2021+March+Easter+16DC.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The Big Reveal. And
that 777 clone only goes one place. It is the base wine of our Dijon Clones
Pinot Noir. We blend all of the 777 barrels together and then we add a little
bit of each of the other clones to finish the blend. How do you like me now?
There is never any Pommard, Wadenswil, or any of that other stuff Ernie grows
but never really talks about… You will most likely find that in his Estate
Selection bottling.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The numbers. We know it is a little early to start on the climate updates. We
don’t start analyzing numbers until the growing season officially starts on
April Fools’ Day. How apropos. But to get you ready, we have a little exercise
on the “Golden Number” in case you want to foretell the date of Easter future.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/when-is-easter"><span style="color: #336699;">Golden Number method</span></a> is kind of a placeholder
to tell you where you are in the Metonic cycle. The Golden Number is a value
used to show the dates of new moons for each year, following a 19-year cycle.
The moon repeats the dates of its phases approximately every 19 years (the Metonic
cycle), and the Golden Number represents a year in that cycle. The year of the
cycle can then be used to determine the date of Easter.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To calculate the Golden Number, add 1 to any given year and divide the result
by 19, the remainder is the Golden Number. If there is no remainder, the Golden
Number is 19. To calculate the Golden Number for 2021, we take 2021 and add 1,
resulting in 2022, then divide it by 19, giving us 106 with a remainder of 8.
Therefore, the Golden Number for 2021 is 8, meaning 2021 is the 8th year of the
Metonic cycle.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why can’t Easter just be the first Sunday in April every year?</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kindest Regards,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dena & Ern</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">ie</span></div></span>
<!--[endif]-->Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-1710155071841888002021-03-17T16:26:00.005-07:002021-03-18T08:43:18.570-07:00Amalie Robert Estate Vintage 2021: Preview Part II - You Don't Have to be Crazy to Grow Pinot Noir, But It Helps! <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img data-file-id="3227850" height="622" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b3001ec6-15ae-4cd1-b965-833bcc09b7d4.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 621px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Spring bulbs and their moment in the sun.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Are we there yet? Almost. It won’t be long now. The first day of spring is
March 20<sup>th</sup>. Mother Nature gave us a shot across the bow with a
wonderful spring collage of blooming bulbs. What she meant was “Finish your
pruning. Right Faming Now!” She has a schedule to keep. You don’t have to be
crazy to grow Pinot Noir, but it helps. Just ask the cherry trees. They know we
are about there.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.mastersofwine.org/susan-lin-mw" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Here is a shout out for Susan R Lin</span></a><span style="color: #505050;">.
Susan is a long time FLOG reader and has recently been named Master of Wine by
the Institute of Masters of Wine. She is now one of 56 Masters of Wine in the
US, and one of 418 worldwide. And you are going to LOVE her research paper (the
third and final stage of the exam), where she explored classical music and
champagne perception. We imagine these to be rosé champagnes, or perhaps wines
with a strong Pinot Meunier component. Congratulations Susan!</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227854" height="412" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ec302f24-f5ed-4fce-8bf9-5b8630e37ad3.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tied down and ready to grow!</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are ramping up on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FaceBook</span></a>! (If you don’t
like us, we don’t wanna know…)</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">But is has been cold at night. Remarkably cold after our Ice Storm episode. But
we do have the trellis repaired and the new vines are in the ground. Most of
the downed trees and branches have been cleaned up, but not all of them. There
are a few limbs “in waiting” so we are careful to look up as we walk under
them. Farming, it’s what we do when we are not growing wine.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeR32N7uJpQ" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227846" height="412" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/49591efa-3e44-4ead-9471-d341f94b5f27.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Click on the image to see Ernie on the crawler.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The chisel plow on tracks. Ernie was out on his crawler this week with the
chisel plow opening up the vineyard floor for its much-anticipated spring cover
crop of buckwheat and vetch. It is his open-air machine that he uses in the
spring. He calls it his roadster for the vineyard. There is nothing quite like
the smell of freshly turned soil in the morning.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227838" height="412" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/49386717-4a37-43bf-bfd9-6db29bdc614a.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Freshly tilled soil in the morning.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The benefit of a machine on tracks is that it spreads the tractor weight out
over a larger surface area than 4 tires. The result is less pressure on the
soil to avoid compaction. Compaction happens when a downward force compresses
and collapses the soil’s air channels thus ruining the soil structure. Vine
roots, worms and a whole host of other soil organisms and microorganisms depend
on some air in the soil. Compaction is bad, very very bad!</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227842" height="412" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1deb27b9-71bf-4b2a-8c58-be2f0293ac01.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Soil aerated by Ernie with the chisel plow.</div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A properly aerated soil is similar to a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meringue" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">meringue</span></a>. A compacted
soil is more like a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nougat" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">nougat</span></a>. Compacted soils hold
very little water as we move into the dry summer months. Vines growing in
compacted soils will just look at you in disgust as early September rolls
around. They will have desiccating wine berries because there is no soil
moisture. They know what you did in the spring before they woke up. They are
not happy, and when they are not happy, you will not be happy.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227830" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/af26476f-b9d5-4129-8dd6-347dbc0aa36d.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Freshy chisel plowed rows under the watchful gaze of Mt Jefferson. Smells nice!</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227858" height="438" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ee7f3f26-1575-487e-9a82-43b592af0a65.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 438px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Busting up any compaction.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, consider the chisel plow. This thankless implement opens the soil to
improve life for the subterranean soil organisms and microorganisms. It busts
up any compaction from the prior year and creates new chambers to hold air and
soil moisture. It is also one helluva root pruning device. The benefit to that
is no shallow roots. We want deep, deep roots to colonize the soil and extract
as much magic as possible for our Estate grown wines.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And that is the focus of this FLOG, growing wine. In the Adult Recreational
Beverage world, wine is unique in that it is the WINEGROWER that determines the
alcohol content. Beer and distilled spirits each in their own way are free to
determine the alcohol content of the finished product. Beers can run the gamut
from low alcohol summer beers to full-on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bock" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Doppel Bocks</span></a> that make
it really difficult to stand up and focus after a pint. Whiskey, Bourbon, and
Scotch can be 90 proof or cask strength. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everclear_(alcohol)" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Ever Clear</span></a> is made from
grain and is bottled at 60%, 75.5%, 94.5% and 95% alcohol by volume - that’s
190 proof! (Don’t ask how Ernie knows this.) The barley, wheat or rye grain
were all grown the same.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Not so with wine. The Holy Grail of winegrowing is to harvest wine berries at
the peak of flavor for the intended wine style with the appropriate level of
alcohol potential, aka our old friends <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Fructose</span></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Glucose</span></a>. The ideal
scenario is that aroma, flavor, texture and tannin are all maturing in step
with sugar accumulation. Sugar accumulation is a function of heat during the
growing season. Apparently, Mother Nature has not been kept in the loop these
last few years…</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to Murphy’s world. We stopped counting when we got to a million things
that can go wrong in any given vintage. The vagaries of agriculture, and farm
equipment in particular, are well documented throughout human history. Fire,
smoke, plague and pestilence are all familiar bedfellows to agriculture. And as
if right on cue, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brood_X" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Brood X cicada nymphs</span></a>
(The Great Eastern Brood) is making its way to the surface right now, <em>en
masse</em>. It’s just once every 17 years, but when it happens it covers 15
states!</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;">Sunday, March 14</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> was national Pi (3.14) day. Wednesday, March 17</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;">
is St. Patrick’s Day. We would like to point out that Shepard’s Pie is no more
of a pie than a cow pie is a pie. Go for the real thing. A nice cherry or peach
pie. You will be glad you did!</span></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._C._Escher" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227834" height="290" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/98200947-9814-4c35-b710-ef14b3a4241b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 290px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Click on the image to learn about M.C. Escher </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Right, back on point. We know that for Pinot Noir we need 105 days from
flowering to fully developed aroma, flavor, texture and tannin. At least we
used to know that. And we used to grow a full canopy to achieve compete
ripeness in each and every vintage. The world has changed, and we have changed
with it.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s all because of Viognier. That wine berry has a proclivity to produce sugar
way in advance of developing aroma and flavor. Aroma and flavor is the whole
point of growing Viognier. While we just grow 3 rows of Viognier, this issue
has gnawed on Ernie for quite some time.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Assuming you are doing the right things with the vineyard floor, such as
improving soil structure with cover crops, avoiding compaction and keeping the
grass cut short to preserve soil moisture, there are only two places to make
adjustments. The canopy and the crop load.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Let’s focus on the canopy. The two areas in play are the fruit zone and the top
of the canopy. The fruit zone is really important as that is where all the
aroma, flavor, texture and tannin are shaped during the growing season.
Depending on the variety and the use of whole clusters, we are taking or
leaving leaves in the fruit zone to achieve our desired results in the bottle.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227926" height="730" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/dbb25848-595c-4635-8f17-2133c0b6fcf4.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 731px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dijon Clone Chardonnay ripening in the sun.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Chardonnay and Syrah for example have most of their leaves removed in the fruit
zone. This allows for a full expression of those two wines. Pinot Meunier and
Noir suffer from overexposure and they can lose their sublime, elegant
character so we remove very few leaves.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Fermenting with whole clusters also adds texture and tannin structure. Shaded
Pinot Noir fermented with whole clusters gives us the sexy midpalate we desire
with elegant stem tannins that will soften during bottle maturation. Syrah is
our firebrand that sees full-on sun exposure and a significant portion of whole
clusters during fermentation. This creates a 25+ year wine, if done properly.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Removal of leaves in the fruit zone lowers the alcohol potential. Conversely,
if very few leaves are taken due to stylistic choice, alcohol potential is
higher. That takes us to the top of the canopy to dial in our alcohol
potential.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Our vineyard construct is 7.5 feet for Ernie and his now vintage tractors to
drive, and 4 feet between each vine. A perfect sunlight capturing ratio is 1:1
for row width to row height. So, mathematically a 7.5 foot row spacing means a
7.5 foot tall canopy will maximize sun exposure. But does that make the best
wine? In a cold vintage such as 2011, yes, it is very helpful. But those days
are long gone.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3227826" height="302" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/0d29dfb0-0287-4379-9224-1f7a490e290d.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 302px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">1967 Dodge Charger. </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A hemispherical combustion chamber typically has a better volumetric efficiency
than a more common wedge combustion chamber. But all that extra horsepower is
not really very helpful if it is converted into tire smoke. We need to match
horsepower potential to our available traction.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXw1dPNIBSnLR7p8BFQ2jX77u_AAhJ7N3rqetfEJkQBGyX2J4T7D-8PAFw-B6eFu_GtGSOChuIJRw9daDcj6B7E1Eqn47jJOXRhCayAlMS6VK4hKozcFyt3CUYl7xL8Ot-NzZDkBxndtW/s437/2021+Mar+Preview+426.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="437" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXw1dPNIBSnLR7p8BFQ2jX77u_AAhJ7N3rqetfEJkQBGyX2J4T7D-8PAFw-B6eFu_GtGSOChuIJRw9daDcj6B7E1Eqn47jJOXRhCayAlMS6VK4hKozcFyt3CUYl7xL8Ot-NzZDkBxndtW/w200-h83/2021+Mar+Preview+426.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>So, there is the fly
in the ointment, as they say. What we have learned is that our leaf removal
program in the fruit zone is sacrosanct to our interpretation of the world’s
greatest wines. If you mess with too much or too little sun exposure on the
wine berries, the wine will not be what you want it to be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our key to moderating alcohol potential lies at the top of the canopy, assuming
all other viticultural inputs including soil moisture preservation (and
rootstock choice) are done correctly. Ernie’s hedger is fully adjustable and
can cut a canopy to over 7.5 feet tall or as low as 6 feet. He can’t cut any
lower than that, because that is how tall the posts are. Most of them anyway,
he has been “involuntarily adjusting” the height on a few of them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, the first vineyard hedge happens mid-season so we don’t really know
where we are going to end up. This is what it looks like for now, and that is
where we are headed. Vintage 2021 will most certainly be the vintage of the
year. Oh, look at the time, its 4:26…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kindest
Regards,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dena & Ernie</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]-->Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-46650741791577429332021-03-03T15:00:00.002-08:002021-03-06T15:44:10.640-08:00Amalie Robert Estate: 2021 Ice Storm and The Kite Eating Trees <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hello
and Welcome, </span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unfortunate,
but not uncommon. This is an agrarian phrase. It is often used to describe
current events by a farmer, or a rancher or anyone else who has a direct
reporting relationship to Mother Nature. </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you happen to be one of those people who regularly ignore the “LOW FUEL”
indicator, you know what we are talking about.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img data-file-id="3216982" height="412" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/12afdb33-6fa6-4d9d-9650-8f0870162f39.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. We
are ramping up on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/amalierobertestate" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FaceBook</span></a>! (If you don’t
like us, we don’t wanna know…)</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Freezing rain. This phenomenon occurs when raindrops encounter a layer of
subfreezing air just above the surface and then cool to a temperature below 32
°F. The supercooled raindrops then land on whatever they can find in the layer
of subfreezing air, such as tree branches that are overhanging vineyards or
power lines. You see where we are headed here.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216954" height="412" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9a1fd795-1470-403a-9ce1-3a82206c91e9.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When these supercooled drops make contact with the trellis, power lines, tree
branches, vehicles, or anything else below 32 °F, a portion of the drops
instantly freeze, forming a thin film of ice, hence the term freezing rain. The
physical process by which this occurs is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleation" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">nucleation</span></a>.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216958" height="412" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/1e97a859-d349-472b-88ac-758643cacb9b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This is what it would look like if Dale Chihuly made a glass vineyard.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216962" height="587" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/80dacddf-7ff2-48f9-8de7-f03d12d6c5d4.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 587px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dale Chihuly Glass Sculpture "Sol D'oro"</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Now if allowed to continue, this behavior becomes an ice storm and will form an
increasingly thicker and thicker film of ice known as a casing. In our idyllic
vineyard setting, we ended up with a little over an inch thickness of ice
encasing anything exposed to the freezing rain.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The demise of the Kite Eating Trees. These are oak and maple trees in
particular, but it is not uncommon for a fir tree to take a kite from time to
time. Hardwood species seem to very susceptible to freezing rain. And they let
you know it with debris scattered from hell to breakfast.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216922" height="168" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/8fd2b507-7886-4a61-91c4-f42c9321affc.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 168px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And ice is heavy. A cubic foot of ice weighs about 57 pounds. Compare that to a
cubic foot of heavy Montana Rocky Mountain snow at about 11 pounds. These trees
can only take so much before they start losing limbs. Or if their root system
cannot handle the increased, or off-centered, weight then the entire tree comes
down. Usually across a road, someone’s fence line, or their preferred target, a
power line. A telephone line will do in a pinch. Unfortunate, but…</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216978" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/0a0582d2-b5d7-46e1-b11d-16c4bd335a90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3217590" height="203" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/fbfd1abe-2612-4436-bab5-8aa65411e7df.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 203px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Pacific Power Outage Map Showing Amalie Robert Estate, Outage of 1 and the last
to have power restored.</div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Electricity is like cash money, it does you no good if you don’t have it “on”
you. But as a farmer, you have to know how to make your own electricity. To run
small appliances like laptop computers and cell phones, Ernie has his handy
dandy 12 volt inverter. This plugs into the power outlet in the Big Dodge
Diesel Dually and charges these small appliances. We then we have access to our
digital world via Wi-Fi, assuming the Wi-Fi networks know how to make their own
power.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216974" height="412" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/dffb29b6-9baf-4242-9b2b-e1cc513930a5.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat (and food preparation) comes in the form of the downed limbs from past ice
storms and our cookstove. The cookstove is a modern implementation of an
age-old appliance. Some rules are timeless, such as the 7 second rule. That is
the amount of time between just a little char and burnt to a crisp. Ours also
has a side water box which conveniently heats water, and melts ice. This is
helpful when it comes to flushing the toilets, as we don’t generate the 240
volts required to run the water pump.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216946" height="379" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/0b70d7d1-dc57-40dc-a64c-8f87a437b591.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 379px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216990" height="733" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/80b2588d-7640-4687-a8ec-78cbd73f5738.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 733px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Ernie Harvesting Ice.</div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Ice packs from the freezer make it into to the refrigerator. Gallons of
drinking water come up from the back room. Candles and flashlights are gathered
during the daylight hours. Extra firewood is brought in. Standard Farming
Procedure – we have seen this movie before. But after 5 days of hamping (house
camping), it was time for a hotel night, and a hot shower.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216970" height="466" id="_x0000_i1035" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/04e707ba-a6e9-4905-ad3f-5d30d7a7b369.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 466px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_a8a-hrmZ_Lf9QhvVO562HeL94OFPYuH0jierqg_Wd9EoJf1ZXrEHxckpKztlsBgXnRikPaxqrBBJ1jI1vrOIdOnEsZTsDdN567aYfQS6eZUYXdv7I2gc8GlCwzaD4KGrwD-kZlGkN7E/s302/2021+Warlock+Kites+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="302" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_a8a-hrmZ_Lf9QhvVO562HeL94OFPYuH0jierqg_Wd9EoJf1ZXrEHxckpKztlsBgXnRikPaxqrBBJ1jI1vrOIdOnEsZTsDdN567aYfQS6eZUYXdv7I2gc8GlCwzaD4KGrwD-kZlGkN7E/w200-h134/2021+Warlock+Kites+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The Kite Eating Trees
Strike Back. We were making good progress on getting the vineyard pruned and
tuned for vintage 2021. Then thanks to the ice storm, we had a week of “pick up
sticks”. There was a fair bit of chainsaw work involved first. Kite eating
trees make good firewood.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some of these downed branches were quite substantial, measuring over 20 inches
in diameter. How many kites does it take to grow a branch that big?</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3216986" height="412" id="_x0000_i1036" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/c39a5639-a5d5-49ab-9ab0-b300942db85a.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The good news is that we only lost about 50 vines and a dozen posts to falling
branches. The bad news is that the birds are going to have a tough time of it this
year. There will be far fewer places for them to perch and pick off our Pinot
Noir wine berries. But more good news is that Ernie’s nursery man was able to
send up replacement vines within a week. You see, two out of three - not so
bad. We have time to clean up and finish pruning. Will be ready for budbreak.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216966" height="412" id="_x0000_i1037" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/2c3d4c8f-fb6f-46a8-9f4e-c72afe6d1b86.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216994" height="412" id="_x0000_i1038" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/_compresseds/36792e6b-b284-422e-bc57-720eedb8e91d.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216930" height="218" id="_x0000_i1039" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/b5742b1a-4a4f-4bed-8bb0-3aa9dbaab27e.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 218px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleation" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">National Procrastination Week</span></a>
occurs during the first two weeks of March, more or less. Procrastinators fall
into three main types: Delayers, Perfectionists and the easily Distractible.
Anything sound familiar here? Maybe it’s time to actually stop and fill up the
tank.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-GAFJZ21nY4cwTaDJKkdpYgVfNzvcPwAp8yKGy0-5JEhWKkjN3A9E56eCqUYUHiJYKyugK9HYLqN9zgjvPQaiVBg_Ql1jy0qJSx8t4gMzTm4eW-C7314jXj9l7aJ-FBpGNBsD-IYBD4n/s815/2021+Warlock+16SY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="815" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-GAFJZ21nY4cwTaDJKkdpYgVfNzvcPwAp8yKGy0-5JEhWKkjN3A9E56eCqUYUHiJYKyugK9HYLqN9zgjvPQaiVBg_Ql1jy0qJSx8t4gMzTm4eW-C7314jXj9l7aJ-FBpGNBsD-IYBD4n/w200-h193/2021+Warlock+16SY.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Year’s Best US Syrah
from Wine and Spirits Magazine. Unfortunately, there is not a subsection for
cool climate Syrah, so we are grouped in with the warmer growing regions of
Southern Oregon, Eastern Washington and California. But no matter, “Year’s
Best” is a good moniker to share.</div></span></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bonus: Peanuts from April 11, 1965. Click on the image to see more kite eating
comics.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.gocomics.com/blog/3827/33-kite-eating-tree-comics-charlie-brown-s-shadiest-saboteur" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3216950" height="376" id="_x0000_i1040" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/5c028aaf-b7ec-4166-bae4-2b99ca1e4b0c.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 376px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kindest Regards,</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dena & Ern</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">ie</span></div></span>Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-63746979834244289322021-02-16T15:00:00.004-08:002021-02-21T15:13:56.676-08:00Amalie Robert Estate: 2021 February Pre-Vintage Pruning Update <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Hello and
Welcome, </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">It is the dormant season in wine country. The first day of
spring is not until March 20</span><sup style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050; font-family: verdana;">, but believe it or not, it is coming
up fast. Witness the daffodils and crocus in the garden providing the early,
wonderfully colorful signs of agricultural life below ground. This is their one
time a year to “rise and shine” brightening up our disposition. And they are
certainly a most welcome development, especially this year. </span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
<br />
A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate.<br />
<br />
<img border="0" data-file-id="3208210" height="412" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/2a839aa5-0705-4a8b-9660-c61773debdb3.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">The vines may appear dormant, but that’s just a disguise. There
is plenty of work being done inside the vine and below ground in the root zone.
Their big day is bud break, and they are making all of the necessary
preparations for the big reveal. And just like you toiling in your garden, it
is our job to get our garden, the “vine-yard” ready to grow. We will begin with
what we can see, and that is the transformation from last year’s canopy to a
new start for vintage 2021.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Mary,_Quite_Contrary" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does
your garden grow?</span></a></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">With silver bells and cockle shells and one farming eggplant!</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">A new start, how refreshing. Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up one
morning and find the to-do list from yesterday is gone? Just GONE! Or the first
day back from vacation (or staycation to the back garden, or vine-yard as the
case may be) and you find that your E-mail file has been corrupted. No old
E-mails. No new E-mails, No follow-up E-mails. No back-ups and no farming
E-mail whatsoever! NONE! Well if you were a vine, spring is just like that. No
hold over from the past vintage to distract you or keep you from your dedicated
purpose – which is to ripen your seeds and reproduce! If only…</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">They cannot do it alone. Actually they can, they are
self-pollinating. But if left on their own, they just sprawl all over the
ground. Not an ideal situation to produce top quality wine, which is our
dedicated purpose.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">So we have implemented a Vertical Shoot Positioning trellis
system in which to manage their development during the growing season. During a
typical harvest, sans smoke taint, we denude the vines of their wine berries
and ferment the sugar out of them. What is leftover is the vertically “hand
positioned” shoots of the prior vintage.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208134" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/936ec40f-88a5-458d-843c-1eb3a7f14228.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 411px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Vertical Shoot Position Trellis with Catch Clip.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Out with
the old, in with the new growth. In preparation for vintage 2021 we have 4 “by
hand” vine related tasks to complete: Removing the trellis wire catch clips,
about 14 seconds per plant, making the primary pruning cuts separating last
year’s cane from the trunk, about 30 seconds per plant, pulling the brush out
of the trellis wires which is the physical equivalent to punch down in the
winery, about 32 seconds per plant. And finally wrapping a new cane on the
fruiting wire that will bear vintage 2021 wine berries, about 70 seconds per
plant. This last task involves the use of a very low-tech bread twist-tie.
Remember those? And then we wait (fixing whatever it is that still needs to be
fixed) just as patiently as farmers do, for bud break.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208150" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/548df8c9-7cbb-4546-ad20-f94cb5bdc219.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 411px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Primary Cut Separating Last Year's Cane from the Trunk.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208146" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ae39a469-943e-4f82-b410-b1e06cb5e1c3.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 411px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Brush Pulled Out of Trellis Wires.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208154" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/130e5609-069f-4388-853a-4ba02c853680.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 411px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">New Cane for 2021 Wrapped on the Fruiting Wire and Tied with a
Green Twist-tie.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">In the
vineyard it is true - No passengers, all crew. Ernie works in a little tractor
time between the rain showers when he can. His job is to mow up all the canes
from last year along with the tall fescue (Hey that’s grass, buddy). This mix
of browns and greens puts the worms and soil microbes back to work returning
nutrients to our sedimentary Bellpine soil. Everybody and everything has a job
to do. It takes about 3 tractor passes with the flail mower to fully mulch last
year’s canes into the vineyard floor. About once every 2-3 weeks or so is good
timing due to the grass’s unrelenting spring growth rate.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208142" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/716bb1fa-2868-43a2-97a3-5911ea502b44.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 411px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Canes Ready for Ernie to Mow.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Rust on the
tractor never sleeps and our army of beneficial insects never get a day off.
There are good bugs and there are bad bugs. Good bugs eat the bad bugs that
want to eat our vines. Good bugs are the ever-voracious ladybug, earwig,
various and assorted spiders, and the praying mantis. The praying mantis is a
special case. If you see a piece of straw fluttering in the breeze, watch where
it lands. It could very well be a praying mantis. They are said to be good luck
in a vineyard, unless you are trying to mate with one.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">The NUMBER ONE bad bug is the Willamette spider mite. A
subspecies of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetranychus_urticae" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">spider mites</span></a>, this
particular mite feeds off the vascular tissue of the leaves, thus draining the
life force of the vine. The leaves turn rust colored and significantly reduce
photosynthetic output. The antidote, other than the previously listed good
bugs, is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoseiulus" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Predatory mite</span></a>.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208122" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/bee96386-f12b-4f53-9628-f9763fc3384f.jpg" style="border-width: 0in; display: inline; height: 269px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Good-Guys-Predatory-Container/dp/B079YY3PW4/ref=asc_df_B079YY3PW4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312136349209&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3448336884003850930&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1024543&hvtargid=pla-568699037020&psc=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Live Predatory Mites. Get them on
AMAZON. Sold in lots of 2,000, more or less…</span></a></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Fun Fact: Until relatively recently in the evolution of the
human condition, leeches were thought by some practitioners to provide
medicinal benefits. We now know that not to be true. Wine may or may not provide
medicinal benefits, but from a chemistry point of view, it is a solution.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Here is the odd thing, both mites co-exist simultaneously among
the vines. They both winter over in the bark of the trunks and just before bud
break, they emerge to feed. The Willamette mite tries to eat the buds before
they can burst forth with new life. If there is a significant population and
they succeed in devouring all of the buds on a new cane, the vine could die.
The Predatory mite is our first line of defense against this unwanted activity.
But nobody batts a thousand.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">What does that mean, and why should I care? This is an excellent
time to point out that we do not use insecticides in the vineyard. Some wine
growing regions are more prone to insect pressure than others. Due to our
reasonable cold winters, the most harmful species cannot overwinter. The
yellowjacket (and its natural predator, the flame thrower) is an unfortunate
exception. While some chemical companies offer products to eradicate bad mites,
and it is tempting to consider, these products are effective against all mites
– the good, the bad and well they are all kinda ugly. So we let nature take its
course. Each year we see some damage, sometimes more in a very hot and dry
vintage.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">And if you happen to see a dirt clod that just flew away, well
then it wasn’t really a dirt clod after all but maybe a well camouflaged small
raptor harvesting up a vineyard vole. Voles, along with pocket gophers do their
business underground. By that we mean they are feasting on the vine’s roots.
Very bad, very very bad!</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">The vine has no natural defense against such an unprovoked
attack. But the aerial squadron of raptors that we have fostered provide a
first line of defense. From the Enterprise class red-tailed hawk, through the
mid-range Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks down to the Kestrel, they all
contribute to the overall vineyard health, and get fed doing it – so they can
reproduce!</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208126" id="_x0000_i1032" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/82df8023-88c5-4dd1-bc90-8cdd4663c7ce.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 312px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">It’s a
bug’s life. The good bugs are out there 24x7 and are constantly “harvesting”
bad bugs. When they can’t find bad bugs (protein), they are on the hunt for
pollen. Pollen is their vegan solution to protein. And that is where our cover
crops from last fall come into play.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">We plant winter peas and cereal rye to hold the soil during the
rainy season and also set nitrogen for the vines. Cereal rye takes up nitrogen
and stores it for the spring when it is turned back into the soil as natural
fertilizer. Winter peas are just that, they flower and produce pea pods during
the cold winter months. Somewhere along the way, their program got messed up.
But that is good for us and our battalion of vineyard insects.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Thinking and drinking. About now your left brain is running the
vineyard pruning numbers and trying to determine how long it takes to get
55,000 vines ready for vintage 2021. And your right brain is ready for a little
more wine. If you need some <a href="https://www.amazon.com/000-Live-Adult-Predatory-Mites/dp/B00I0ZXU18" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">live Predatory mites</span></a> for
YOUR garden, you can order those from Amazon. No kidding!</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">PRO Tip: If you have wine in a cup and pretend to blow on it
during your online audio video streaming (Zoom or DUO) session, people may
think it is a cup of hot tea. Either way, tea or wine, it is a “best practice”
to wear pants, in case you spill and need to stand up in a hurry. What you do
on your personal time is your business.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">The total elapsed time to complete the “by hand” vineyard
pruning at Amalie Robert Estate is about 2,300 human hours. This estimate is
based on a 4 year moving average that takes into account the vintage and crew
variances in the vineyard. And while this is good to know, it is certainly only
one piece of the puzzle. To put that in perspective, 2,300 human hours is 8 hours
per day for 286 working days. A typical work year is 40 hours a week for 52
weeks, 2,080 hours. Now we are getting somewhere.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208138" id="_x0000_i1033" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/83ef928a-f8e6-4b87-84ab-217e3582d620.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 411px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /></span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Pay it
forward. Pruning can start as soon as all of the leaves have senesced and
fallen to the vineyard floor where they will become nutrients for the next
vintage. The primary pruning cuts can happen independently of the other 3
tasks. However, the other three tasks of removing catch clips, pulling last
year’s canes from the trellis and then wrapping a new cane on the fruiting wire
must occur in sequence. The proof of such is left as an exercise for the
reader.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">So, logically, we have one very well experienced and trusted
person making all of the primary pruning cuts in the vineyard. We also have a
small, but dedicated vineyard crew following in sequence performing the
remaining tasks. Ernie’s contribution is to source 55,000 green twist ties.
Dena orders diesel for the tractor. We have already covered the raptor, insect
and cover crop contributions.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Now the big question – how many calendar days do we need in
order to get 286 working days? In a typical office environment, this is 5
working days for every 7 calendar days, excluding holidays, sick days, snow
days, vacation days and now COVID-19 days. The working days are then factored
by adding humans to reduce the elapsed number of days available to accomplish
the work in the time allotted. And after all of that, it’s still farming and we
will still be behind.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Agricultural work is a very unique proposition. Most of the time
we work when we need to and other times we work when environmental conditions
allow. Clearly one supersedes the other. While not a daily occurrence in the
Willamette Valley, we do see snow and freezing temperatures that are not safe
vineyard working conditions. This reduces the potential number of work days by
an unknown factor.</span><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3208130" id="_x0000_i1034" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/e4c1792e-d69a-42a8-8b36-c535a582f579.jpg" style="border-width: 0in; display: inline; height: 411px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" /><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Growing icicles –
February 2021</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not
to mention we are in a rural area where snow removal equipment is heard in the
distance, but not seen in practice. So, not only being able to work, but being
able to get to work are all part of the solution matrix. And of course, we have
COVID-19 to deal with, just like every other community in the world. While not
at all like taking the subway to go work in an office building, at the end of
the day the results are not dissimilar. Except, you cannot do vineyard work
from home. But you can get that back garden ready for springtime entertaining!</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And
pruning needs to be completed before the vines wake up and open their new
little buds to greet vintage 2021. While this is not a fixed date, it usually
occurs around the 15<sup>th</sup> of April plus or minus a week or maybe two.
Kind of like Easter, it varies from year to year.</span></div></span><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kindest Regards,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dena & Ernie</span></div></span>
<!--[endif]-->Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-11937118485082524092021-02-02T16:00:00.001-08:002021-02-06T14:51:11.816-08:00Amalie Robert Estate: 2021 The Feast of St. Valentine's Day Survival Guide <div class="separator"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Hello and Welcome, </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><br /><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1HBuexVTLoIHiDsKdEiazCBdYfbIMTDCxhiBINurPw8UfUQoMq_EkuD4hzQK3Y53UVdZ307fGto3UXrFOIxm1Z1OrqnP0AwZWLKXUtM3fZ1AzlINalnzaOil_zIqyv6AaQbZLOQl3Miu/s966/2021+Val+Ramekins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="966" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1HBuexVTLoIHiDsKdEiazCBdYfbIMTDCxhiBINurPw8UfUQoMq_EkuD4hzQK3Y53UVdZ307fGto3UXrFOIxm1Z1OrqnP0AwZWLKXUtM3fZ1AzlINalnzaOil_zIqyv6AaQbZLOQl3Miu/w200-h158/2021+Val+Ramekins.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>We have a VERY SPECIAL gift to celebrate in the
year 2021 and that is Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday! Instead of a hustle and
bustle last minute event, you have ALL DAY to celebrate! And we have a few tips
and ideas to share on how to do just that. Our first suggestion is to not lose
your head. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a> Estate. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUzAYjtRIdNSYB0I0MosPHEUV76oYB2lRajTuUZdRew4mxMOs_tMjn85wSX_xRKZ0If9lTPsFo5UAT6eP1xhoOO4vzX8eA9Z16MnUdMhPgmiSpFY9-JTJazPw-iPj3-H5Z20c9soHsWWx/s976/2021+Val+Flutes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="766" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUzAYjtRIdNSYB0I0MosPHEUV76oYB2lRajTuUZdRew4mxMOs_tMjn85wSX_xRKZ0If9lTPsFo5UAT6eP1xhoOO4vzX8eA9Z16MnUdMhPgmiSpFY9-JTJazPw-iPj3-H5Z20c9soHsWWx/w157-h200/2021+Val+Flutes.jpg" width="157" /></a></div>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">feast of St. Valentine of February
14</span></a> was first established in 496 AD by Pope Gelasius I, who included
Valentine among all those "... whose names are justly reverenced among
men, but whose acts are known only to God." And this is the very reason
that prior to 2021, indoor dining on February 14<sup>th</sup> was so very
popular. This year, indoor dining will still be popular, just that it will be
in-house indoor dining. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, some of those acts of Valentine were also known to Claudius the Cruel of
Rome. Sometime around the year 270 AD, Claudius the Cruel was in the conquering
business and to be successful, he needed a strong army. However, he was having
a difficult time finding volunteers for his campaigns. He reasoned that the
young men of Rome were unwilling to join his army due to the strong attachment
to their loved ones. A reasonable conclusion to be sure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Claudius chose to rectify this problem by banning all marriages and engagements
in Rome. While somewhat of a non sequitur, still that did not send the young
men of Rome flocking to join with him. After some time, Claudius discovered he
had a priest undermining his efforts. It was in fact true that the soon to be
martyred St. Valentine was continuing to perform marriages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Certainly not an indecisive man, Claudius ordered Valentine arrested and put to
death. But not before being beaten with clubs, stoned (in the historical sense)
and then decapitated. This last step was most likely meant to send a strong
message that further activity of this nature would be frowned upon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While awaiting his fate, Valentine is rumored to have written a farewell note.
The note was to the jailer’s daughter which had looked after him during his
brief incarceration. Kind of a pre-Stockholm Syndrome sort of relationship it
would seem. He signed the note “From Your Valentine.” That phrase is in common
use today and now you know where it may have originated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3197058" height="470" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/7489ef26-6986-4229-84d0-fd3f91496784.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 470px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Valentine was put to death on February 14<sup>th</sup> in the year 270 AD. But
it seems Claudius could not let him go, as is evidenced by him keeping
Valentine’s head. Eventually, St. Valentine's remains were deposited in St
Anton's Church, Madrid, where they have lain since the late 1700’s. They were a
present from the Pope to King Carlos IV and have been displayed publicly since
1984. Please let this bit of history inform your gift giving choices this
Valentine’s Day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #336699;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg9YGmmPX6w" target="_blank">Roses are red, Violets are purple</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg9YGmmPX6w" target="_blank">You are so sweet, and so is maple surple!</a></div><span style="color: #336699;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;">Being Sunday and all, your feast of St. Valentine’s Day begins with brunch!
Brunch is that luxurious word that means so many things that are just
inherently understood. Leisure on display with a late alarm, deliciously sweet
and savory pastries, fresh fruits, eggs extraordinaire and perhaps a glass of
Champagne to greet the afternoon. And most of all, a little gift tucked into
the mid-morning rapture. Choose wisely.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3197066" height="434" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/add0592e-7f44-45c8-9dfb-97c6c3b9402b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 434px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somewhere along the way, Ernie picked up a set of heart shaped ramekins. These
are the perfect vessels to deliver a bouffant “egg extraordinaire.” This will
take a little forethought and some advance preparation. As this is an annual
event, you will have time. Since there is no such thing as left-over hash
browns, roast a couple extra “creamer” red potatoes the night before and
retrieve them while they are still a bit firm.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here we go. In a medium skillet, add a dollop of duck fat, butter or olive oil.
(Note: Lipitor is now widely available in generic form with little or no
co-pay.) Cube the potatoes in ¼ inch squares and add them to the pan over
medium heat. Add your intended’s choice of preferred omelet vegetables diced
small, such as peppers, onions and mushrooms. Add a dash of smoked HOT paprika
for color and heat. Turn, flip or mix to cook evenly, but not overly so. Is
that a Champagne pop I heard? No? Why not?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While this mixture is heating, grab a mason jar with a sealing ring and lid.
Crack 2 eggs, sans shell, and add a dollop of sour cream. Ernie likes to add
some broccoli bits at this stage, but YOU certainly do not have to. Attach the
sealing apparatus and pretend you are making an evening martini. Any more than
30 seconds though and the show gets kinda boring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Remove the ramekins from the preheated oven. Split the potato and vegetable
mixture evenly between the two ramekins, paying special attention that the are
only about 75% full. The reason for this will become important soon. But don’t
worry if they are too full, that is what’s known as a self-correcting
situation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Give your mason jar a final shake and then pour the contents all over the first
ramekin. Crack another pair of eggs, shake and repeat. Top with a little
freshly cracked black pepper and a dusting of paprika for color. Return to the
oven and bake at 325 until you have achieved maximum bouffant! When they are
bouff’d to your satisfaction, set them on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes
before separating. This will take a total of about 30-45 minutes or so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everyone has moved on from the orange juice, so now would be a good time to
sample the Champagne and prepare your desired breakfast animals (in whatever
form they may take.) Fresh local fruits may be hard to find, so adopt a
tropical locale with mangos, pineapple, strawberries and whatever else you can
fit into a Champagne flute. Remember, fresh fruit is good for you and Champagne
is the perfect delivery beverage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now the moment of truth - A card and a small gift. If executed properly,
now might be the right time for a “nap” before dinner…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Valentine’s Feast with the Hers and His Reserves – Amalie’s Cuvée and Estate
Selection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">After having skillfully delivered brunch and engaging in a leisurely afternoon
activity, thoughts turn to the Valentine’s Day dinner. Our suggestion for this
menu is to stick with the tried-and-true cool climate varietals of Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><br /><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dbNGsVjebn48jSnHcWwBZE2mHOazql72D6UZEwHkABB1AEmfKZEJm5GAFGi5JTWI5NTaCCW7RTLNPrSa4RKlTO4-P48JWfbRWQZqoOR5RKlAwqGu8Gxlv1ihmm2gHQ85TnsSFdr3LcBF/s587/2020+Champ+15HC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="587" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dbNGsVjebn48jSnHcWwBZE2mHOazql72D6UZEwHkABB1AEmfKZEJm5GAFGi5JTWI5NTaCCW7RTLNPrSa4RKlTO4-P48JWfbRWQZqoOR5RKlAwqGu8Gxlv1ihmm2gHQ85TnsSFdr3LcBF/w200-h194/2020+Champ+15HC.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Let’s Get Started. Smoked salmon, either hard
smoked Alaskan salmon or lox style Atlantic salmon lend their charms to garlic
parmesan crostini with fresh dill aioli and capers. Add a little soft blue
cheese and things get a little funky-good as the salt from the cheese works its
magic on the acid in the wine. This course pairs nicely with a BFC such as the <a href="http://www.amalierobert.com/heirloom-cameo.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Heirloom Cameo Chardonnay</span></a>.
Alternatively, a more steely interpretation of Chardonnay, the <a href="http://www.amalierobert.com/dijon-clones-chardonnay.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Dijon Clones</span></a>, brings a
little more focus and acidity to the event. This is a “hands-on” course, and we
find that if you can eat it with your fingers, it just tastes better. The
candles are a nice touch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Hers course is stuffed quail. There are all manner of combinations to
choose from here, but there are three key components to any good stuffing. The
first is the enticement and we like chanterelle or morel mushrooms for this.
The next is the bitter green such as spinach or anything along those lines,
maybe even kale. And we need a binder to hold this all together such as quinoa
or polenta. A little manchego in the mix helps hold it all together and can
dual as a snacking cheese. Munge all of that together with an optional egg, and
you are ready to stuff the birds. Treat them to an olive oil spritz and a
dusting of paprika on the way to the oven.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=089f0131de&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;"></span></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amalierobert.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192&id=089f0131de&e=0ccb8eb6d2" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDsZsCdp65WJb4CLS2BkjpYOkspBH14P_rDcAnz3a10tf_YX5MW6HD8UCYkRf5FfOukW6l4svrtIrPKuFFnqgrbAuud-qfrAi-lzjrIYEh93hHQXcY_4ahhmOAMxdNYHuNnf01zNGPxrK/s508/2021+Val+10AC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="508" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDsZsCdp65WJb4CLS2BkjpYOkspBH14P_rDcAnz3a10tf_YX5MW6HD8UCYkRf5FfOukW6l4svrtIrPKuFFnqgrbAuud-qfrAi-lzjrIYEh93hHQXcY_4ahhmOAMxdNYHuNnf01zNGPxrK/w200-h193/2021+Val+10AC.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amalie’s Cuvée is a
natural pairing for this dish. You can trust that we have run repeated and
replicated trials. Each and every vintage we put to the test comes through with
flying colors. Amalie’s Cuvée is Dena’s barrel selection from our 35 acre
estate vineyard that she helped plant back at the turn of the century. That
should tell you two things. First thing is she has met the farming challenge
head-on, and second, she knows where the Pommard is planted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yep, she is a Pommard girl – and you could be too! Every vintage we taste the
wines in barrel to sort out who gets what. Each day that we taste, we focus on
one of the three main clones we grow: Dijon clones, Pommard clone or Wadenswil
clone. When it is all said and done, Pommard is the dominate clone in her blend
with a little Dijon clone for texture and some Wadenswil clone to bring out her
wild side. And its personal, Amalie is her middle name.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The His course is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_Diane" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Steak Diane</span></a> (from the
Goddess of the hunt of Roman mythology.) While the preparation remains mostly
the same, the protein can vary widely from beef to venison or buffalo. Since
Ernie grew up in Montana where the buffalo roam, we are going to go with
buffalo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The advance ingredient preparation for Steak Diane allows for a table side
implementation. A bit of strut, pomp and circumstance if you will. That being
said, open flame in a confined space can have immediate and long-lasting
consequences. Marriage proposals get delivered this way. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_(mythology)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Diana was also goddess of the moon</span></a>.
Recognize and respect that this is pretty powerful stuff we are offering up
here.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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with its feminine side, which is why it is the perfect pairing for Steak Diane,
and candlelit settings. Ernie favors the wild side of Pinot Noir and that comes
from his errant youth. Wadenswil clone provides that “color outside the lines”
type palate profile. However as time has taken its toll, Ernie discovered the
soothing nature that a little Pommard clone can offer. Add a little Dijon clone
667, which is the black sheep of the Dijon clone family, and that is a good
first step in the blending trials. Of course, Dena has VETO power. So you know
if the blend made it to the bottle, it has her stamp of approval. She is also
the one person who runs the corker. We don’t get anywhere without her say so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWWCSeBkibWKgNZW8UDbePqROZfH5tPw9uQnmEwLB6oyb-hobYw_UQOi8a6JbOPZzan2ZG3e-2WlSllNvDE38hTwvx1B6Yt4hvsFpJJpZwpCins0eHm0wMGfKAgOlgHGoU79pHdr1b0HU/s1513/2021+Val+13PG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1207" data-original-width="1513" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWWCSeBkibWKgNZW8UDbePqROZfH5tPw9uQnmEwLB6oyb-hobYw_UQOi8a6JbOPZzan2ZG3e-2WlSllNvDE38hTwvx1B6Yt4hvsFpJJpZwpCins0eHm0wMGfKAgOlgHGoU79pHdr1b0HU/w200-h159/2021+Val+13PG.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Chardonnay is not just for brunch in your
Champagne. The variety that started the morning festivities, may also be the
segue to the rest of your evening. We are talking about the once in a lifetime
wine <a href="http://www.amalierobert.com/pabuk-s-gift.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Pabuk’s Gift Late Harvest
(Botrytis) Chardonnay</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is going to take a little more than a little effort, so you may want to
get started right away. The easy pairing is a blue cheese such as Stilton, or
our preference Shropshire. But there is so much more that this wine has to
offer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Think goat cheese. Now think patisserie. Now put that together and start
imagining goat cheese cheesecake with seared pineapple topping. Or a goat
cheese flan on a cinnamon graham crust topped with Seville orange marmalade.
People eat with their eyes first so your presentation and delivery, along with
that very romantic card that you didn’t forget, are paramount.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While making this wine, Ernie implored the help of Dick Erath. The 2013 vintage
provided the naturally occurring environmental factors to make an ethereal late
harvest wine. Never before, and hopefully never again, will those growing
conditions be repeated. With Dick as his conspiring winemaker, Ernie forged
ahead with harvesting desiccated Chardonnay berries from the vines in November.
Once in the press, it was a tough shlog, as raisins don’t put out a lot of
juice. Undaunted he continued, as fools press on where angels fear to tread.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The juice was 44 Brix, for those who keep track. Ernie had experienced some out
of this world Trockenbeerenauslese wines and they typically run in the 10%
alcohol range. That was good enough for him and he arrested the fermentation
with dry ice. Yeast don’t really care for that and they kinda packed it in
right then and there. All went pretty well and soon it was time to bottle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So Dick made the trek back to the winery with his girlfriend to see how Ernie’s
effort had turned out. The look and smell of the wine passed muster and then
everyone took a sip. Dick appeared pleasantly surprised and his girlfriend was
complimentary. Ernie was beaming as his conspiring winemaker and early mentor
had given him the nod for an effort that was far from guaranteed to succeed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dick then tilted his head and with a twinkle in his eye, looked at Ernie, then
his girlfriend and said, “You know, this is the kind of wine that can be
applied topically and removed orally.” And so, it is. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11_in_popular_culture" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Good luck Mr. and Mrs. Gorsky.</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kindest Regards,</div></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dena & </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Ernie</span></div></span>
<!--[endif]-->Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-76710261932178610392021-01-22T11:30:00.010-08:002021-01-27T11:55:13.353-08:00Amalie Robert Estate Culinary Inclinations Series Part V: Fruits of the Sea and a Bottle of BFC <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hello and
Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600"
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh044JxyVHpI9ato7yOthV7D4Al6e4DD2zKW53-_LUP5yjrk20lLevCS78ShW3KChucygbZNE6u503SnHZkb2mnq_BCLWuLa8PZAlKyX3oZ4kw7ncW-7BYSp_3oubHzedoQzgD-GAANm3GE/s587/2020+Champ+15HC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="587" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh044JxyVHpI9ato7yOthV7D4Al6e4DD2zKW53-_LUP5yjrk20lLevCS78ShW3KChucygbZNE6u503SnHZkb2mnq_BCLWuLa8PZAlKyX3oZ4kw7ncW-7BYSp_3oubHzedoQzgD-GAANm3GE/w200-h194/2020+Champ+15HC.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and the
rainy season in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. What a perfect time to imagine a
sunny (and dry) adventure at the other end of the world. Freshly caught and
expertly prepared wild seafood and a bottle of Chardonnay will set you right.
Please join us for our Culinary Inclinations Series Part V: Fruits of the Sea
with a Bottle of BFC.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette
Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert Estate</span></a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3185218" height="309" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/6e2f4686-2709-4ed4-bca8-5abcf1ae1ba1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 309px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Hanging out” at the Boat Shed Café, South Island, NZ</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do you kinda wish you were someplace other than here? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0YPlflMv8A"><span style="color: #336699;">Jimmy Buffet sang about it</span></a> on his White Sport
Coat and a Pink Crustacean album. Seems apropos. You don’t have to stay home,
but you can’t come here. While that may be so 2020, it still happens to be true
if you want to travel and dine at the <a href="http://www.whitehousetepuna.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">White House</span></a>. That’s the
one in New Zealand, on the north end of the North Island.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And if you do get to New Zealand, check out the <a href="https://www.boatshedcafe.co.nz/menus/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Boat Shed Café</span></a> at the
north end of the South Island. They are quite literally “hanging out” over the
bay. You can stay just down the road with the <a href="https://www.honestlawyer.co.nz/about.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Honest Lawyer</span></a>, ask for
the bus driver’s suite. It is just about as cozy as 35 square feet can be! Been
there, had that done to us. And while it was FANTASTIC, you have to leave the
room if you want to change your mind. Yeah, it’s that small. The room, not your
mind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dining at Home with Thoughts from Afar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But no matter, you are there trying to make the best of it. We are here, trying
to make it better. Freshly caught and Southern Hemisphere inspired seafood is
our culinary inclination for today. Or “fruits de mer” (fruits of the sea) for
those of you coping with current events in a French idiom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3185230" height="355" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/9bc5d483-f7ca-435b-90a0-742bedcb0e38.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 355px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chardonnay is the world’s most abundantly planted wine grape variety. And for
good reason. It can be one of the most enjoyable wines on the planet. Either by
itself as we denude ourselves from the responsibilities of the world at large
or indulge in a fabulous meal to celebrate simply being alive here in this
place, at this time. And it just so happens that Chardonnay rhymes with
Tuesday, and Wednesday and… No wonder it is so popular, it is a wine for all
week. Truly a Festivus miracle!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The term Barrel FERMENTED Chardonnay (BFC) is somewhat cumbersome, so we use a
TLA. Our BFC is called the <a href="http://www.amalierobert.com/heirloom-cameo.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Heirloom Cameo</span></a>. One of
the other alternatives is SFC, which you may have guessed is Stainless Steel
Fermented Chardonnay. We do that too, and that wine is our <a href="http://www.amalierobert.com/dijon-clones-chardonnay.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Dijon Clones Chardonnay</span></a>.
(TLA is an acronym for Three Letter Acronym.) Our BFC is akin to White
Burgundy, where the SFC is stylistically closer to Chablis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80qd6m545pacGoGmmGQXcCYJqO_y6ZTwGrGeM733d8dUuBTEXkTXQwZyS4ycykJC7oMWGU_14hzfUYQU37CUwCQ-u2N0nqOUEObrP2VOk8VxHGBZNes4cQFt1iUBVlfrutt5A9Y6Qmh3K/s981/2019+Dijon+Clones+Chardonnay+-+border.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="981" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80qd6m545pacGoGmmGQXcCYJqO_y6ZTwGrGeM733d8dUuBTEXkTXQwZyS4ycykJC7oMWGU_14hzfUYQU37CUwCQ-u2N0nqOUEObrP2VOk8VxHGBZNes4cQFt1iUBVlfrutt5A9Y6Qmh3K/w200-h194/2019+Dijon+Clones+Chardonnay+-+border.png" width="200" /></a></div>Before we get too much farther down the rabbit
hole, you may find yourself looking for a little inspiration. So chill, and
maintain your BFC at an approximate temperature of 55 degrees, or SFC at about
45 degrees. When you feel the moment is right, pull the cork and enjoy the
pleasures of BF or SF Chardonnay.</span></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Barrel v Stainless Steel fermentation – what’s the difference and why should I
care? Stylistically the SFC is clean, crisp and laser focused with palate
cleansing acidity. A great wine to have at the raw bar with oysters, chilled
shrimp or <a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/seafood/everything-you-need-know-about-uni" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">Uni</span></a>, although this last
one may be an acquired taste.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The BFC is like the old “E” ticket at Disney World, it can take you anywhere
you want to go. Barrel fermentation adds scintillating aroma, breadth and depth
to the palate and maintains the core of fruit, while tempering and lengthening
the finish. Over the course of a meal, the BFC changes and develops more
complexity. Due to this evolution, you never finish a meal with the same wine
you start with. And that is a journey well worth savoring.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">If you’ve got a minute, with nothin’ to lose, let us take you on a BFC Cruise.
It’s a Deep Dive into cool climate Oregon Chardonnay. Or skip down and look for
the pirate. We’ll catch up with you there.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3185222" height="731" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/8f6f8cb3-5c42-416f-b2e2-97cbc49a69a4.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 731px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">We grow our Chardonnay in block 24, which is actually 5 rows of Dijon Clone
Chardonnay 76 and 6 rows of Dijon Clone Chardonnay 95. All vines are grafted
onto 5C rootstock and our soil is Bellpine series marine sediments. That
becomes important at the end of the growing season when those deep roots are
still pulling up water to keep our wine berries from desiccating. Nearing
harvest, shallow rooted vines have a tendency to starve the vine for water and
that results in the vine taking water from the wine berries. The sugar is still
there, but there is less water resulting in a higher concentration of sugar and
that converts to higher alcohol levels in the finished wines. That is not the
desired result in either a SFC or BFC. If this triggers any wine growing related
questions, you can click here to “<a href="http://cuvee@amalierobert.com?subject=Ask%20a%20Farmer"><span style="color: #336699;">Ask a Farmer</span></a>”.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3185206" height="310" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/ac1462c2-ae74-4dae-b8e1-8326d1d3639c.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 310px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3185194" height="732" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/708e8f53-6b7c-49d1-8c44-86ae59dcac5e.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 732px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">All of our Chardonnay wine berries are cluster plucked during the same harvest
window and are field sorted. Then Ernie hauls only the best clusters up to the
winery to get weighed. From there they are sorted and loaded into the press.
There is NO CRUSHING. Our Chardonnay is whole cluster pressed. This processing
method leads to less potassium in the juice resulting in a firmer, natural
acidity in the finished wine. While it is true, crushing before pressing and
using rice hulls in the press will give higher yields of juice, we feel it is
lower quality juice.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Now this is the important part, pre-fermentation oxidation. Once all of the
juice is pressed into a single tank, it settles for a couple of days. The juice
is a very dark brown due to the bruising effect of the press and oxidation.
Think of a piece of fruit that has been dropped, it turns brown in that spot
AFTER you get it home. Especially pears and bananas as they look like they got
caught in a street fight. A press is really a great big bruiser that also
happens to extract the juice.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The idea is that you want all of this browning and oxidation to occur BEFORE
the fermentation begins. The alternative is to have this process happen after
fermentation - in the bottle. The French producers of White Burgundy have tried
the other way and discovered Premature Oxidation. Premature Oxidation occurs
when the juice was not permitted to complete oxidation before fermentation.
This resulted in off color and aroma in the bottle, hence the term <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_oxidation"><span style="color: #336699;">PREMOX</span></a>.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Right. Now it is time to run the hose through the holes in the fermentation
floor and gravity fill our 500 liter puncheon for the BFC and a couple of 1,000
liter stainless steel tanks for the SFC. Fermentation begins forthwith with the
help of a fish tank heater to keep the yeast active until all of the glucose
and fructose is converted to ethanol – no residual sugar. Then we add a little
specialized bacteria to convert the malic acid to lactic acid. Once this
malo-lactic (ML) conversion is complete (about 6 weeks or so) the wines take
two completely different paths to bottling.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The SFC is separated from the yeast lees and moved up to the unheated
fermentation area to begin cold stabilization. There is no further yeast lees
contact. During the winter months, temperatures drop into the mid 20’s to lower
30’s and the wine goes through cold stabilization. The effect on the wine is to
form little potassium crystals, known as wine diamonds. You may have seen these
crystals in a bottle of white wine after it has been refrigerated. It happens,
but we like it to happen before we bottle the wine. Next is a pass through a
polish filter of 0.5 microns, then Ernie is filling bottles and Dena is
stuffing in corks.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div>
<div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3185226" height="458" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/11496258-3256-4296-ad6d-a5a1c67ae9d8.jpg" style="border: initial; display: inline; height: 458px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">BFC 500 liter puncheon.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">The BFC is in so such hurry. It is resting comfortably on its lees below ground
along with about 400 barrels of Pinot Noir, Syrah and a few neutral barrels
holding Pinot Meunier. But the BFC reigns supreme with the biggest barrel at
500 liters. Everything else is just 225 liters. The barrel maturation period
lasts about a year, then it follows the same path to bottling as the SFC. As
far as the bottling process goes, we begin with the current vintage SFC and
follow with the prior vintage BFC.</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Congratulations, you made it! Take a breath, or a sip as the case may be. We
now return you to our Culinary Inclinations Series Part V: Fruits of the Sea
with a Bottle of BFC.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3185214" height="365" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/4791f70a-aec3-4eb8-b38c-dc62cdca6176.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 365px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Secrets of culinary inclinations were often spread by troubadours, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Canyon" style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #336699;">roving medicine shows</span></a> selling (snake oil)
elixirs and other travelers. For people who inhabited far away islands, pirates
were often a source of culinary information, along with the usual pillage and
plunder. Maybe even pandemics. While COVID19 is not the world’s first pandemic,
our global response to it is unique to our time. As we used to say, the
questions don’t change but the answers do.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGpLcpXWxUDch5K5kPwx7t5GpUIyN-SG7hJ71xRY1HmU0nv4wHapMf35foY5w3aOuyJiF7O19OXBX1bEUy1C8BX40ZEchuXRAOI-vRVvqm5XVYJA1T2gkLr4JRYlHC7Ht6UK8lI-r5XIg/s365/2021+BFC+Crayfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="194" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGpLcpXWxUDch5K5kPwx7t5GpUIyN-SG7hJ71xRY1HmU0nv4wHapMf35foY5w3aOuyJiF7O19OXBX1bEUy1C8BX40ZEchuXRAOI-vRVvqm5XVYJA1T2gkLr4JRYlHC7Ht6UK8lI-r5XIg/w106-h200/2021+BFC+Crayfish.jpg" width="106" /></a></div>One thing that may surprise you is that the New
Zealand Rock Lobsters (called crayfish by the Kiwis) have no claws. This is
good and bad. Good in that after you handle a few live specimens, you will
still be able to count to ten using only your fingers. Bad in that you are
missing out on that excellent lobster claw meat. And good in that you will be
able to prepare the rest of the meal employing fully functioning opposable
thumbs.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks to the pandemic, or tariffs and trade wars, or whatever, the Australians
seem to be awash in these crustaceans. They lost access to an exceptionally
large market and the locals are trying to pick up the slack.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Supply and demand, not just a good idea, but in fact an unwritten law, is
taking its toll. Let’s try and help them if we can. Here’s how.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing you will need to do is co-locate with your whole crayfish. We
suggest a local purveyor, or you can harness the power of the internet to find
suitable specimens that can be shipped directly to your door. And since it
happens to be cold in most of the Northern Hemisphere, this should not pose a
spoilage problem.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWApBgeq0WI8kxxQbT1-m3cpCcdSF8QOv3t1FCKlwI9L8zx-uDQD5IH9MK0U0TaErskYOMsAUgbp40o80ZrG05Jh0LpKCv5AE5iKZIBJqgcj4NAwNyIKFjOE0lWtIY22cewJGWEEEYcnR/s473/2021+BFC+Grill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="473" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWApBgeq0WI8kxxQbT1-m3cpCcdSF8QOv3t1FCKlwI9L8zx-uDQD5IH9MK0U0TaErskYOMsAUgbp40o80ZrG05Jh0LpKCv5AE5iKZIBJqgcj4NAwNyIKFjOE0lWtIY22cewJGWEEEYcnR/w200-h112/2021+BFC+Grill.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>We are going to end up under the broiler, or out
on the grill after someone scrapes off the snow, but first we are going to make
a stop in a steaming pot of water. The secret to an irresistible cray tail is
to give it a little time in steaming hot water. This method allows for the meat
to cook through, thus preventing a disruption of your evening plan with trip to
the emergency room.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIS2tRx7Egt3l3iIIY80_xZA9z34aqCoSubic-IJ60qowg6l7Q51GTImPMmKi7MKbSCilmn0bAGEzuM3_7DjvqA1rKL8br9cMcCRlfKauRtDPDmHcxywxCkLjjtGmusvA8jDxkP1aJZhSc/s434/2021+BFC+Grill+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="434" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIS2tRx7Egt3l3iIIY80_xZA9z34aqCoSubic-IJ60qowg6l7Q51GTImPMmKi7MKbSCilmn0bAGEzuM3_7DjvqA1rKL8br9cMcCRlfKauRtDPDmHcxywxCkLjjtGmusvA8jDxkP1aJZhSc/w200-h134/2021+BFC+Grill+2.jpg" width="200" /></a>Once thawed, anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes in
about 2 inches of steaming hot water is just about right, depending on size.
This leaves the meat slightly translucent, an ideal condition to finish
under the broiler, unless you can actually get the grill to light. “When was
the last time the propane tank was filled? Did you check the regulator? Maybe
it is frozen.”</div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This next step is where we separate the gut line from the prized tail. Cut your
cray lengthwise through the tail and remove the gut line. The meat should still
be just a little underdone. The wine, chilling nicely at 55 degrees, most
likely needs to be refreshed as you toast to your achievement. “It sure looks
cold out there. Any luck with the grill, honey or should I just use the
broiler?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">You may be in a holding pattern as the grill is yet to be confirmed. Use these
few minutes to whip up a homemade aioli. Add a little Dijon mustard, white
balsamic vinegar, raw egg yolk and roasted garlic to the blender. Have your
best quality olive oil at the ready as you activate the blender. Slowly pour in
the olive oil to ensure it is being incorporated and stop when you achieve the
desired consistency. While the chances of getting the proportions and timing
exactly right on the first attempt are not zero, they are very close to it. We
suggest making a few trial attempts, with a sip of SFC inspiration, before the
main event.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXmfUZD1i3jsiHBd85MAC94z4b5t5Ze6NMLi2gS-7BzRrFYFP6GrTApApaxN-shDlSnMwyjn7UiHc-y0OdQmkufZfAcgda4-h5SLdcVjl7Awjib-x9_L3zqvVzuGJ5r83zZJrbIL1On8j/s433/2021+BFC+Belichick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="290" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXmfUZD1i3jsiHBd85MAC94z4b5t5Ze6NMLi2gS-7BzRrFYFP6GrTApApaxN-shDlSnMwyjn7UiHc-y0OdQmkufZfAcgda4-h5SLdcVjl7Awjib-x9_L3zqvVzuGJ5r83zZJrbIL1On8j/w134-h200/2021+BFC+Belichick.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>It’s time to make the call. This is your “grumpy
lobster boat captain” Bill Belichick moment. While you have great confidence in
the offense, 4</span><sup style="color: #505050;">th</sup><span style="color: #505050;"> and 20 from your own 15 yard line is not the time
to go for it. You start the broiler and lure your grill mate back into the warm
house. A little BFC will go a long way to provide soothing comfort. “No one
will even notice. Your left eyebrow will grow back in no time.” You may need to
find that reserve bottle, already at chill, in case you have to share.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other culinary inclinations that do not lend themselves to the outdoor grilling
experience (and the ensuing machinations) include pan seared scallops over
black truffle risotto. There are only about 15 million Gordon Ramsey videos
that demonstrate how to properly sear a scallop. Fried or baked sea salt and
black pepper calamari with roasted red pepper aioli is another excellent
pairing with your SFC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you can occasionally find <a href="https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=244" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">white Chinook salmon</span></a>.
These are real Chinook salmon, but they do not process the color pigments from
the crustaceans in their natural diet. This affects about 1 in 20 fish. The
result is that their meat is milk white, but oh so delicious. Another Pacific
Northwest favorite is steelhead. These are ocean going trout that swim back
into fresh water to spawn. Norway and Scotland raise these fish for export and
fresh fillets may be available in your local market. After planning the
revolution, you may find frogs legs, Burgundy snails or a bucket of steamed
mussels with crusty French bread to be in order. The use of excess butter and
garlic is the key.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhB9nZEFAsTyzGSHUZKY9OtWU-XAJUL1ez_pAt82q8T1zfZLmux4rQ7uOIVjJdKbmc4hpGM3EsIGlMtoIDwR3M-Fjgkv6a61mJuY-xC9WEpEIH0T_vGYJy3Im4nmfnF1Yv7xeXvTteGuR/s434/2021+BFC+King+Crab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="434" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhB9nZEFAsTyzGSHUZKY9OtWU-XAJUL1ez_pAt82q8T1zfZLmux4rQ7uOIVjJdKbmc4hpGM3EsIGlMtoIDwR3M-Fjgkv6a61mJuY-xC9WEpEIH0T_vGYJy3Im4nmfnF1Yv7xeXvTteGuR/w200-h134/2021+BFC+King+Crab.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>And let’s not forget the tastiest crustacean of
all, the king crab. A product of cold Alaska waters these crabs make the meals
of marriage proposals. To be offered sparingly and with a dedicated purpose in
mind. Dungeness and other crabs are available seasonally in local markets. Crab
cakes are another way to add your signature preparation to this delicious meat.
Soft shell crabs are a once-a-year thing, so you will need to plan ahead. They
do.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While a bit of a master class in execution, skewered prawns interleaved with
prosciutto finished under the broiler are a tried-and-true way to get that new
living room set, or big screen TV you have been eyeing all year. However,
skewered prawns can be finished on the grill, so a little pre-planning is in
order. An empty propane tank is probably the most effective deterrent to the
entire grill saga. Strategy suggests letting the first glass of SFC work its
magic before pointing out the empty propane tank situation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhOnYP5-SSsnihvX_Uhy4xZXxardZqMGWUAq92uzO_76z57BKFNsqzySbG6hXN7ugcQYiKl_gTqUAi0PtMPXczSkAb4cISOKJBFHbF-cdDA13RrRArvcxBBz2bjTL9kTybMdWzTkMPh3Q/s294/2021+BFC+Cray+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="294" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhOnYP5-SSsnihvX_Uhy4xZXxardZqMGWUAq92uzO_76z57BKFNsqzySbG6hXN7ugcQYiKl_gTqUAi0PtMPXczSkAb4cISOKJBFHbF-cdDA13RrRArvcxBBz2bjTL9kTybMdWzTkMPh3Q/w200-h153/2021+BFC+Cray+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Now the aioli is perfect and the table is set
with the appropriate tools, accoutrements and BF or SF Chardonnay. The broiler
is glowing red and ready to receive your bisected cray’s.</span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A little olive oil and a dusting of smoked paprika on the translucent meat is
all you need to create the perfect presentation. A quick sip and in they go.
This may not take much time, so be near the broiler with hot pads at the ready.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--></span><!--[endif]--><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3A8UozvR5s_O9OM4XEv3XYu-IB4FT4UeDojSKFetluz0qk-BPfuwqqO7Q-n44S8ByokD8GRMhOhyGyqHtwlTs1suxLAtVjjP34XdrY1hyl8pZ7beh-0lztFBxemGfjyM-sgCte3jppXjP/s473/2021+BFC+Cray+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="473" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3A8UozvR5s_O9OM4XEv3XYu-IB4FT4UeDojSKFetluz0qk-BPfuwqqO7Q-n44S8ByokD8GRMhOhyGyqHtwlTs1suxLAtVjjP34XdrY1hyl8pZ7beh-0lztFBxemGfjyM-sgCte3jppXjP/w200-h113/2021+BFC+Cray+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The sweet succulent meat separates easily from
the shell, the wine gravity flows from bottle to glass, and you have just
received notification that the grill sold on eBay. Well done. “Look outside
honey. It is starting to snow, again…”</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Chardonnay is there for you. Add a harvest bounty from the sea and let your
culinary genius run wild.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Kindest Regards,</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Dena & Ernie</div></span></span>
<!--[endif]-->Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685777380388934202.post-42458494777308413972021-01-06T11:30:00.007-08:002021-01-06T13:17:46.623-08:00Amalie Robert Estate Vintage 2021: A Year in Preview <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;">Hello and
Welcome, </span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">As the taint of vintage 2020 slowly begins to dissipate, we turn to face the
opportunities and challenges that await us in vintage 2021. But as we do, there
is value in applying the lessons of vintages past as we look to Vintage 2021: A
Year in Preview. </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">In other words, as we approach the other end of the tunnel it is nice to know
what is making that light. “This year can’t be any worse than last year,” said
no farmer ever. A <a href="https://amalierobert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">FLOG communication</span></a>
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Willamette Valley
Oregon Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amalierobert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">@AmalieRobert</span></a>. </div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3176618" height="180" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/f9ead280-9bcd-4e06-aa1f-4bc1795e39b2.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 180px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><span style="color: #505050;">
Sunrise harvest morning, vintage 2015.</span><br />
<br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">First Quarter: January through March - Rain and Renewal. The 30 year average
annual rainfall is about 45 inches at our 35 acre vineyard. That rainfall
starts around harvest time with a shower here or there, and then really gets
with the program from November through March. So, you may want to know just
much rain is that? How do you put that in perspective? How do I impress my
friends and persuade my boss to give me a raise?</div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">Just ask a farmer. An inch of rain over a single acre of ground is 27,154
gallons and weighs 113 tons. Here at the farm, a five minute shower uses about
10 to 25 gallons. However at Ernie’s age, the time is reduced, as is his use of
shampoo. Your mileage may vary, but over time the curve skews downward. And
speaking of downward, all of those cover crop seeds of rye grain and winter
peas are just laying there in the soil soaking it all up. That’s their job, to
develop fibrous roots that will hold the soil onto the hill during the winter
months. And to fix nitrogen to feed our vines come springtime. More on that in
the second quarter.</div><span style="color: #505050;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; line-height: 100%; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3176642" height="241" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/c238d129-dec6-4392-99d1-279a78cbbac5.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 241px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span><br /><div style="color: #505050; text-align: justify;">35 acres of producing vines and there's Ernie right in the middle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #505050;"> </span></div><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">So logically, a 35 acre vineyard that receives 45 inches of rain per year is
getting 42,767,550 gallons of rainwater, weighing in at 177,485 tons. And at a
vine spacing of 7.5’ for the tractor and 4’ between vines yielding a vine
density of 1,452 vines per acre, each vine receives 841 gallons of rainwater
each year. And that is enough for 35 to 84 showers a year, average about 60.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And we are dry farmed, meaning the only irrigation our vines receive is from
Mother Nature. So you could say that our vines get about 60 “human equivalent”
showers a year, where humans are more likely to get around 360 showers per
year. To summarize, an inch of rain is about 20 gallons of water per vine. See
if that little kernel of wine knowledge doesn’t make you the popular one.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This is also the time for renewal. More commonly known as pruning. The idea is
to get the vines ready to bear fruit and ripen their seeds without succumbing
to mildew or bunch rot. And it is a nasty time of year with the wind and
driving rain soaking the vineyard workers to the core.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Intelligence and experience is needed to prune the vines properly. A properly
pruned vine is a joy to work and a pleasure to the eye during the canopy
management portion of the winegrowing program. If you mess up pruning and make
the wrong cuts, you get to live with those decisions all year long right up
through harvest. This is just the opposite of a bad haircut that will grow out.
Not that it really bothers you, as it’s everyone else that has to look at it.
No, you get to live with bad pruning decisions all year, and potentially
impacting the follow-on year.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It takes about 15 pruning cuts per vine to remove last year’s canopy growth and
tie down a single cane for the new growing season. Multiplied by 50 some
thousand vines, that is about 750 thousand pruning cuts – by hand. We
understand carpal tunnel syndrome is real. But you may want to think twice
before you accept a thumb wrestle challenge from a professional vineyard
worker. Maybe just a handshake will do. Or the newfangled elbow bump…</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><img align="none" border="0" data-file-id="3176638" height="412" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/01cbb59e-50e6-4729-9c5f-c02db14c3728.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; color: #505050; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The vineyard before pruning.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We have a brief set of videos on the renewal process. The first step is to
remove the little catch clips that hold last year’s perfectly positioned shoots
into three sets of catch wires. Each vine gets about 5 of these across the
three wires. They go on in the spring and come off in the winter. By hand.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMRIiCfZOLc" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3176622" height="412" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/6a425dc6-b6b6-4a60-8b4c-1cbd2e6d2cd4.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Click on the picture or this link to see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMRIiCfZOLc" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">catch clip removal</span></a>. (10
seconds)</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The next phase is to make the primary cuts. This is where we determine which
canes will stay for the new growing season, and which ones will be returned to
the vineyard floor. Ernie mows these with the tall grass, thereby returning the
nutrients to the soil. Waste not want not.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Rkzn4d7v0" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3176630" height="412" id="_x0000_i1029" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/299f1a7a-e475-43f4-8043-0d80e36db023.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Click on the picture or this link to see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Rkzn4d7v0" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">primary cuts</span></a>. (21
seconds)</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Then there is the arduous task of pulling the brush from the canopy. There is a
lot of talk about drones and self-driving tractors in the field. What we really
need is an automated solution to this task.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJb_K0EnBzk" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3176626" height="412" id="_x0000_i1030" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/aa609935-1b22-4f9d-80ad-0395ca084947.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Click on the picture or this link to see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJb_K0EnBzk" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">brush pull</span></a>. (22 seconds)</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And finally, we have a new cane to tie down to the wire. This single cane
carries all the vines hopes, dreams and aspirations to ripen their seeds and
reproduce in vintage 2021. They don’t know we are making wine. It’s our little
secret.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PUsbRcsBzA" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-file-id="3176634" height="412" id="_x0000_i1031" src="https://mcusercontent.com/9859057a9a87ea9c6e6589192/images/3ce3f569-cf8a-41d4-8ef3-8cd43228b888.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: inline; height: 412px; line-height: 100%; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 550px;" width="550" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Click on the picture or this link to see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PUsbRcsBzA" style="color: #505050;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;">tie down</span></a>. (34 seconds)</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Ernie is in the tractor shop changing oil, repairing this AND that,
torqueing lug nuts and generally getting ready for the growing season. The best
kind of tractor to have is the one that starts when you want it to. Ernie sees
to that this time of year. It’s called percussive maintenance. In extreme cases
it can lead to new equipment purchases with the section 179 deduction. And
potentially a visit to the ER, with a moderate co-pay.</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Remember, 2021 started on a FRIDAY! Is this going to be a great year, or what?</div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Kindest Regards,</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="color: #505050;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Dena & Ernie</div></span></span>
<!--[endif]-->Amalie Robert Estatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06581258604443446976noreply@blogger.com0