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It’s Flowering Time in Napa Valley
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Fun fact by Nancy Hawks Miller: It’s Flowering Time in Napa Valley
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How Many Bottles Are Made Per Vine?
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Fun fact by Nancy Hawks Miller: How Many Bottles Are Made Per Vine?
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Did you enjoy this? Here are more Fun Facts from Goosecross Cellars.
NVWR® 72 – Do Old Vines Make Better Wine?
October 7, 2008 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
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Do old vines make better wine? When you see “old vine” on the label, do you assume that the quality will be higher or the flavor more intense? I thought it would be interesting to explore the subject with Winemakers Geoff Gorsuch, Bob Pepi, and Jeff Booth. Enjoy!
Winemakers: Jeff Booth, Geoff Gorsuch, Bob Pepi
2008 Vintage Update, Part 2
As we said in July – it’s been interesting, so far, and continues to be. In our last update, we reported virtually no damage from the various challenges that have come our way: frost, heat, wind, rain, smoke. But, once the clusters were more developed, Geoff Gorsuch, our Winemaker, noticed a higher incidence of “shatter”1 than he had anticipated earlier. He says that it occurred, most likely, due to either the heat, wind or rain during flowering in May. When these things happen while the vines are in flower, pollination may be impaired and by now we can easily see the places where grapes are missing from the clusters. Fortunately frost damage and shatter won’t affect quality, but they certainly have an impact on quantity, and various levels of loss have been reported throughout Napa Valley.
Regarding the smoke, some local growers are hypothesizing that the smoky haze that hung around at the end of June and early July might have actually provided some protection, when we had a few days of extreme heat, by keeping the temperature down. In some regions, such as Mendocino, there were concerns that the heavy smoke they experienced would slow down photosynthesis and possibly even cause smoke taint. We were very fortunate that our haze was relatively light and we don’t necessarily view delayed ripening as a negative, unless it’s taken to the extreme.
Veraison, the time when the grapes begin to change color, began right on time, around the middle of July. Veraison is the vine’s way of telling the grower that its energy has shifted from shoot development into fruit ripening. Shortly after veraison is complete, it’s time to being gathering grape samples to monitor fruit maturity. Geoff walks the vine rows, collecting grapes from each section of our vineyard, then measures the average sugar, acid and pH. Once the section has reached an average of 20% sugar, he’ll begin tasting, which is the over-riding consideration in deciding when to harvest.
We were surprised when many local growers began harvesting their Sauvignon Blanc the second week of August and in tandem with the sparkling wine growers. In a year of many quirks, this is just another odd twist. Normally the grapes for sparkling wine come in earlier than table-wine grapes because they need to be picked at lower sugars (usually around 18-20% for sparkling wine and about 21% and up for table wine). But, the first reported harvest, here in the valley, began with Sauvignon Blanc on August 7 – about three weeks ahead of normal according to that grower. Following that announcement, quite a few other Sauvignon Blanc producers jumped into the pool. Geoff predicted that our Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc wouldn’t be ready until pretty close to Labor Day, but he took the precaution of getting the cellar all shipshape and sanitized by middle of August, just in case. As of this moment, he plans to bring in the Chenin Blanc on August 27, just very slightly early.
We expect to see the Sauvignon Blanc very soon after we crush the Chenin Blanc and then it will be non-stop until, most likely, mid October. It all depends on the weather!
Be sure to check our Harvest Calendar, frequently, to experience “crush” along with us! For the July 1 update, click here.
1. Shatter: This term is used to describe crop loss due to impaired pollination. Normally this will mean missing grapes from within the cluster rather than the loss of the whole cluster. The most common cause of shatter is heavy rain, hail, strong wind or extreme heat.
2008 Vintage Update, Part 1
It’s been interesting, so far. We saw the first signs of new growth right on time, middle of March, accompanied by night after night of frost. 2008 has been called the worst year for frost in about 30 years and millions of dollars in loss was reported throughout the north coast.
So, what do we do about it? As they say, 80% of success is just showing up and Geoff, our winemaker/vineyard manager, soon lost track of how many nights he showed up, driving around the vineyard checking temperatures. Damage starts when the temperature drops below 32F. and, if it’s getting close, he turns on the wind machine, which looks like a giant fan. It simply moves the air so the coldest won’t settle down on the vineyard. Some growers use smudge pots, which burn oil or diesel, to warm the vines, and others use overhead sprinklers to keep the new growth insulated right at 32. There are growers who take a calculated risk and don’t have any frost protection and many of those growers paid the price this year. And, some vineyard managers reported crop loss in spite of showing up and doing the work. We count ourselves very lucky to have come through such a challenging situation unscathed.
Daytime temperatures were fine and the new shoots grew like crazy, as they always do, in the early spring. We spend time in April and May refining the work we did at pruning time. It’s very common to see more shoots than we anticipated and suckers that don’t belong, so we thin them out and also tuck the remaining ones up into the trellis wires as they lengthen.
May was cooler than normal, for the most part, until it suddenly heated up just as the vines began to flower, mid month. We had temperatures around 100F. for about four days, which can burn the flowers and cause crop loss. About a week later we saw significant rainfall, which is another way to impair pollination.
A blessed oddity of the grape flower is that it’s self pollinating. This means we don’t have to concern ourselves about bees or wind – just the weather.
After making his cluster counts, Geoff, again, counted his blessings because while he saw some loss in the Cabernet Franc it wasn’t severe and the clusters generally appear to be well formed. In fact, there was cluster thinning to do in almost all sections of the vineyard, especially the irrepressible Petit Verdot. The winter pruning is the greatest tool we have to determine crop size but, ultimately the vine calls the shots. Of course, when the counts show a deficit, there’s nothing to be done. More often, in our very favorable climate, we see more than we anticipated and thinning is essential to promote flavor intensity later on. He will continue to evaluate the crop level as the season progresses.
Shoot development looks good and Geoff has continued removing shoots and leaves, strategically, to improve light exposure, which heightens fruitiness. The thinning also improves air flow, and helps keep the risk of mold or mildew to the minimum. As soon as the shoot growth tapers off he’ll hedge the tips. Hedging the shoots keeps the leaf canopy in balance with the crop which prevents excess shading and plays down potential green character.
The grapes look like small peas, right now, and aren’t recommended for tasting! They’ll continue to plump to the size of small blueberries and should start turning color later this month. We’ll be back a little later with another update. Keep your fingers crossed for a mild summer!
NVWR® 48 – Why do Clones Matter?
August 7, 2007 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
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What do we mean when we talk about grape clones or selections? Are they chosen for their performance in the vineyard or does it have more to do with the overall character of the wine?
In this episode, Nancy Hawks Miller, our Director of Education, will tell you a little about how they’re identified and what kind of influence they have on the finished wine.
As always, especially for our listeners, we are pleased to offer a 10% discount on all Goosecross wines (with free shipping for case purchases). Please call us toll-free at (800) 276-9210 and mention code: PC48. Cheers!
