This is the September 2017
Climate Update from Amalie Robert Estate. A FLOG communication.
And since the holidays are just
up ahead of us, we would like to share an early Christmas gift with everyone.
Once again, Amalie Robert Estate
finds itself on a Top 100 list. This year we have earned the top Pinot Noir
spot with 93 points for the 2012 The Uncarved Block from Wine & Spirits
“Top 100 Best Buys of the Year!”
The Master Farmer (MF) exam is
scheduled to begin in October, and Ernie has been preparing for it since he
drilled in the winter cover crop last fall.
Every year about this time,
winegrowers in Oregon ’s Willamette Valley
A MF must deliver healthy, mature
wine berries that have stunning aromas and flavors regardless of the degree day
accumulations, expected or unexpected rainfall, and be pristine exemplars of
the variety with balanced acids (malic and tartaric) and sugars (glucose and fructose.)
This is a pretty tall order to fill each year at Amalie Robert Estate that
includes 6 varieties of wine berries covering 35 acres represented by about
55,000 vines. That’s roughly 800,000 clusters to be plucked, all by hand. Yeah,
it’s a long way to the top if you got some grapes to haul.
At first light of the first
morning of The Great Cluster Pluck, the MF’s plan is revealed for all to see.
Well maintained tractors sporting fully inflated tires and full tanks of diesel
are hitched to harvest trailers containing clean harvest bins with lids (to
keep the rain and yellow jackets out) and buckets and extra buckets. Humans
from all walks of life descend upon the vineyard with harvest shears at the
ready. Clipboards with color coded control sheets and extra pens are clearly
evident. The First Aid and water stations are mobile and always very close by.
We are about to get it on, or get them off. Either is acceptable nomenclature.
The MF knows each block’s clone
and rootstock combination and he is familiar with the soils they are planted
into. He knows which blocks mature early. He knows if given the opportunity,
which blocks to let hang a little longer. He knows a mug of steaming morning
accelerant with dark chocolate is the best way to quietly watch the sunrise.
And so it goes, each day the MF
has a new harvest target package identifying the blocks to be Cluster Plucked
and in what order. When it is time to take the Chardonnay, the MF knows to
start with the white wine berries while the buckets are clean before moving to
the red wine berries. However, the interplanted Viognier is co-plucked with the
Syrah. He knows that too and he knows why.
After the wine berries are
delivered for the day, the MF collects the harvest buckets and does not let
them be stacked. The juice will dry and permanently adhere the buckets into a
20 foot column of useless plastic. Tires are checked with more than just a
swift kick, fuel tanks are filled and walk around inspections detect any loss
of vital fluids, such as brake fluid. The MF likes a Dog Nose Beer (cold and
wet) to celebrate the bounty of the harvest and skating past the pitfalls
Mother Nature has set for him.
The MF is more than just
connected with the land – it owns him. He is the steward of the mental
construct that he has implemented to the best of his ability. The MF does not
understand irrigation; he leaves that duty to Mother Nature. He does his best
to preserve available soil moisture to keep the vine canopy functioning with
the goal of achieving optimal aroma and flavor development for each variety of
wine he grows. However, the MF understands erosion and erosion control with
nutrient fixing cover crops. The MF performs tractor maintenance, knows when
something should be fixed and when it should be replaced. Everything he drives
runs on diesel.
The Master Farmer exam is
administered over approximately 6 weeks (24x7) and concludes with the Syrah
planted in lucky block 13. Then preparations begin for the 2018 Master Farmer
exam with pruning.
The MF understands numbers. The
MF knows they can be a guide, rules of the road that in some cases must be
adhered to and in other cases, such as the speed limit, are more subject to interpretation.
The MF knows to never pass on the opportunity to utilize the facilities.
We accumulated 426.4 degree days
for September, which is “just fine.” The high temperature was 98.6 and the low
temperature was 41.0. This brings the 2017 growing season to date degree days
to 2,209.1. And that is right in the Master Farmer’s wheel house.
However, the big news is the lashing
rain we received around midmonth. This was a variable rain event in that the
rain received varied by the location. We were fortunate to receive about 2.7
inches over the course of 5 days. This rain event allowed the vines to
rehydrate and lower the sugar concentration in the wine berries. The net effect
was to allow more hang time to fully develop aromas and flavors without excess
alcohol potential. Total rain for the month of September was 3.13 inches and
the growing season to date total is 9.40 inches.
Then, as if pre-ordained, sunny,
breezy and dry conditions prevailed as we began the Master Farmer exam aka The
Great Cluster Pluck of 2017. Drama ensued forthwith in the form of a terminal
well pump, loss of power at the winery and a broken clutch return spring on the
tractor. All par for the course and fair game for the Master Farmer exam.
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
