Hello and Welcome,
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.
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 FLOG communication
(Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Willamette Valley
Oregon Pinot Noir. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram @AmalieRobert.
Sunrise harvest morning, vintage 2015.
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?
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.
35 acres of producing vines and there's Ernie right in the middle.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
The vineyard before pruning.
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.
Click on the picture or this link to see catch clip removal. (10
seconds)
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.
Click on the picture or this link to see primary cuts. (21
seconds)
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.
Click on the picture or this link to see brush pull. (22 seconds)
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.
Click on the picture or this link to see tie down. (34 seconds)
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.
Remember, 2021 started on a FRIDAY! Is this going to be a great year, or what?
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
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