Images of the workers staking out our new Chardonnay block at Lafond Vineyards and the beauty of the surrounding Santa Rita Hills. The hills are green and in a few short weeks they will be brown again. We enjoy them now, but we also enjoy them when the rains have gone and they revert to their natural state — It means summer is here.
Click images to enlarge:
March is when the vines begin pushing out. The slide show, except for the first image (Frebruary 28, 2008), is from last year. Our plan is to follow the growth cycle again this year. The photos can be enlarged by clicking, unfortunately it does not work on all computers. To see date of photo keep cursor on the image.
It is a regular fixture on our website which can be reached by clicking winery then vineyard. website
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Today it felt like Spring. After several weeks of rain the Sky was clear and the day was warm. We should see budding in the Pinot Noir by late February. We had a very small harvest in 2007 due to an early frost which damaged the vines. With the ample rain we have had this winter we would normally be expecting a better than normal harvest this year.
The problem is that this years clusters were formed last spring and they may have been damaged by that frost. David Lafond, who is our bean counter — our cluster counter – predicts fewer clusters but larger than normal. The vines attempt to balance production and vigor.
We saw the first Poppy of the year which is always a good sign that Spring is not far behind. Here is a view of the vineyard today — still bleak — but the hills are green.
Today was a rainy day. Our average rainfall is about 18 inches a year and the last few years have been well below that. Winter rains are like a cleanser they leach the salts that build up during the dry years. This year we are fortunate in that already we have had more rain than all of last year.
The photo was taken today from the Picnic area overlooking our Pinot Noir. The vineyard has been pruned and looks very bare but we like the combination of mist, mountains and view. This is how a vineyard looks in the winter.
This Saturday, January 26th we are having an Open House to officially introduce our 2006 SRH Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah — rain or shine it should be a great event.
Click the image to enlarge.
We are expecting rain this weekend, and if the forecasters are correct, lots of it. Our concern are the two blocks, which total over 15 acres, that we are re-planting. The bulldozer has finished clearing the old vines, ripping and grading the ground and now it is susceptible to erosion — especially if the forecast of three large storms is correct.
The workers are busy seeding the blocks and erecting catch fences which allow the water to go through while retaining the soil. The rest of our vineyard has been seeded sometime ago and there is already some growth. If the rains are too heavy the danger is that the seeds will wash away. We are optimistic that they will be light enough to permit the soil to absorb this very much needed rain.
Meanwhile, pruning continues. The image is of grenache vines. They are cordon pruned with two permanent canes extended on both sides and 4 or 5 spurs on each side which will grow the new fruit canes. Not all our vines are pruned this way — each variety is pruned slightly differently.
With the end of harvest we prepare for winter and next year’s crop. Compost on the weak areas — discing then seeding for a cover crop. The compost is applied only to the weaker areas in order to balance the block and even ripening. The cover crop protects from erosion.
As we finish picking blocks we rip the soil to loosen it up — tractor wheels tend to compact the soil — to prepare it for winter seeding. We use a combination of grasses which , primarily, are to combat erosion.
With 6 foot rows and a 4 foot tractor you pay attention.
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