Hello and Welcome Dena,
I
See You!
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.
Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means. ®
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.
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.
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.
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!
Ernie Hedging a Short Canopy.
The first benefit is the vine will be using less water. On the backside of each
leaf are stomates. 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.
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.
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.
Hedged as Short as Possible without Hitting the Post!
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.
Smoke gets in your eyes… and lungs.
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.
This graphic is the Air Quality Index. 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.
Our wine producing, and neighboring state to the south has been in the thick of
this “no win scenario” 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:
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.
Smoke Entering the Willamette Valley from the Southeast.
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.
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
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