Frost wars.

It was a gorgeous day today, finally.  Beautiful blue sky, a few white fluffy clouds, temperature reached 66° F.  I managed to get quite a bit of pruning done.  Yay!  When, at 5.10 pm, I finished pruning for the day it started to rain - just as Vinodog 2 and I were going on our afternoon walk, of course.  With just one gigantic, dark grey cloud over Vinoland the rain did not last for long, thankfully.  The weekend forecast is promising.
Of course with clear, cloud-free spring nights comes freezing overnight temperatures and frosty mornings.  A neighbouring vineyard, Farella Vineyards, is preparing for such an eventuality.  (As an aside, I love this portable fan.)  It can be a bit of a battle, as frosts may or may not occur this time of year.  However, commercial vineyards need to be armed with preventative measures to ensure that the vines are protected from injury.  It's always something with Mother Nature.

Bank Holiday Monday.

It's Easter Monday.  Well, it is Easter Monday, a bank holiday, in England (and Canada).  When I was little everywhere (shops, post office etc., and the banks, of course) basically shut down for the entire four days of Easter.  Easter was a time for family get-togethers.  I find 'holidays' in America are over way too fast.  It is certainly not a holiday for me today, as I am off to work in just a while.
A sort of Easter miracle happened in Vinoland yesterday: I finished pruning, yay!  (And tying everything down with help from Vinomaker.) And not a moment too soon, the Cabernet sauvignon vines are enthused. I was getting a little worried that I wouldn't be finished, but the weather was perfect for pruning.  It feels good to be finished.  I even managed to get a little bit of suckering done in the Pinot grigio because, as usual with this grape variety, the vigorous little devils have pushed a myriad of adventitious buds out all over their trunks.
Of course, with warm weather and clear skies comes the threat of spring frosts.  Indeed, as I type the fans (for frost protection) in the nearby Far Niente Chardonnay vineyard are doing their thing.  A precautionary step, perhaps, as the temperature is currently 39°F and too warm for frost.  I have done my bit, having no frost protection in Vinoland my little buddies are now on their own.

I'm a fan.

I love this portable wind machine that showed up in the Opus One vineyard last week; the fan one day, the propane tank the next.  The vast majority of vineyards around the Napa Valley have been pruned now and vineyard-vistas are greening up as leaves and shoots (white varietals) are appearing atop vines as a fuzzy, pale green haze.

The Opus One vineyard is, of course, Cabernet sauvignon - an expensive crop that needs to be protected from frost.  With the possible threat of frosty spring mornings just around the corner, vineyard managers up and down the valley are making sure that frost protection means are in place, and in working order. Vineyard managers that employ overhead sprinklers for frost protection have been checking that their sprinkler systems will indeed sprinkle when called upon to do so, (as evidenced by the number of vineyards that have been getting a good sprinkler-dousing the past couple of weeks).

I finished pruning the Syrah today, making my spur and cane selections that is, I haven't tied them all down yet.  The Syrah vines are very enthused which makes tying the canes down difficult.  It also means that those little buds will be susceptible to frost damage if we have a chilly morning.  My fingers are crossed because I don't have a portable wind machine.

On another note, this past Wednesday's Napa Valley Register reported that more than 400 concerned citizens had showed up at a joint meeting of the Napa City Board of Supervisors and the Napa County Planning Commission (on Tuesday 10th March).  What are they concerned about? Vintners, growers and average folk are concerned about the unfettered growth of wineries within the agricultural preserve, wineries that "are becoming glitzy event centers that overshadow agriculture, generate too much traffic and use too much groundwater."  A group of  growers and vintners, notably Andy Beckstoffer and Dennis Groth, submitted a joint letter (which I'm sure got a frosty reception from the supervisors), asking the county to enforce regulations set in place under the 1990 Winery Definition Ordinance.  Problem is, the county repeatedly grants variances to new wineries to get around the laws the county itself instituted to protect the agricultural preserve. It's a highly contentious issue and I'm sure that a huge flap is fermenting.  Stay tuned.

Sprinkle liberally.

The record low temperatures that were forecast for last week did not materialise. Last night it was supposed to only get down to 36 degrees and it got down to 32 instead...weathermen!!!
I took this picture several weeks ago, around the time I did my smudge pot post. I imagined that Napa was going to be in for a frosty April but no, it has just been cool and damp all month long. Of course, the scarcity of freezing overnight temperatures has been great for the vines, thank goodness.
Besides fans, the other primary method of frost protection in Napa vineyards is the utilisation of overhead sprinkler systems, designed to apply .11 inches of water per hour. Overhead sprinklers require upwards of 50 gallons of water per minute per acre: at this rate full protection of the vineyard to temperatures down into the mid-20s can be achieved. These systems derive their effectiveness from the latent heat of fusion which is given up as the water turns to ice on the vine. The mixture of ice and water maintains the bud at 32 degrees, just one critical degree above the point where bud damage begins. The sprinklers then continue until well after sunrise and subsequently the ice melts. This is a rather expensive method of frost protection and an adequate source of water is essential. Sprinklers are however very quiet unlike the wind fans, and very clean unlike the smudge pots. The sprinklers can also be used at other times in the growing season for irrigation, heat suppression, and pest management. This year I am sure the sprinklers will be employed in the certain pesticide-death of the European Grapevine Moth.
Sprinkle liberally with water, add a dash of physics and you have the recipe for a successful harvest in the autumn.

Frost never sleeps.

I recently shared this bottle of wine, (and a couple of others), with Vinomaker and Thud. It was fantastic. You don't always get what you pay for with the higher end Napa Cabernets but this wine was truly wonderful. The Far Niente 2005 Cabernet sauvignon was very elegant and very finessed, reminiscent of a first growth Bordeaux without being old and tired. Granted, I didn't pay full price for it, I was able to get the employee discount from a friend who works there, but I am actually thinking it was well worth the $125 asking price.
I am very familiar with how truly magnificent Oakville Cabernets can be. Soil type and climate mid-valley have a lot to do with this, along with the vintage, and the artistry of the winemaker, but the skill of the vineyard manager cannot be overlooked. The stewardship of the grapevines is often ignored by wine writers, reviewers and bloggers...but what do they know? (It seems redundant to point out that without great grapes you cannot produce a great wine, but this fact is often disregarded. You can however make a crappy wine from great grapes.)
So, I doff my cap to the dedicated grape grower who was out at 2.00 a.m. this morning, starting the fans for the Far Niente Chardonnay, whilst I snuggled into a warm, cosy bed and was lulled into a deep sleep by their rather pleasant drone. I'll grant you that he earns every penny he gets.

When the frost hits the fan.

I don't normally get this up close and personal with a wind machine. This particular fan has been moved to the perimeter of the Far Niente vineyard for repair. The grey, ominous skies added to the atmosphere of doom and gloom for the future of the burgeoning 2009 vintage. There may be cloud cover now but, just wait a day or two, the frost will be back.
Seemingly oblivious to the fact that I was stalking his wind machine, the vineyard manager filled me in on the prognosis for this particular fan: propeller, half broken off....then inquired, in a most genuine fashion, if the noise bothered me at night. How polite!
I hope he gets the fan fixed. Despite the overnight disturbance of something akin to a helicopter hovering over your bedroom, I hate the thought of a diminished vintage. I will sleep more soundly when the threat of frost has passed.