Hello and
Welcome!
This is the
climate update for May 2012. All in all, it has been a pretty good mix of rain,
sun, clouds, wind and favorable working conditions in the vineyard. Par for the
course, there were a couple of equipment “malfunctions” that required repairs
including an adjustment of the loose nut behind the wheel. When preventive
maintenance fails, the last tool in the toolbox is usually the right tool for
percussive maintenance. Ah Janet, it’s springtime in the Willamette.
The vines are
budded out with shoots that are about 12 to 18 inches and we have just finished
their manicure. That is where we run down the length of their 4 foot cane and
remove excess shoots that are spaced too closely together. The idea here is that
if the shoots are too close together, the leaves and fruit will impede the
sunlight and air circulation we need to properly ripen our fruit throughout the
growing season. This congestion in the canopy will also make it easier for those
nasty little mildew and botrytis spores to take hold - and that is completely
unacceptable.
The next step for
our 44,155 precocious little winemakers
is to straighten their
remaining shoots
and clip catch wires around them. The purpose of the catch wires is to keep the
shoots growing vertically through the trellis. It is a requirement of a VSP
(Vertical Shoot Positioned) trellis system.
“What does this
mean and why should I care?!”
Welcome to
advanced canopy management for cool climate Pinot Noir (as if there is any other
kind.) The primary design benefit of a VSP trellis system is to separate the
shoots and expose the fruit clusters to sun and circulating air, in hopes no
mildew will grow there.
The alternative is
to not position those shoots vertically, but to let them flop down all over
themselves. The result will be less sun exposure to develop flavors and aromas
in the skins, and a damp environment around the leaves that will make the
perfect home to a mildew epidemic.
As mildew grows it
takes about 7 days to produce new spores that will infect new leaves. Once the
fruit makes its debut on the scene, the mildew will attack the fruit and all
will be lost. In other words, there will be no wine, just lots of whining - and
that is completely unacceptable.
The vineyard floor
is looking really nice. The permanent grass rows have been mowed down twice,
with the last pass just before the rains. This is very fortuitous timing as the
clippings will decompose faster, returning nutrients to the soil, which as you
know, is the plant’s stomach.
Ernie has
incorporated last year’s cover crop of Peas and Oats into the soil to be
digested by all those little soil microbes. As the growing season progresses,
all of that organic matter just decomposes right before our eyes. We see it
again in the new green growth of the vines’ shoots and leaves. This is the
circle of life, if you live in the soil.
Just as quick as
you please, Ernie returned with his mighty (expensive) seed drill and installed
his summer cover crop of Buckwheat and Vetch. The idea here is to fix nitrogen
with the Vetch and for the Buckwheat to provide pollen protein for our
carnivorous little beneficial insets if they run out of non-beneficial insects
to eat. Love you guys!
Reminds Ernie of a
photo he saw of a grizzly bear in Alaska with a rather large salmon hanging out
of its mouth. The caption was “Are you the Salmon or are you the Bear?” And of
course, until the final moment, how would you know?
Step into the
Vineyard Vestibule and we will tell you that we have accumulated some heat units
this month!
Wouldn’t be easy
if we could just “cap and trade” heat units? We could dial in the “perfect” Wine
Spectator vintage every year! Maybe the folks in Spain are just too hot and we
could trade them some cool Willamette Valley breeze for a few days of hot, dry
heat. That’s kind of what happens when vineyards turn on the irrigation – think
about it.
OK, back to
reality. Here are the numbers for the month of May 2012.
The month of May
accumulated 196.32 degree days, had a high of 88.0 and a low of 31.7 with 2.92
inches of rain. This brings the 2012 growing season up to a very respectable
236.08 degree days from April 1 through May 31. We are significantly warmer than
2011’s heat accumulation of 37.61 degree days by nearly a factor of 10! Rainfall
for the growing season is 6.04 inches, which is less than the 2011 ark building
rains of 7.71 inches.
But there is more to
the story. While we recorded a low temperature of 31.7, we did not see any frost
damage. Other sites in the valley were not so lucky and have reported frost
damage. This will not kill the vines; they are too tough for that. However,
there is a very strong likelihood that there will be no fruit from the damaged
shoots - no wine, just lots of whining.
As June unfolds, we
will be scouting for the next sign of harvest – flowers. It is with this event
in the vineyard we can begin to establish a harvest window. We like to see 105
days from flowers to harvest. Of course, we will take what we can get and not
complain. Maybe just have a glass of wine.
Kindest
regards,
Dena &
Ernie
