Harvest Year 2006
2005, was an incredible year. Just about perfect growing conditions. Professional Winemakers have referred to this past harvest as maybe the best in the last 35 years in California.
2006 is likely to be bad for Valley growers due to all the rain. Foothill growers should be ok due to adequate drainage.
January, February, March. I added some amendments to the soil (lime - calcium carbonate) as my soil is too acidic, and I also added a low nitrogen fertilizer to help the vines through the winter and it also helps stimulate root growth. I use IRONTITE, which also has a small percentage of compound that helps with fruit set on the vine.
April. Pruning. I have a stack of cuttings that is probably 4 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft.
I have taken some pruning clinics. The vines don't always comply, so you have to train them to grow the way you want them to grow. Ideally you want one to two growth buds on your cordon spread 4 to 5 inches apart. The fewer number of buds means reduced crop size and limits the growth. I try to have no more than 16 - 18 growth shoots per plant tops. That means you could have 16 - 18 clusters per plant, but that places too much of a strain on the vine, so you are supposed to thin your crop (drop crop), so maybe you get 10 or so clusters.
I spray the cuts with a low soap solution, to help prevent disease or bacteria from invading the cut, and weakening the vine.
May. The buds have opened and the early flower clusters are forming. The vines always produce far more buds that I want, and they produce them in spots you don't want, so you have to remove them. Believe it or not, I walk through the vineyard every day for a month, pinching off grow shoots that are unwanted. This takes 4 - 5 hours a week.
June/July/August/September/October. More later.
posted by mrsleep @ 1:54 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I'm enjoying this.
I can't tell good wine from mouthwash, to be honest, but this is interesting!
Chris,
I didn't used to have a taste for wine either until a friend who is a shee shee poo poo wine snob brought over a fantastic bottle of Flowers Camp Meeting Ridge Pinot Noir. Now, I can taste the difference.
Mr. Sleep,
You are too cool.
Not necessary to be a wine snob. If it tastes good to you, then it must be good wine.
I don't know if you've seen the movie "Sideways" but there is a scene in the movie, where they are talking about wine. I forget the exact quote, but basically the actress comments that every day a bottle of wine changes into something new.
It's hard to explain but it's true. You can't truly notice the change in flavor or charateristics day to day, but tasting the same vintage and make of wine one month apart, or two months apart, and you will note distinct differences in the flavor of the wine.
There are a few techiques you can learn to help appreciate wine, or detect bad or turned wine.
If the wine has a cork, always smell the cork first. You can detect off odors, or the small of vinegar from a cork. Another smell which might signal a problem is a heavy sweet smell or a faint odor of Sherry.
Look at the cork. It it is crumbly, or you can detect that there is evidence that wine may have seeped from the bottle, then the wine might have turned. If outside air can come in contact with the wine, the oxygen or bacteria might be able to get in, and then the wine will "go".
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