Afternoon in the Vineyards: 2017.

This afternoon, Vinomaker and I ventured out of Vinoland, but we didn't go too far.  Staying fairly close to our Coombsville home, we decided to attend Afternoon in the Vineyards the annual event hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners.  And, for the first time, Vinodog 2 came along with us.
The folks at Faust, our vineyard of choice, farm approximately 112 acres in Coombsville's gently, rolling hills.  The vineyard is planted to five grape varieties; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Sauvignon blanc.  And all the vines, from what I could see, are head-trained and cane-pruned.  The weather was a tad cool, the scenery was beautiful and V2 had a poo.  Not much more to say really.  Oh, except that I did taste a Faust 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, but didn't think an awful lot of it; too plummy and one-dimensional, not a lot going on.

Afternoon in the Vineyards: 2016.

Of the six vineyards to choose from for the annual Napa Valley Vintners community event that is Afternoon in the Vineyards, Vinomaker and I opted to visit Chimney Rock Winery.  I had never been to Chimney Rock before - though I drive past this winery all the time on my way to TWWIAGE - so this seemed like a great opportunity to try somewhere new.  It was a grey, drizzly morning and I did have second thoughts about attending the event altogether. It would have been really easy to just stay home, but in the end I dragged myself, and Vinomaker, out into my trusty Vinovehicle and headed up north.
The event started well as upon arrival I was handed a taste of Chimney Rock's 2013 Sauvignon Gris (Napa Valley AVA).  Sauvignon Gris is an unusual grape variety for the Napa Valley.  The wine was a fairly pleasant quaff, but had a tad too high alcohol-burn thing on the finish. Viticulturalist Doug Fletcher, apparently a long time employee of Chimney Rock, (I think he even mentioned that he had been the winemaker at some point), was our vineyard tour guide for the event.  I say tour, but a quick stroll across 25 yards of tarmac to the first vine in sight, in my mind, does not constitute a tour. The talk started well as Doug seemed like he was going to address such viticultural specifics as soil composition, grape varieties and clones.  But he strayed off topic when someone asked him about the use of Roundup in the vineyard (the whole glycophosphate debate).  And that was it, in short shrift my group was hustled from the edge of the vineyard back onto the tarmac to make way for the next group.  I had a quick look at the tasting room and then departed.
All in all, this year's Afternoon in the Vineyards, and perhaps it was just this particular venue, Chimney Rock, was a bit of a disappointment.  Sigh.

Afternoon in the Vineyards: 2015.

The 15th annual 'Afternoon in the Vineyards' was held today, so Vinomaker and I hopped into our trusty Vinovehicle and headed over to the nearest participating vineyard to Vinoland.  This year there were 6 vineyards to choose from, one more than last year - it's a good community event.

Boyd Family Vineyards is located on Big Ranch Road in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley AVA.  I love Big Ranch Road, so close to downtown Napa yet it feels like it is miles away from anywhere. Proprietor Joan Boyd was hosting an informal talk in the vineyard when Vinomaker and I arrived.  Mrs Boyd certainly seemed to know her stuff, so refreshing that a vineyard owner could be so knowledgeable and hands on.  There were three Boyd Family wines available to taste, a 2012 Merlot was the best of the bunch, in my opinion.  The Boyd Family dogs, one yellow and one black labrador, were on hand making sure people were having a good time.  Love vineyard dogs.

Vinomaker asked Joan what variety were the new vines that we had passed by on the drive in.  "Greco di Tufo," she replied, "but they're not mine."  The baby vines apparently belong to Robert Biale Vineyards.

Greco di Tufo is a very unusual grape variety for California.  A native of Italy, Greco di Tufo makes an aromatic, medium bodied, citrusy wine with aging potential.  It'll be a few years before I can taste the wine that Biale will produce from these grapevines, but I'm going to try to remember to look out for it in the future.

Afternoon in the Vineyards: 2014.

The 14th annual 'Afternoon in the Vineyards' was held today, so Vinomaker and I put on some sensible vineyard-boots and headed over to the Carneros American Viticultural Area.  The closest vineyard, on the list of six from which to choose, was that of Pine Ridge Vineyards - their Carneros Collines vineyard on Buhman Avenue.
Pine Ridge grow Chardonnay and Merlot at this location and both varietal wines were available for tasting, so we did (Vinomaker even went back for seconds).  It's a nice vineyard.  Viticultural experts who work for the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, a co-sponsor of the event, were on hand to answer any questions visitors may have had.  The bottom, level half of the vineyard had originally been planted to Merlot and had been grafted over to Chardonnay clones 76, 95 and 96 within the last 2 years (I would guess). 
The old Merlot trunks were quite old and gnarly.  There were lots of questions from the attendees about these not-so-normal looking grapevines; How does one go about attaching the bud?  And how does one end up with the two arms of a bi-lateral cordon?  It was fun to stand in the sun, with my 2 ounces of Merlot, and just listen to the conversations.  Vinomaker and I didn't stay for too long, after all, I had things to do in my own vineyard.  It's always a fun event.

Afternoon in the Vineyards: 2013.

Today was the 13th annual Afternoon in the Vineyards, a casual meet-and-greet event sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners that allows Napa Valley residents to get up close and personal with their friendly, neighbourhood viticulturist/vintner.
Vinomaker and I decided to pop over to Ackerman Family Vineyards which is a stone's throw, well, maybe two stones and two throws, from Vinoland.  The past couple of days I have been busy suckering vines, so this was to be a pleasant diversion.  It was a glorious day, maybe perhaps a little too warm to be stomping around a dusty vineyard other than my own little corner of Eden, but I always enjoy visiting new vineyards...besides there are usually wines to be sampled.
The Ackerman family have a very nice vineyard which is planted to modified-lyre, head trained, cane pruned (the tour guide's description, not mine) Cabernet Sauvignon vines and is certified organic (don't get me started).  A lot of rescue horses (the horse-stall barn was very fancy).  And a nice location with extensive Coombsville vistas.  Unfortunately, the two vintages of their Cabernet Sauvignon that I tried, the 2007 and 2008, both wonderful vintages for Napa in general, were not to my liking.  Both wines displayed stewed-fruit characteristics which, given the relatively cool climate in Coombsville, I can only attribute to something amiss in the winemaking department, perhaps.  But then, what do I know?  I just know they weren't to my taste...beautiful property though.

Afternoon in the Vineyards: 2012.

The 12th annual Afternoon in the Vineyards is being held today. At five different vineyards, from Napa to St. Helena, attendees get to rub shoulders with viticulturists, winemakers and vineyard owners if so inclined.
It's a great event, meant specifically for locals, and is hosted by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and the Napa Valley Vintners.
It's free, the weather is gorgeous, there is wine to be had, and one can get to act like an über-vine-nerd...like me.  And, if I'm in attendance it means I'm not out in my vineyard stuffing shoots!   What's not to love about such an event?

An afternoon in a vineyard.

I spent some time today amongst grapevines though not in Vinoland, but in somebody else's vineyard for a change.

The 11th annual 'Afternoon in the Vineyards' was held today, so I took a break from suckering the vines to pop along to a local vineyard, accompanied by Vinomaker, to see what was happening out in the great, wide world. Usually, these events turn into nothing more than your common or garden wine tasting, so on the way there I determined that I was going to find someone to talk to about the vineyard...and I was in luck. Having a chat with the proprietor Tim Darrin was fun, but the real treat for me was getting to pick the vineyard manager Michael Wolf's brain.

Mr. Wolf has been involved in the development and management of Californian vineyards for over 30 years: he knows his stuff. Rootstock selection, permanent wilting point, field capacity, apical dominance, unilateral cordon training, adventitious buds...someone, please, stop me!

I was having way too much fun. I am such a vine-nerd!