Hello and Welcome,
Where to begin? On
the sunny side of life there was September. The last great bastion of freedom
before the autumn of 2011 set upon us. The vineyard was all hedged up, the
shoots were tucked in, the grapes were turning color and starting to ripen.
Ernie said "My work here is done." So we took off for a little sales work on the
Eastern Seaboard and it reminded us of, dare we say, "vacation."
We participated in
our first portfolio tasting where distilled spirits were also being sampled.
This was an eye opening experience. When we show our Pinot Noirs we discuss the
vineyard, our soils, the vintage and general winemaking philosophy. Enough said,
you like the wine or you don't. But with distilled spirits, those brands come
alive - literally. Most brands were represented by what seemed to be
"professionals doing a job" and they were dressed to bring their brand image to
life! Some fun up there in Bean town.
On the road as the
brand owner, your job is to assist the local sales folks in educating their wine
shop or restaurant accounts on who you are and what you do. These folks are also
keenly interested in knowing if anyone else likes your wines, like some certain
publications that will remain unnamed. But the real test comes when you pour
wine at their account and their patrons are very excited to try the wines. So
excited in fact that they deplete the inventory. Which brings us to the
"re-order" that completes the sustainability circle of life.
Not that we will
get credit for this, but while in DC we "drained the swamp!" Our nations capital
is truly an awe inspiring experience. Here Dena is posed with "Honest Abe" as he
looks out toward the Washington Monument, which just happens to obscure his view
of the Capital. The Capital is where Congress convenes to do "the business of
the people" - or "gives the people the business" take your pick. But between The
Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument was the reflecting pool - not
anymore. That body of water has been drained and all the slippery, slimy
inhabitants have been vacated! As you may imagine, no considerable expense was
spared in this effort.
The numbers for
September were just great. The first half of the month was fine, but the second
half really brought it home. Step into the vineyard vestibule and lets have a
look see.
We have recorded
about 471 degree days for the month of September, providing a total of 1,742
degree days since the beginning of the growing season on April 1st. This
compares with 298 degree days last September and a comparative total of 1,562
degree days for 2010. We may submit this to Wikipedia as the definition of "A
Really Nice September."
During September,
our highest high was 98.6 and our lowest high was 86.6. Our lowest low was 41.7
and our highest low was 50.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
There was no
rainfall in September - this is significant. Rainfall last September was 1.86
inches. Rainfall since April 1st through September 30th remains 9.39 inches, and
is 6.25 inches less than last year's growing season to date rainfall of 15.64
inches. The average monthly humidity was 64.43% and the average dew point was
51.08 degrees.
All in all,
September was a very fine month for ripening Pinot Noir. We made up some lost
ground in the degree day department and the rainfall held off. Note below that
the early October weather we are receiving seems to match the late September
weather of 2010. As with the earlier part of the growing season, everything
seems to have slipped a couple of weeks. This is not unlike software releases,
of which we know something about.
Now we turn into
the wind and set a course for Octo-vember. This is the period beginning on day
274 of the growing season and lasting (hopefully) through harvest to day 334.
Much German bier will be consumed and there will be the defining moment of
harvest for most. Not all vineyard sites are created equal and this has been a
tough year as it is for powdery mildew. And now, the threat of Botrytis has
turned to reality.
Beginning on
Saturday night, October 1st through the 9th we have logged just about 1.43
inches of rain. While we normally get a little rainfall around the end of
September (1.86 inches last year) to wash the dust off the fruit, this is a
little more than most folks were looking for. Fortunately the temperatures have
been very cool. This is good because for Botrytis to grow, it needs warmth to go
with this moisture. We like to think of this wet period at the end of September
as the "cooling off period", lest we get too excited and try and pick our fruit
too soon.
The good news is
that on Friday and Saturday, we did have dry days and Ernie was able to drill in
the fall cover crop of Oats and Peas. This mix will be the cover crop that holds
our soil onto the hillside over the winter rains and provides nutrients for our
vines in the Spring. The vineyard canopy still looks healthy and green which
means photosynthesis can continue. We believe our "High, Wide and Handsome"
canopy management style provides increased leaf surface area to help us ripen
fruit in challenging vintages. An initial sampling of the vineyard revealed 19.1
Brix and the flavors are starting to come on. Near as we can tell, we could use
another 2 weeks of growing season.
Up until now, no
real bird damage to speak of and the cold weather is keeping the yellow jackets
subdued. The only real vineyard pests to have shown up so far are those from the
media. It seems the peanut gallery is now quite active. The first week of
October brought cool rains and a very vociferous chorus of gloom and doom. We
even have an Oregon State Extension agent questioning whether the grapes will
"survive." We are not sure what that means, but we think these folks need to
pull their heads out of their hats and talk to some real winegrowers who depend
upon their skills and abilities to survive in the wine industry. So, if you find
yourself tuned into WTFO Radio and hear these pontifications, look for some hard
data in what is being said.
Before we simply
abandon our vineyards and start burning our furniture, let's take a rational
look at what lies ahead of us. To do that, we can look at the last time the
media got too far ahead of the facts. Yeah, we have been here before. From the
2007
Vintage Primer:
"...keep in mind
the following harvest criteria that most winemakers use in determining when to
harvest.
1. Are the grapes
in the range of sugars and acids to make commercially viable wine?
2. Have the grapes
developed aromas and flavors that showcase the soils and the vintage?
3. Will the extra
hang time be offset by water logging or rot if we wait to harvest?
4. Of course, if
you are buying fruit, the winegrower has an opinion on when to
harvest."
So, what we do
know for sure?
1) We will take
whatever final measures we can to ward off Botrytis. We have been very diligent
in the vineyard this year knowing we had gotten off to a late start. Also the
last few vintages have given us the "experience we needed*" in dealing with
these types of harvest conditions. *This is akin to eating liver at a young age
so that for the rest of your life you will know you don't like it.
2) The grapes will
continue to develop flavors and aromas in the skins and build sugars slowly
producing perfumed, elegant and lower alcohol wines. The vines are designed to
ripen their seeds in all kinds of weather - that's what they do come rain or
shine. And at Amalie Robert Estate, they are not taking the weekends
off!
3) It will rain -
maybe a little, maybe a lot more than a little. Our role is to be ready when the
harvest windows open to bring in clean and mature fruit. We are small and nimble
when it comes to harvesting our Estate grown fruit. Again we see in 2011,
growing your own wine has its advantages.
4) Contrary to
what you may have heard, the sun will come up each and every day. Sometimes we
will feel the warm embrace on our bright smiling faces and other times we will
be to busy to notice the cloud cover.
In closing, we
look up to a man who seemed larger than life and was always a pillar of
inspiration. It was John Wayne who said "Courage is being scared to death - but
saddling up anyway." We are looking forward to the opportunity to prove our
mettle.
We will see you on
the other side of harvest with stories to tell and wines to share!
In the mean time,
we just can't get this song out of our heads:
Amalie Robert
Estate
Winegrowers You
Must Try
(To the tune of
Ghost Riders in the Sky)
Now we're at the
seasons end with winds and rain, you bet
We've got to pick
those grapes, but they aint ready yet
It seems like
forever that we wait for this one day
Detailed plans we
make, but Mother Nature leads the way
Yipie Meunier,
Yipie Pinot
Satisfaction Syrah
and Amalie's Cuvee
You can read the
full lyrics here: www.amalierobert.com/amalie_robert_winegrowers_you_must_try.htm
Kindest Regards
from the "Wine and Spirits Top 100 Wineries of 2011" tasting in San
Francisco,
Ernie
Last minute
addendum (as if there is any other kind): Today Tuesday October 12th, after a
nasty lashing of rain last night, we see the weather turning our direction. The
sun is out, a drying breeze has picked up and forecast calls for more of the
same. Dena even counted 5 rainbows today including a double! This harvest is
going to be as complex as it is long - just like the finish of a very fine Pinot
Noir.
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