Archive for the 'Wine News' Category
(Click images to enlarge)
Today was the first day of bottling season. About 6 months, not of constant bottling, but 6 months of readying the wine, stabilizing it, filtering it when necessary and bottling. Not very glamorous but as the winemaker says, ‘we need to make room for the 2010 vintage’.
The reality is that this process is very important and the winemaker’s total ability and experience come into play. Winemaker Bruce McGuire has been doing this for 28 years and he has an intuitive feel when the wine is ready or when it needs more time.
The images are of the first day of bottling. The first wine bottled was the 2009 Riesling made entirely from our Lafond Vineyard vines, sightly over 1000 cases. The wine will not be released for at least 6 months – time needed to recover from bottle shock. The wait is worth it the wine is one of the best Rieslings we have made coming in large part from our new Riesling block in the vineyard.
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Animal control, protecting the vines, is an ongoing struggle. Deer, especially in dry years, when they come down from higher elevations looking for water can be a serious problem and a 7 foot fence is the only solution.
It is very costly and we use it only where we know there is recognizable deer traffic. Deer can damage the vines by eating the green growth tips during the summer and at harvest the grapes themselves.
Wild boars are also a problem at harvest, they can go through rows of vines and clean them so thoroughly that you think they have been picked. Fences are not of much use since they can burrow under. We a have built a large steel cage to trap them but with little success so far.
In the Spring it is gophers and here is an Email that David Lafond sent me:
As Part of our sustainable farming practices particularly this time of year .. we use trapping to control of our gopher population. The gophers now are mostly on the outside of our vine rows where we did not till at the end of last season. it is important to trap them before they reach critical mass and move to the interior..We employ two men twice a day, morning and afternoon when the gophers are most active..they maintain about 200 traps..This is a constant effort. So far our best score has been 144 in a 48 hour period..The trapped gophers are left for other predators and scavengers coyotes, hawks, owls, buzzards, etc..as a food source .
This is really the most humane way to control the gopher population. We have never used poison or any of the other exotic methods sometimes recommended. There is nothing sadder than to see a mature vine killed by these subterranean villains. In the picture below the flags mark the trap locations. Click image to enlarge.
The Pinot Noir is relatively late this year, and we don’t begrudge it – late budding reduces the danger of frost damage slightly. The reason for the lateness is plenty of rain accompanied with cold. This is the first real bud that we have seen.
The bud has been there since last summer, hidden in the vine, only to emerge cocoon like nine months later. The almost thread like substance that wraps it will become more evident as it develops. Click image to enlarge. 
Each year (actually twice each year – spring and fall) all of the wineries in Santa Barbara County get together and pour their wines at the Vintners’ Festival in Lompoc. The Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Association organizes the Vintners’ and Harvest Festivals year after year, and they are a great opportunity to taste wines across the spectrum of quality, price, and availability from Santa Barbara.
Over the weekend, wineries hold open houses, feature new releases, set up food stands, or host dinners. At Lafond Winery we host an open house all day (10am-5pm) on the day of the festival and pour new releases alongside food from our famous taco stand.
2010 Vintners’ Festival
April 17th, 1 – 4pmThe annual Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Festival attractes wine lovers from near and far for an opportunity to meet member vintners, taste their wines, and enjoy great food and music in a festive outdoor environment at River Park in Lompoc.
The festival features the wines of our 130+ members of the Association, live and lively music, a silent auction and wine country cuisine by the area’s finest chefs.
Festival ticket: $75 (will be $85 at the door)
Vintners’ Visa: $35 (a ticket to taste at participating wineries for free over the long weekend)
Combo Festival and Visa Ticket: $100
Please visit the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Association website for more information and to purchase tickets for this great event.
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