Amalie Robert Estate Vintage 2022 Pre-view: Spring Renewal

Hello and Welcome, 

  

Crocus, Daffodil and Grape Hyacinth – Welcome Spring! 

This is the Vintage 2022 Preview – aka Spring Renewal. That ties right in with our other Spring theme, Spring Lamb. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means. ® by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, et al. A FLOG communication (Farming bLOG). You can keep up with vintage 2022 by subscribing to our Instagram account @AmalieRobert.

 

Many people see each vintage as a new beginning, and when it comes to the wine it certainly is. However, farmers, and wine growers in particular, are perennials. Sure, there are some aging baby boomers, GEN Xer’s and Millennials in the group, but if you are growing wine, you pick up from where you left off last fall with vineyard pruning.

 

The art of vineyard pruning is to cut away the unnecessary dormant canes from last year, pull those canes out of the trellis wires (without breaking the wires) and then wrapping a cane down on the fruiting wire for vintage 2022 fruit production. In theory this Spring Renewal is done before Daylight Savings Time kicks in, where we lose an hour. Lost time is never found.

 

Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir at Amalie Robert before pruning.



First cuts are done.


Canes pulled out of the trellis wires.


Pinot Noir wrapped on the fruiting wire and ready for Spring Renewal!

Vineyard pruning in the Willamette Valley is an arduous winter task. Your day is confined to a few acres of dormant vines, a pair of 30 inch loppers, raingear, gloves and boots with soggy socks in a windy, rainy vineyard where the highlight of your day may be getting to see a rainbow. If you leave your lunch unprotected, then it will mostly likely be detected by some squirrel or weasel making a long day an even longer day for you. No matter how you spin it, pruning (generally speaking) draws a vacuum. But it does get you out in the open air, without a mask…

 

Unlike annual crops that don’t need to be pruned, vines put down deep roots. Vine age, root depth and soil colonization are very highly regarded traits of an “old vine” vineyard. These established vines and root systems are less susceptible to surface level drought and excessive rains. Old vines are battle tested and resilient. As we look forward to our second 20 years of wine growing, these old vines from the turn of the century are impressive to see.

Old Vine Pinot Noir at Amalie Robert. 


Spring is About to Spring!
 

Astronomically speaking, the Willamette Valley 2022 Spring Equinox occurs at 8:33 am PST on Sunday, March 20^th. Be sure to set your clocks, you won’t want to miss the first day of Spring!

 

But it has been a long time getting here. On February 2^nd, that oversized rodent Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter, and we have had it! As this US weather temperature graphic shows, it has been a grueling winter season, masks and all. Maybe what we need to do is change out that rodent…

 

Click on this link to check the current temperatures
 

There is good news on the horizon. That is where you always find it, on the horizon. The foretold additional winter and associated mask mandates are coming to an end. We know this because Groundhog Day plus 6 more weeks of winter adds up to the first day of Spring! (That, and no one wants a mask mandate revolt on the first day of Spring. ”Let them truckers roll, 10-4.”)

  

Ready to Drink (RTD) Cocktails are something that this country embraced during the height of the pandemic. But they are not new. Quite recently, the old school implementation has been revived in the Ukrainian alcohol space. As we can see in this video, Ready to Deploy  Molotov Cocktails are experiencing a strong resurgence.

 

Wrapped and ready to deploy!
 
 
What you do when no one is looking matters.
 

The definition of integrity, according to C.S. Lewis, “is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” Cover crops are vineyard inputs that most people are unfamiliar with. But they are the unsung heroes of winegrowing

 

Cover crops are working while the vines are sleeping. Just like rust is always working. If you live in a state where salt is used on winter roads to melt the ice, you know what we are talking about. Please give our regards to Phil, the rodent.

 

Cover crop plants hit the ground running, sort of speak. Once the seeds are under about a quarter inch of soil and get a little rainfall they germinate. This is what they are pre-programmed to do. They grow roots to help hold our soil onto the hill during winter rains. Depending on the plants you have chosen, they can also impart nutrients into the soil to feed the vines the following spring. They may also bloom, which provides much needed pollen (protein) to feed our battalions of predatory vineyard insects.

Cover crop in bloom.

Nitrogen is always a limiting factor in vine growth. Nitrogen is a macro nutrient along with Phosphorous and Potassium. Think of the three main inputs to a bread dough recipe. Once you run out of one, you are done making bread. A lack of any of the three macro nutrients limits vine growth.

 

Phosphorus and Potassium bind to the colloids in the soil like a Syrah stain on your favorite sweater. Nitrogen is a special case. Unlike Phosphorus and Potassium, winter rains will wash Nitrogen out of the soil. The vines awaken to their Spring renewal and find the soil is fairly well depleted of Nitrogen.

 

Our part of the Willamette Valley receives about 45 inches of rain each fall (and virtually no rain during the summer). Our objective with cover crops is to always use a plant that will “fix” Nitrogen in the soil. Legumes such as winter peas or summer crops such as Vetch will fix Nitrogen in the soil.

 

When we use the term “fix” we mean that the plant will take Nitrogen out of the atmosphere and translocate it to its roots. Nitrogen fixation is often seen as small nodules on the root system. Turning these plants into the soil in Springtime will release the Nitrogen so that the vine roots can uptake it for the current growing season. Think of it as “Just in Time” fertilization. Not to worry about the atmosphere, about 78% of the air we breathe is Nitrogen, the remaining 21% is oxygen and that last 1% depends on your specific location in the world.

 

The alternative is not to plant cover crops. This leaves the soil on the vineyard floor undisturbed and there are benefits to that – especially if you are a worm, or know someone who is. Typically, grass is grown in each row to prevent soil erosion. The grass will compete with the vines for water and nutrients. That means that the vines will be getting their nutrients from a source other than cover crops.

 

A third possibility is to leave the vineyard floor clean cultivated. This means that all of the plants are gone, and the soil is completely bare and exposed. This may be a condition left over from the growing season where all of the plants are tilled into the soil to reduce water competition to young vines or vines grafted onto rootstocks producing shallow root systems. It may be intentional, or it could be that the tractor broke down before the cover crop could be planted and then the rains set in. Either way, it is the least desirable condition for the vineyard floor as we begin the growing season.

 

 

What does this mean and why should I care?

 

Have you ever tasted a wine and thought, well, it’s pleasant enough but something is lacking? Maybe it was filtered before being bottled and that took out some of the magic. Or maybe, the grapes were a little starved for nutrients when they were on the vine. Hmm… The first clue would be to look for signs of cover crops, or empty bags of (Ukrainian) fertilizer. Watson, get your boots. We are going sleuthing!

 

Assessing a vine’s nutritional health as it contributes to wine quality is a difficult task. Each vine is contributing to wine quality. The difficult part is finding the vines that are not contributing in a positive way. Imagine conducting 52,000 individual performance evaluations each year. It’s kinda like that.

 

Sometimes an issue arises and affects a certain section of the vineyard. In this case it is most likely something in the soil at that particular location such as a winter high water table that is drowning the roots. Or it could be a specific clone and rootstock combination under attack. Monocultures in agriculture are a risky thing.

 

Consider the Irish Potato Famine. The Irish Lumper was a very prolific potato and a staple in in many Irish households. It also just happened to be susceptible to a water mold that destroyed the plant and the potatoes. Sadly, this variety was virtually a monoculture throughout Ireland. After two growing seasons, the Irish Lumper was all but wiped out. On the bright side, an Irish farmer has re-introduced the Irish Lumper. That is going to require a well thought out marketing plan. Good luck with that.

 

Sometimes you do see a vine’s plea for help. This can occur after an incident of tractor blight. Tractor blight occurs when the vine and the tractor try to occupy the same physical space at the same time. The resulting blight is clearly visible and in most cases the vine can recover.

 

Other times it is the leaves that are making the ask. Nutrient deficiencies can manifest themselves through leaf discoloration. We have a known Magnesium deficiency when vines are grafted onto 44-53M rootstock. The leaves show a specific chlorosis that indicates the vine is lacking Magnesium. Other nutrients have specific “tells” that discolor the leaves indicating the specific nutritional deficiency.

 

Magnesium deficiency in a grapevine leaf.
 
And then there is mite damage. These little insects feed on the vascular tissue of the vine robbing it of its precious fluids. Cover crops, as detailed above, can help increase your predatory insect population that will decrease the unwanted mite population. And we may take a brief moment to point out “Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!”
 

Major Kong Rides The Bomb in Dr. Strangelove
 

When you discover a deficiency during the growing season, what to do? If you passed on the cover crops last fall, well, as Tanya Tucker sang. “It's a little too late to do the right thing now.” As always in farming, doing nothing is an option. Applying some form of fertilizer to feed the deficiency is the other option. But the underlying question is seldom addressed, what does this mean for wine quality?

 

Some clones have their own issues in the form of being virused. No matter what you do, the vine has an internal issue that manifests itself during the growing season. For Pinot Noir clone 667, this usually means the vine looks completely stressed weeks before harvest. No human input of fertilizer or cover crop regime will solve what ails this vine. The resulting wine from this clone is distinctive and can easily be identified in the cellar. As for the quality of the wine, it is often exemplary.

 

So if it works, do we have to fix it? We have adopted the position that a healthy vine with access to naturally formed nutrients is the first best path to wine quality. Every growing season is unique in the Willamette Valley and deficiencies can happen. Lack of soil moisture is a common theme in the summer and has been more pronounced in recent vintages. But does this mean we should start irrigating our dry farmed vineyards? Of course not. We recognize the vintage variations of a marginal climate and celebrate the fact that our wines do reflect the ever-changing climate. Our long-term objective however, is to have grown the best wine on the planet, for as long as we have a planet to grow wine on.

 

 

Live from New York!

 

The numbers this month come from New York where Vinous Media is published. Our 2016 “Hers and His” reserve Pinot Noir wines were just reviewed. And they went right down the line: 93 points Amalie’s Cuvee, 94 points Estate Selection and 95 points for the 2015 The Reserve. You can check out our updated Vintage Scorecard here:

 

Amalie's Cuvée - 93 points

Deep, shimmering crimson. Spice-tinged red and blue fruit scents, along with hints of musky earth and candied flowers. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering concentrated cherry cola, blueberry and spicecake flavors braced by a core of juicy acidity. Shows fine definition and repeating florality on the persistent finish, which is framed by well-integrated, discreet tannins.

 

Estate Selection - 94 points

Limpid ruby-red. Highly perfumed, mineral-accented aromas of raspberry, cherry cola and spicecake show fine detail and take on a floral overtone with aeration. Juicy and penetrating on the palate, offering juicy red and blue fruit preserve, rose pastille and candied licorice flavors and a touch of vanilla. Finishes very long and smooth, with repeating florality and discreet tannins that fold smoothly into the vibrant fruit.

 

The Reserve – 95 points

Full garnet. Vibrant, finely etched red berry, cherry, blood orange and exotic spice scents are complemented by a floral note and a hint of smoky minerality. Stains the palate with intense raspberry, cherry cola, allspice and rose pastille flavors that convey a suave blend of power and finesse. Smooth tannins build slowly on the impressively persistent finish, which emphatically echoes the floral and spice notes.

 

"Dena Drews and Ernie Pink are in no hurry to release their wines. If you know the wines and how they age, it makes great sense for the buyer, but it’s a pretty amazing sacrifice on the part of the winery. The vineyard is located just outside of Dallas, at the western end of the Willamette Valley. Their 35 acres directly abut the legendary Freedom Hill vineyard, which should give an idea of the quality of this location. This is a very low-profile operation, by design, but the consistently high quality of its wines has earned it a loyal, almost secret-handshake following that goes back to when Drews and Pink set up shop in 1999. The winemaking here is decidedly low-impact, and the resulting wines are elegant, focused and understated, with the balance to age gracefully (hence the late release policy) and positively. There aren’t many “insider” wineries left in this increasingly popular and well-traveled region, but Amalie Robert definitely qualifies." - Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media, February 2022

Culinary Inclinations Spring 2022

 

Spring Lamb is our Spring culinary inclination. For such a small animal, there are a wide variety of preparations. These include rack of lamb, braised lamb shanks, lamb chops or T-bones and ground lamb seasoned and filled into pinwheels or purses. Pinot Noir may not be the most obvious choice, but it shines mightily.

 

And there is a world of accoutrements and spices going well beyond salt, pepper and mint jelly. Moroccan spices on ground lamb pinwheels or purses with a side of mango chutney. Cucumber and yogurt join forces with garlic and olive oil as the base for Tzatziki. Roasted red pepper aioli with smoked paprika and Meyer lemon infused olive will add color and flair. What a conundrum, what to do, where to start?

 

There are alternatives as well. For those who find lamb to be a little too intense in flavor and aroma, we suggest venison as an alternative. We realize that not everyone is going out to the back 40 to harvest their own venison, as fun as that might be. Besides, it's the off season in the northern hemisphere, but down under...

 

A small herd of New Zealand deer. They heard you were coming.
 

The venison we are referring to is sourced from Silver Fern Farms in New Zealand. The animals are raised by Ben and Raewyn Gaddum, Tuapae Farms, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. And if your post-COVID wanderlust is taking you to Hawke's Bay, we recommend a few lovely days and nights in the Art Deco city of Napier. You will never see water quite so blue as from the balcony of the County Hotel.

 

The County Hotel, Napier New Zealand
 

Our introduction to Tuapae Farms venison happened in Birmingham, Alabama. Of all places that are food and wine, Birmingham is THE place. (The Gulf and LA (Lower Alabama) have their own cool vibe). The cut was rack of venison. Rack of venison is midway between the size of a rack of pork and a rack of lamb. Each rib chop was sliced about ¾ of an inch thick with a very generous portion of rib cap. Roasted to perfection and served aside roast winter vegetables and braised bitter greens.

 

The wine? Oh yes, the wine was Satisfaction Syrah, vintage 2015. The venue was a country club with about 50 guests. While it was a good crowd with a fair bit of interaction throughout the evening, the room drew quiet during this course. That was testament to the excellent preparation of the venison, and we hope a harmonious pairing with the wine.

 

We add Silver Fern Farms to our highly recommended list of purveyors which also includes White Pekin duck from Maple leaf Farms. You can check out their shopping carts here: Silver Fern Farms and Maple Leaf Farms.

 
Kindest Regards,

Dena & Ernie

Amalie Robert Estate Vintage Update: 2021 Harvest After Action Report (HAAR)

Hello and Welcome, 

  

This is the Harvest After Action Report (HAAR) from Amalie Robert Estate, Vintage 2021. Suggested reading time is 1.25 ARB’s (Adult Recreational Beverages). If you can possibly manage the time, please read this FLOG in one sitting. 

 

All’s well that ends well… Apparently this is not a new concept as William Shakespeare’s play was published in the 1600’s. Typically, a person can forget about how unpleasant or difficult something was because everything worked out fine. Or cognitively, it is just easier to set your sights on the next objective and forget about it. You will do better next time… Note that Shakespeare’s play is considered a comedy. Just imagine the literary masterpieces he could have turned out if he were a farmer!

 

In hindsight, Vintage 2021 really wasn’t so bad. Years from now we will taste the wines and all have a good laugh. Some will laugh first, others will laugh loudest and someone will have the last laugh. We suspect Mother Nature is laughing right now. You could even consider it a comedy. A tragic comedy, a comedy of errors, there are several comedic choices available. It was Cluster Pluck to remember…

Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means. ®
 

A FLOG communication (Farming bLOG) by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Have a look and see what we see on Instagram @AmalieRobert Estate. We are posting on Facebook and LinkedIn. Check us out if you can. We can use all the likes we can get… Want to learn more about Amalie Robert? Take the Tour!

 

Prologue: Vintage 2021
 

Each farming year begins with high hopes and great aspirations. Another year of experience informs us of the newfound perils to be mindful of as we set off on a new vintage. The first three months of the year are consumed with pruning the vines. Pruning is an arduous task completed in the wind and rain and occasional sunny day. Our job is to get the vines ready for their big day – Bud Break. And this year that occurred at a relatively normal time of April 15^th. It is a heartwarming sight to see these dormant canes spring forth with little green shoots. Frost is sometimes a threat to the newly emerged shoots and astute vineyard site selection is the key to avoid this peril. And sometimes all you need is a bit of old fashioned good luck.

 

April brings with it a substantial amount of tractor time getting the vineyard floor ready to support the vines’ exponential growth spurt that occurs in May and June. First is incorporating the cover crop from last fall that will decompose and release nutrients to the vines. Then a quick pass with the seed drill to add a summer cover crop to attract beneficial insects and fix a little nitrogen. Not that the nitrogen was broken, but “fix” is the term used when plants convert nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it on their roots. And that is how we feed our vines without the use of chemical fertilizers. We do burn a few dinosaurs along the way. But its Bio-Diesel here in Oregon, so it’s not all bad.

 

May and June is when all hell breaks loose in the canopy. The vines are on a driven 6 month schedule from April to October to ripen their seeds and reproduce, then they go dormant for the next 6 months. Nice work if you can get it. May and June are when those cute little green buds we noticed in April rapidly grow into long canes that need to be harnessed in the trellis catch wires – all by hand. The simple math is 50,000 vines times 12 buds is 600,000 shoots that need to be manually tucked into 3 pairs of trellis catch wires and clipped into place.

 

 
If It’s Going to Be, It’s Up to Me
 

And that’s when the first major trial of Vintage 2021 occurred. (Note: We will spare you the minor trials we experience every day, like lifting the fog, finding the internet hotspot sweet spot or co-locating with the tractor keys). Once the shoots are all tucked into the wires, Ernie gets out the hedger to trim the tops of the shoots. Like the periodic colonoscopy, this has become a fairly straightforward procedure. But this year is the year where the THIRD Landini tractor wheel failed. And it failed in the most spectacular fashion, on the downhill run of row 18, block 29. That is a lovely block of Pommard clone on 44-53 rootstock.

 

Once the shock and initial inspection was complete, the reality set in. How in the hell do we get the tractor out of the vineyard on 3 wheels? With the hedger attached no less. Fortunately, there are 12 bottles of beer in a half rack, and that affords the winegrower some time for creative thinking and limited critical reasoning. And since it’s summer, we can pee outside. And often do.

 

It turns out the solution was not to move the tractor out of the field on three wheels, but to remove, repair and replace the broken wheel. With Dena’s help and cellphone at the ready in case of emergency, Ernie gathered unto himself all of his tools, jacked up the machine, removed the broken wheel and wheel studs, and exited the field unscathed.

 

Then a quick call to Ray King of King’s Industries was in order. Ray recalled fixing the last two broken wheels and was up for a welding trifecta. First, Ernie had to stop off at Les Schwab to remove the rubber tire from the steel wheel. Ray doesn’t like to apply heat and high voltage in close proximity to rubber. There are old welders and bold welders, but not so many old, bold welders. Then just as quick as you please, that’s less than 24 hours in farming time, Ray had the wheel ready to roll. Then it was back to Les Schwab for a reinstall of the tire.

 

And since the tread was wearing down, Ernie took the time to find out how much a replacement tire would cost. “No sir, that size tire is no longer available.” It seems like just a couple years ago when Ernie found out replacement wheels were no longer available. So, it was back to block 29 to reinstall our very precious wheel and irreplaceable tire.

Installing the wheel is a simple process – line up the spokes with the hub and slide the wheel studs through. Add NEW lock washers and torque down the nuts. All good, except when a vine is between you and the wheel. The vine rows are set at 90 inches wide and the front wheels track at 55 inches wide. That leaves about 17 inches between a front tire and a vine. Fortunately, it was a sunny day, not too hot and with nothing much else to do until the wheel was replaced. After a commensurate amount of time, Ernie had the wheel replaced and was able to drive the tractor out of the confines of block 29 under its own power .

 

 

May through August is the time when we must spray the vines. Much like we spray flowering shrubberies such as roses, we spray vines to keep mildew from attacking our wine berries. And to do this we use a sprayer. The sprayer takes power from the tractor PTO (Power Take Off) driveshaft to power the pump that pressurizes the solution that is sprayed on the vines. The pump is a diaphragm pump. A diaphragm pump with a failed diaphragm will not pressurize the sprayer. And this was the second major trial of Vintage 2021.

 

The quick answer is sometimes the best answer, just ask Occam. In this particular case, a replacement pump would be the best repair. Maybe a little more money, but far less time. The vineyard spray schedule is about every 7 to 10 days. That means there is a small and dwindling window of time to make this repair. If not, mildew would have the great opportunity to infect the entire vineyard. Delayed spray intervals have the potential to create a total loss. These types of thoughts have a tendency to focus the mind and enact decisive action.

 

And of course, Ernie discovered his pump’s ruptured diaphragm on a Saturday. So he sent off a few E-mails and found another wanting project to absorb his excess time. Come Monday afternoon, no responses. A few calls to the sprayer manufacturer went straight to voicemail. Monday must be a busy day for these folks. So, the next logical step is to call the pump manufacturer. Success favors the prepared mind.

 

Well, it turns out that the manufacturer must have had a slow day because Ernie had about 30 minutes with them. They confirmed what Ernie had suspected, he was the proud owner of a boat anchor. The next task was to contact the local dealer to source a new pump. The number he was given to the local dealer happened to be in Washington. And they had no pumps in stock. They did have several on order, but none in stock.

 

“Why don’t you call the Oregon dealer? It says they have 7 in stock.” Well why not, indeed? So Ernie took down the number and called them up. Sure enough, they did have 7 in stock. Ernie reserved one and confirmed the drive time to be about an hour. Great, just enough time for lunch. And then the phone rang. It turns out the pumps were not in the warehouse. “We can’t find them. They are not where they are supposed to be. But they do have some on order in Washington.” Great, just great.

 

Lunch was ready, and this was a problem that was going to have to wait for 30 minutes. At about the 20-minute mark, the phone rings. “We found them.” The disappearing and reappearing pump is an example of the self-correcting problem. This is the very best kind of problem to have.

 

What followed on next was supposed to be a simple pump R&R (remove and replace). And it was, right up until it came time to remove and replace the drive gear that was pressed onto the input shaft. “No, you should not have to take that to a machine shop,” said the voice on the other end of the phone. You would think after 20 some years farming, Ernie would be less gullible. The next time you see Ernie, just remember he looks that way for a reason.

 

It was the rest of the day with a gear puller from his drag racing days that he removed the drive gear from the failed pumps input shaft. With a strong feeling of accomplishment and sense of self-reliance, Ernie held the drive gear up to the new pump’s input shaft. It easily slid down about ¼ inch, with about 3 more inches to go.

 

Reality began to seep in like the feeling you get when you realize that last beer was not necessarily in your best interest. While the path of excess does lead to knowledge, at some point you reach the point of diminishing returns. The drive gear has to go on the new input shaft at exactly the same depth of position as it was on the failed pump’s input shaft. And the only way it is going to go down that shaft is with a precision application of percussive maintenance.

 

Starting with the smallest hammer, a full can of WD-40 and a tape measure, the disciplined application of force began. Tap, tap tap, whack, whack, whack and measure. Ok, that was another ¼ inch. Time for a little bigger hammer. The next day later, with the BFH (Big Farmin’ Hammer), the drive gear was right where it was supposed to be. Ernie set the pump back in the sprayer and hooked up all of the hoses and the drive chain. It was the moment of truth. And it WORKED! The FIRST time! Clearly something was wrong, but whatever that may be, it performed like a champ all year.

 

Climate Change Visits the Willamette Valley

 

In sales they say if you can’t change your people, then it’s time to change your people. In farming, you put down roots in a piece of dirt that has the soil characteristics you want in an area that has the climate that will ripen your desired and saleable crop. For us that means sedimentary soil in the northern half of the Willamette Valley where we can grow world class wines. And we respect that each year there will be highs and lows and that the climate tends to vacillate over the years.

 

 

The third major trial of Vintage 2021 was summer heat and drought. Our record high temperature was 118 degrees recorded on June 28^th. That set a record for the state and a personal best for Dena and Ernie. A second bout of heat hit us about a month later on July 30^th that topped out at 103 degrees. Our vintage 2021 growing season Degree Days are 2,755. The next closest vintage was 2003 at 2,699 Degree Days. No matter how you spin it, that’s pretty farmin’ hot.

 

September added 404 Degree Days with a high temperature of 94.8 degree recorded on September 7^th at 3:48 pm. The low temperature was 39.7 degree recorded on September 16^th at 5:48 am. October was a return to a more typical Oregon fall recording 98.4 degree days. The high temperature was 73.8 degrees recorded on October 3^rd at 12:36 pm. The low temperature was 31.6 degrees recorded on October 12^th at 6:48 am. The two days of hang time in November for the Syrah harvest added another 1.2 Degree Days with a high temperature of 53.2 and a low temperature of 43.2. And that concluded the Great Cluster Pluck, Vintage 2021.

 

We recorded 3.56 inches of rain from April through June with the last rainfall recorded on June 14^th. The next meaningful precipitation arrived on September 18^th with 1.22 inches of rain. That is a 3-month summertime period with no precipitation and record heat. Aka, a long dry spell… Total rainfall for September was 2.73 inches. The first half of October provided another 0.95 inches of rain as we finished up the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir harvest. The second half of October gave us quite a lashing with 3.56 inches of rain and a sky full of birds when it wasn’t downpouring. Somewhat odd that the last half of October rainfall matched the first three months of the growing season. But it did.

 

The summer heat arrived when the wine berries were still green. The vines flowered on June 1^st and they had about 6 more weeks before they started to turn color and enter veraison on July 28^th. The immediate, obvious impact to wine quality was purely speculative. As this was an unprecedented event, no one knew for sure what the impact would be and what follow-on events leading up to harvest would occur. These were the ideal conditions necessary for talking heads to flood social media. This is a recurring problem not confined to all things Vinous.

 

However, shading of the fruit during the growing season will be a factor in the wines, it always is. The more sun exposure, the more tannin will be developed in the wine berry skins. Just like a day at the beach, the more unprotected sun exposure means a stronger reaction in your skin. And if you happen to be a wine berry (more on that later), excess sun exposure means excess levels of tannins.

 

It is yet to be seen how these climatic factors will impact the wines from Vintage 2021. What we can say for sure is that each of these factors will influence Vintage 2021. But whether the influence is in a positive way, is yet to be seen.

 

 

The Human Factor

 

Wine growing is a labor-intensive endeavor. While we mechanize where we can, and enjoy the opportunity to go in depth with the associated maintenance, there are just some tasks in growing premium wine that are best left to the humans. Case in point is mechanical harvesting. Those machines are roving the vineyards in our area, but we are not having any of it. All of our wine berries at Amalie Robert Estate are cluster plucked by hand. Or beak, if the winged cluster puckers get there before we do.

 

The Great Cluster Pluck lies at the intersection of when you want to pluck, when humans are available to pluck and the weather conditions allowing you to pluck. While not a factor in Vintage 2021, air quality can play a role, as in negating an entire vintage. We had to call off the Great Cluster Pluck in Vintage 2020 due to smoke taint. Pluck Off!

 

We focus on the one factor we can control and that is when to pluck what. Out of 55,000 vines cut into 47 blocks, we know some are ready before others. In Pinot Noir, we look for expressive aromas and flavors that tend toward Montmorency cherry with a strong showing of acidity. In Syrah, we look for something other. While each vintage offers something to love, we look for the same aroma and flavor markers in each vintage. This helps us put some form of order or consistency to the finished wines, while capturing the individual characteristics of each vintage. And having only a single block of Pinot Meunier, that wine gets elevated status as there is no margin for error.

Finally, we have to contend with the people in the mirror. And this year, that’s all we had in the winery. Fortunately, we had a really good architect who listened to us when we said, “The two of us should be able to run this winery with a pallet jack.” Because we did. We will admit that mirror placement was a critical factor in our success. Please bear in mind, we are living the dream, so you don’t have to.

 

 

The Great Cluster Pluck: Vintage 2021

 

Hang time is the term used to describe the final days of ripening when the wine berries develop the most expressive aroma and flavor. Some fruits can ripen after they are harvested, pears come to mind. But not wine. Once you pluck the wine berries from the vine, aroma and flavor development will cease. The ability to give the wine berries hang time depends on several factors including rootstock, vine age and root depth, canopy management and rainfall, or the lack thereof.

 

We have a few words to share regarding canopy management and alcohol potential. We have come to believe that the taller the canopy, the higher the alcohol potential in the finished wines. Taller canopies have a tendency to use more soil moisture, thus reducing hang time. This is especially true in the warmer vintages. We learned this lesson years ago with Viognier, which is all about sugar accumulation. Our response was to hedge a shorter canopy to remove the top story of leaves creating the issue. The fewer leaves at the top of the canopy means lower sugar concentration in the vines. And that means lower alcohol potential in the wine. Planning ahead is a variant of the “self-correcting problem” scenario.

 

One of our key factors in selecting harvest dates in Vintage 2021 was rainfall. After an unprecedented hot and dry growing season, we wanted to see some moisture rehydrate the vines to alter the sugar and acid chemistry in the wine berry. We also wanted a few more days of hang time to allow for more aroma and flavor development. Better wines through naturally altering the chemistry on the vine – that’s what hang time can do for you.

 

And we got it. September blessed us with 2.73 inches of rain. The opening salvo was from the 18^th to the 20^th with 1.22 inches and the second round was the 27^th and 28^th with 1.51 inches. Get out the buckets, we’re going cluster pluckin’! And we did.

 

The Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay harvest continued through October 16^th as we dodged a few more vintage extending showers. Then all we had left to go was Ernie’s acre of Willamette Valley Syrah and Viognier. The showers continued on and off and on again throughout October. “Not to worry” was Ernie’s response.

 

And then it was time. Sunday, October 31^st was the last best day of hang time. The sun was out and a mild breeze cleared the air. The sweet smell of fallen leaves beginning to decompose filled the air. The harvest window was set for Tuesday, November 2^nd. It was a bittersweet harvest in the sense that we had to wait for aroma and flavor to develop, but the winged cluster pluckers were not so inclined. While the quality of the fruit was phenomenal, there is a short supply of Vintage 2021.

 

As we close the chapter on Vintage 2021, we would like to share the five stages of Pinot Noir with you.

 

Pinot Noir Pre-Harvest. This is Pinot Noir on the vine. We have assessed the quality of the fruit and found it to be exceptional. Cluster Plucking will begin at first light.

 

Pinot Noir Post-Harvest Pre-Fermentation. This is Pinot Noir clusters successfully extracted from the vineyard and awaiting fermentation at the winery. First things first, they all get weighed.

 

Pinot Noir Post-Fermentation. We have fermented the sugar out of them, and they are spent. They have given their very best and now are off to the compost pile to provide nutrients for a future vintage.

 

Pinot Noir Pre-Blending Barrel Maturation. This is where the magic happens, softening stem tannins and slowly maturing our wines in barrel before each blend is decided.

 

Pinot Noir Post-Blending Pre-You. The blend is complete and here we have a “Clean Skin” bottle awaiting a label and capsule. Once the packaging is complete, each bottle will be lovingly matched to 11 others and stored for bottle maturation before release.

 

Pinot Noir For You! Each bottle is labelled and ready to go! And soon, Christmas is coming. Really, it is!

 

Happy Holidays,

Dena & Ernie

Amalie Robert Estate: Bonus Mid-Cluster Pluck Progress Report

 Hello and Welcome,  

 

The Great Cluster Pluck Vintage 2021 is in progress. We are taking a couple of days off, thanks to Mother Nature gifting us 1.47 inches of rain - so far. That allows us to share some updates and a few images of what a successful wine berry extraction looks like. It also allows the soil to dry out so we can drive on it. Gravity flow is not just a winery thing, it also applies to machinery traversing an inclined, clay soil vineyard slope.

How’s the Weather?

 

The weather has been stunningly cooperative. The heat spikes we endured earlier this year could not be sustained. September has seen moderate high temperatures and low temperatures hitting the very low 40’s. We had a douse of rain mid-month and then again just now. October is where the really serious Cluster Plucking is going to happen. Ernie has been taking in the Pommard and Dijon Clones while holding out the Wadenswil for a little extra hang time.

 

Here are three weather resources we frequent. You can check into these from time to time to see how the weather is treating us at the end of Vintage 2021. Much like the days when we wore wind-up watches, none of these will tell you exactly the same thing. It’s up to us to apply a little Kentucky windage.

 

AcccuWeather

 

National Weather Service

 

Weather Maps (This takes a bit of practice to decipher.)

 

What we really want to know is who is going to be the permanent host of Jeopardy. Aaron Rodgers thought he was in the running for the top spot, but his job got in the way. Anyone who can take the last 30 seconds of the game to position his team for victory certainly has skills. And hosting Jeopardy is a different skill set as we can see here from a past episode of SNL Celebrity Jeopardy.

 

The late Norm Macdonald as Burt Reynolds, aka Turd Ferguson.
 
 
The Photo Gallery.
 

Harvest morning, before the crew arrives is very tranquil. A Willamette Valley harvest bounty at first light, displayed in remarkable grandeur is spread before you. This is Mother Nature’s finest hour. Up until the first cluster is plucked, it is her show. Please enjoy.

 

 

 

I’ll Take the Numbers, Hold the Smoke Please.

 

So far, we have been smoke free since last September 15^th. And that is a breath of fresh air. Brix is a measure of sugar concentration. Sugar concentration expressed as Brix, multiplied by 0.60 results in approximate alcohol percentage. So far, we are happy to report, our Brix concentrations have ranged from 23.0 to 24.5. In theory, the theoretical upper limit is 25.0 and we are riding up on that razor’s edge.

 

A little gift of rain will help to dilute the sugar concentrations going forward, and that is the break we have been looking for. Aroma and flavor depend on time on the vine. Picked too early and those silky, sublime aromas have not yet developed. A little rain percolating down to the roots and up to the wine berries will dilute the sugar concentrations and afford us more hang time to develop the sensory components we seek.

 

This is ESPECIALLY true of Wadenswil Clone Pinot Noir. The more he knows, the less he is sure of, but Ernie knows that if you give Wadenswil Clone the right hang time conditions, the resulting wine will be stunning! And that just might be the destiny of Vintage 2021.

 

Every vintage is unique unto itself, Mother Nature sees to that. However, we are feeling the same inclinations as 2009 with an early flowering and thus an early harvest. And 2013 where it was hot as the hubs of hell, but a little (a lot) of Typhoon Pabuk rain rehydrated our soils. Both vintages have developed well with patient bottle maturation.

 

While it is certainly too soon to bottle anything, we are exceedingly pleased with the aroma and flavor development we have in the fermenters along with the moderate sugar concentrations. There is also complementary acidity to back up all of that front end aroma and flavor. Good things come to those who wait, but not to those who wait too late. With this gift of rain comes the threat of Botrytis. We have been there and had that done to us. We will be getting right back to it straight away.

Kindest Regards,

Dena & Ernie