Sunday, July 12, 2015

Ten thousand saw I at a glance.

I don't really know if my guesstimate of the number of young Chardonnay vines waiting to be planted at the Berlenbach vineyard is correct, but let me just say that it certainly looks like there are 10,000 vines.  Of course, if I new how many acres are being replanted it would help with my calculations.
What I do know is that the folks at Far Niente have selected Chardonnay FPS 72 (on 3309 Courderc rootstock), a clone of Chardonnay that was donated to the FPS public selection at UC Davis by the Wente family (from a production block in the Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County).  I know this because I am nosey and I looked.  In fact, I gazed - and gazed, tee-hee.

5 comments:

Thomas said...

VG: maybe the fiollowing will help your calculations.

Couderc 3309 is good in high-density planting, and not good for so-called dry-farmed sites, especially extremely hot weather sites. Being a riparia and rupestris cross, the rootstock is phylloxera resistant.

Vinogirl said...

Tomasso: There may be other selections of rootstocks up there (I could only see the labels on the vines on the outside). This rootstock selection surprised me, as I read that 3309 C is susceptible to nematodes. But I may just be being overly concerned, something to do with an article I read in Wine Business Monthly about nematodes taking over the world...dun, dun, duuun!

New Hampshire Wineman said...

VG: " I know this because I am nosey and I looked." Sounds like fun.
Will you drink wines produced there?
Four years ago I had a bottle of the 2009 Far Niente Napa Valley Chardonnay, and without doubt, it was and still remains the best Chardonnay I've tasted, but my experience is quite limited! I've been working on changing that!

Vinogirl said...

NHW: Well, at the very earliest, it'll be four years until this wine hits the marketplace. I have had Far Niente's Chardonnay before and thought it quite pleasant, so, if I remember, I'll probably try the wine from these grapes (if it is identifiable as the Berlenbach).

New Hampshire Wineman said...

VG: If I'm still here, let me know how it was, is to be, might be or something like that!