Wine Blog

[Bombdog]

In terms of cross-pollination, is it a problem if you're growing one kind of grape and the neighboring vineyard is growing something different?.

According to AJ Winkler, in General Viticulture, cross pollination is possible. However, when it is desired it must be done by hand. Tests done at UC Davis on vineyard rows planted across the prevailing wind there was no cross pollination from row to row as close as 12 feet to each other. He cites some examples in Spain where the detached clusters are brushed over the other clusters by hand to achieve the cross pollination.

With that in mind, there isn't much chance of cross pollination from a neighboring vineyard, or even from different blocks within the same vineyard.

I understand your example of the chili peppers perfectly. A friend of mine grows heirloom pumpkins. He told me that he has to replant with new seeds every year instead of harvesting the seeds from his own for the same reasons.

[Rebel Rose]

For many wineries, it simply is not cost-effective to net the entire property, when as little as 5% might be lost to birds.

Carolyn, beautiful pictures! However, I'd like to point out that bird netting is very dependent on location. Here near the Santa Lucias we have thick oak and bay forests covering much of the appellation. Vineyards in east Paso Robles on the Estrella Bench get less bird damage because of the open riverbench terrain, and as you pointed out, birds like the security of nearby cover. But on the westside where vineyards are tucked up next to rocky, forested hillsides, and where many vineyards are head-trained, we can lose a significant portion, or even, as my neighbor experienced once, the entire crop. At $700 per acre, netting is definitely a wise investment here!

And there's the bees--if swarms puncture ripe grapes, the juice will infect entire clusters with mold. Coyotes like to chew on the drip irrigation and yank off sections of it to play tag. Woodpeckers stuff acorns inside the drip irrigation lines, effectively blowing them up. Every day brings a new surprise!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Stepping back into the vine behind me, I still couldn't get the entire vine in my picture. That branch on the lower right has gotten so long, it is touching the ground...

And there are a lot more grape clusters...

Also, as promised from last week - we have just planted a Teaching Vineyard which is adjacent to the winery. Guests will be able to walk up and down the rows and see the differences between the various grapes we grow. There are orange cartons placed around the early sprouts to protect them from bunnies (it hasn't been working too well and Gabriel keeps his rifle around just for them)...

[hathor]

The grapes are getting so much bigger....this is great being able to see them coming along.

What type of mulch is on the ground in the Teaching Vineyard?

I'm curious: who do you suppose will be attracted to the Teaching Vineyard? I have a personal ax to grind that we as Americans don't teach our children enough about wine. I think its important to teach children to appreciate the wine, but I suppose that's not such a popular idea...

Good luck with the bunnies!!

[Carolyn Tillie]

The grapes are getting so much bigger....this is great being able to see them coming along.

What type of mulch is on the ground in the Teaching Vineyard?

I'm curious: who do you suppose will be attracted to the Teaching Vineyard? I have a personal ax to grind that we as Americans don't teach our children enough about wine. I think its important to teach children to appreciate the wine, but I suppose that's not such a popular idea...

Good luck with the bunnies!!

The "mulch" on the ground is nothing other than redwood chips. It is both mulch and protective ground cover.

Regarding the attraction of the teaching vineyard, I don't believe there is a special attraction for it specifically as many wineries have them. From what I understand about the direction that the winery is going in (since it is relatively new), the owners do want to educate those that come to visit us. Inasmuch, we don't have a formal tasting room where folks come and hang-out to drink. We don't sell t-shirts and tschotskies. Those that make the effort to drive up the hill all get a tour and history of the building and its restoration. We end up in the caves where 90% of the time, we offer barrel samples. Then, if warranted during the educational part of the tour, we can wander the teaching vineyards to show them the various types of grapes, how they are pruned, tied, etc.

Now as the tourist season draws nigh, I think we are going to try and set-up an area for tasting that is in the chateau vs. the cave. Right now, if someone comes up and wants to purchase something, after tasting in the cave, they have to come to my office where the credit card machine currently resides. It is all that informal - heck, we don't have a cash register! When we start seeing more than a dozen people a day, it will be really helpful to have a more formal tasting/retail location so I can get some work done.

[hathor]

I think that 'informality' is certainly part of the charm! Of course, you may not feel that way if you are trying to get something done.

[Chad]

What a cool blog. Thanks Carolyn! I just stumbled across it and read it from the beginning. Nice job.

And not bad PR for your employer, either. I'd never heard of Ladera before, now I'm going to have to pester our local retailer to get it in. I feel like I have an emotional investment in tasting what "our" little grapevine produces .

Chad

[Carolyn Tillie]

And not bad PR for your employer, either. I'd never heard of Ladera before, now I'm going to have to pester our local retailer to get it in. I feel like I have an emotional investment in tasting what "our" little grapevine produces .

Chad

Now aren't you sweet...

We are still working on getting distributors and promoting the wine. That, truly, is the hardest part - I'm beginning to learn. We are getting to see the beautiful, earthy part of the wine industry. The dark, festering underbelly is distribution. Distributors really and truthfully control the industry like insects under a bell jar. It is very sad how much power those companies have. Well, heck, look at the lawsuits of the various states trying to change the laws! We can't ship to various states not so much because of state laws but because of the Distributor's control! It truly amazes me how our country was allowed to develop with its bizarre blue laws and the many State laws that contradict Federal laws.

[bREATHING HEAVY]Okay, I'm done ranting now.[/bREATHING HEAVY]

[hathor]

Go ahead and rant!! Its a subject that deserves ranting about. Its completely absurd that I can't contact a vineyard and have them send me wine. Or ask a restauranteur in Utah how he likes the rules he has to play by.

[Rebel Rose]

[bREATHING HEAVY]Okay, I'm done ranting now.[/bREATHING HEAVY]

I know. But the people most affected are consumers, and with the growth of the internet, they're all getting wise to the wonderful wines that they can't get. Things are starting to change rapidly now that consumers are demanding free access to artisan wines. UPS now has a "wine shippers' agreement" that says, in effect . . . go ahead and ship, but if you're arrested we're not to blame. And as Jack Nicholson would say, "Now, who would have thought that would be worse news?"

[goofy md]

What a wonderful journey. I just found this part of the site and greatly appreciate your postings. From just reading this once I'm already getting attached to "our little grapes". If I continue to watch them grow then transform like a caterpillar into a butterfly,into a wonderful wine, I'll have to get some....somehow.

thanks again.

[Liz Johnson]

I agree! "Our little grapes" are going to have produce a lot of wine for everyone watching their growth to get a taste of them!

[KatieLoeb]

There are orange cartons placed around the early sprouts to protect them from bunnies (it hasn't been working too well and Gabriel keeps his rifle around just for them)...

Isn't there some form of taste aversion therapy that could be done rather than shooting the bunnies? Like spraying the bottoms of the plants with hot sauce diluted in water or buying that nasty tasting stuff for dogs and cats that prevents them from biting and licking their fur?

Just hoping the grapes and the bunnies can co-exist peacefully.

[Bombdog]

Isn't there some form of taste aversion therapy that could be done rather than shooting the bunnies? Like spraying the bottoms of the plants with hot sauce diluted in water ...

Katie

The problem with repellents sprayed on the trunk is that irrigation and rain can wash it away.

Most vineyard managers use a combination of control methods, including habitat modification and promotion of natural enemies.

Additionally, after a vine is about 3 years old, and trained up the stake, rabbits are not near the concern when the vine is young and small.

I wouldn't worry too much about the rabbits. There doesn't seem to be any signs that control methods are causing a huge drop in rabbit population.

[Rebel Rose]

The problem with repellents sprayed on the trunk is that irrigation and rain can wash it away.

Yep. There is a fantastic product called Plantskydd, a nasty yet organic goo that is water reprellent. It was tested by Weyerhauser on their tree starts. It repels everything. Unfortunately, the liquid version is sometimes backordered for a year, and the granular version is harder to mix and apply. We just got a small drum of it but haven't used it yet. I'm still recovering from the shock of dumping fermented fish emulsion all over myself.

My father used it in his Christmas tree farm and said it was effective. He loses baby trees to rabbits, fresh limb growth to deer and elk, and . . . entire 12 foot trees to beaver!!

Now there's a guy with a pest problem!

[Bombdog]

And of course there is the issue of labor costs to walk several acres and apply any repellent. Even using a Herbie, is can be an expensive ordeal.

[Carolyn Tillie]

There are orange cartons placed around the early sprouts to protect them from bunnies (it hasn't been working too well and Gabriel keeps his rifle around just for them)...

Isn't there some form of taste aversion therapy that could be done rather than shooting the bunnies? Like spraying the bottoms of the plants with hot sauce diluted in water or buying that nasty tasting stuff for dogs and cats that prevents them from biting and licking their fur?

Just hoping the grapes and the bunnies can co-exist peacefully.

What was interesting to me was that I like cooking rabbits. I kept saying that if Gabriel shot them, I would cook them, but these are ostensibly inedible due to being ridden with bugs themselves.

Despite the fact that these cute little bunnies eat wonderfully on grape leaves, when one is shot, you can actually see the vermin (maggits and whatnot) leaving the host body. Quite disgusting - I'll still cook and eat them, but will make sure I am buying farm-raised, cooking bunnies.

[Carolyn Tillie]

BTW, Tara Weingarten recently published an article in the L.A. Times about Petit Verdot, our beloved grape. The winery she discusses, Viader, is a few hundred feet below us on Howell Mountain (I drive past their gate every day, on my way up). Thought you might like to learn a bit more and was surprised someone devoted an entire article to this illusive grape.

LA Times article

Edited May 20, 2004 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

Again, hard to tell that there's a lot of change - but we'll be suckering in the next week or so and verasion is not far behind!

[KatieLoeb]

What was interesting to me was that I like cooking rabbits. I kept saying that if Gabriel shot them, I would cook them, but these are ostensibly inedible due to being ridden with bugs themselves.

Despite the fact that these cute little bunnies eat wonderfully on grape leaves, when one is shot, you can actually see the vermin (maggits and whatnot) leaving the host body. Quite disgusting - I'll still cook and eat them, but will make sure I am buying farm-raised, cooking bunnies.

Eeeeeeewwwww....

If that ain't nasty enough to skeeve me off ordering rabbit for awhile, nothing is!

[hathor]

I learned about 'suckering' from DoverCanyon...but what's verasion? The ground in the vineyard is looking more 'baked'.

As always...so glad you are doing this! Thanks.

[Rebel Rose]

Great blog, Caryolyn! Are you guys lacking rain this year as much as we are?

[Carolyn Tillie]

I learned about 'suckering' from DoverCanyon...but what's verasion? The ground in the vineyard is looking more 'baked'.

As always...so glad you are doing this! Thanks.

VERASION: Color change; the moment color appears in the grapes. It also signals a shift in the development of the grape, which now begins the long process of ripening.

Basically, it is the point where the grapes have reached the size they are going to get to and begin to produce juice...

[Carolyn Tillie]

Great blog, Caryolyn!  Are you guys lacking rain this year as much as we are?

Nope - actually we are doing really great, having already gotten our requisite 40 to 46 inches this last winter (which filled the reservoir). Apparently the valley floor only gets about 36 inches of rain but because we are on the mountain, we do okay. We have the drip irrigation system in place, but won't need to start using it until the heat sets in - probably another month or so. Oddly, it is very foggy and cool this morning, which makes for our mountain fruit to be so concentrated and rich in flavor.

Edited May 25, 2004 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

Big, fluffy vine - I'll be showing the suckering next week!

Lots and lots of clusters that are flowering:

So I'll show you more of the odd day-to-day workings... Here, we are soaking various different lots of potential corks in Skyy Vodka. After a few days, they'll be able to look at the perosity to see which will be the best cork for bottling this year: