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.

Meteorological mélange.

In less than 24 hours Vinoland experienced an epic variety of weather; rain, hail, frost, fog and glorious sunshine.  (And an earthquake.  Just a magnitude 3.7, close to Yountville). 
It was not forecast to rain today.  And it didn't.  Instead it hailed, again.  Vinodog 2 and I were treated to a fabulous rainbow, over a neighbouring vineyard, on our rather soggy afternoon perambulation.  An interesting weather day.
I did, however, manage to get all the Orange muscat and Pinot grigio canes tied down whilst the sun was shining.  In fact, I got a little bit warm working my way from vine to vine, but I loved it.

Brass monkey weather.

There are no monkeys in Vinoland, but if there were, well, they'd be cold.  Yesterday and today, the Napa Valley has experienced its first real frosts of the winter.  There was one chilly day after the new year, but in no way was it cold enough to discommode any cannonballs.  We have been having a good amount of rain, though.
It was a crisp 29°F when I got up, nevertheless I ventured out into the vineyard to take this photograph.  I love it.  My drive to work revealed that the Mayacamas and the Vaca Mountains both had a light dusting of snow, beautiful.  And, at the top of the valley, Mount St. Helena was adorned with a white cape.  I felt like I was in Lake Tahoe, not the Napa Valley.  Very pretty.

Hello there handsome!

Voila!  At a little more than two weeks behind budbreak 2017 (which in turn was a bit behind budbreak 2016), Vinoland's Orange muscat vines have now made the commitment to get a start on the 2018 growing season.  This is exactly the same bud that I photographed on March 8th.  There are a few vines that are a little more advanced, but this vine is displaying a good average of all the vines.  Looking good little buddy.
Unfortunately, we have been experiencing severe frosts the past three mornings: neighbouring vineyards have been starting their (frost protection) fans anywhere from about 3.00 a.m. to 5.00 a.m.  Having no frost protection in Vinoland, I can only cross my fingers and hope that the vines won't be impacted negatively.  You're on your own little buddies, mummy loves you.

Happy Christmas: 2016.

I woke up to another frosty morning in Vinoland, it meant everywhere was white and very Christmassy.  Not as white and Christmassy as the morning my sister, La Serenissima, woke up to in Utah though: my brother-in-law is now busy shoveling out from behind 18 inches of 'White Christmas' personified.
Enjoy food, family, friends and the spirit of the season.  Oh, and wine.
Happy Christmas to all!

Baby, it's cold outside.

And I'm loving it.  The past five mornings have been white and bright.
After so much rain last Thursday, 3.5 inches fell in just under 5 hours, the sunny, dry, crisp weather has been a more than welcome respite. Of course, all that rain meant there was plenty of moisture about to actually freeze and the resulting 1/8 inch of hoarfrost over every surface, including Vinoland's grapevines, made for some spectacular sugar-sprinkled vistas on my early morning walks with Vinodog 2.  And it made everything seem just that little bit more Christmassy.  Love it.

Happy Christmas: 2015.

A very Happy Christmas to all from Vinoland.  I might possibly remember Christmas Day 2015 as my first ever white Christmas in Napa: the frost was so heavy this morning that everywhere was indeed white.  No doubt due to the elevated humidity, from all the rain we have been having of late, there was just more moisture than normal to freeze.  It was just gorgeous.
Wishing you all a joyful day filled with family, friends, good food and great wine.  And a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all.
Enjoy!

Ta-ta tomatoes.

It is the 1st of December already, wow!  How did that happen?  It is the Christmas season already and day one of my advent calendar is already open.
Although it is still technically autumn, there have been some rather cold days this past week and we have had several frosty mornings. Enough frost events to finally finish off my tomato plants: this is my last handful of tomatoes for 2015.  There isn't going to be any more photosynthesis now that most of the foliage has been damaged by the frosts, the plants are done.  I'm going to make the most of my last homegrown salad of the year.

Closing up shop.

Autumn is well and truly here.  In fact, I'd have to say that it was really quite wintry when I left for work this morning as everywhere was white with frost.  The vines are all busy shutting down and are losing their leaves.  Triggered by decreasing daylight hours, senescence begins in the mesophyll cells located in the margins of the grape leaf and slowly advances inward.  (The leaf above is a great example).  Temperature does not play a part in the onset of senescence, but frosty mornings will definitely speed up the whole process.  And yesterday, I harvested my last batch of tomatoes, so I think it is finally time to admit summer is over, sigh.

A layer of frosting.

My traditional New Year walk through the vineyard was delayed by a day, but better late than never.  Of course, I did choose the coldest morning so far this winter, it was a nippy 26°F.  But V2 and I braved the cold and went for a brisk morning constitutional.  The vines, weeds and fallen grape leaves all looked very pretty with their slight sugar-like coating that sparkled in the rays of the rising wintry-sun.
It's a little too early to be thinking about pruning yet.  A lot of local vineyards are already pre-pruned and I noticed a Chardonnay vineyard, a quite sizeable one at that, close to downtown Napa that is already fully pruned.  I, myself, would be a tiny bit concerned about the pruning wounds and infection of those wounds, especially on cordon pruned vines.  But then, what do I know?  Besides, I always like to wait until the last minute, and then panic.
A happy 2015 to all!

Bonny and blithe.

I woke up this morning to a very pretty, and seemingly sugar-coated, Vinoland.  And the sweetest news that, during the night, my sister-in-law had been delivered of a healthy baby girl.  A new niece, how wonderful!  Welcome to the (chilly) world little one.

One last hurrah!

It is autumn isn't it?  This young Pinot grigio vine doesn't seem to think so.  Working in the vineyard this afternoon, removing clothes-pegs in preparation for removing the bird-netting, I looked up to see this shoot (which has 5-6 inch tendrils a little further down) reaching for the sun.  And sunny it is.  And warm.  It hasn't been below 66° F all week.  I'm loving it.
Now, young vines tend to remain a tad more enthusiastic later into the season than their more mature row-mates, but this is a little unusual for this far along in the year.  Grapevine shoots do not form a terminal bud like some plants, so technically they may continue to grow if there is sufficient heat (yup), available nutrients (apparently so) and adequate soil moisture (questionable).  However, with the onset of veraison a shoot's apical meristem dies back because now there in a new source-sink (point of usage) in town - the sugar hungry cluster.  I did cut the fruit off this vine quite early on in the season, so evidently it took it upon itself to redirect it's photosynthates.  Very enterprising of it, but it isn't half going to be surprised when we get our first frost.  Ouch!

Christmas is a-coming!

Whoo hoo! Several frosty mornings in a row.  A Christmas parcel today from Blighty.  O Come All Ye Faithful playing in the background.  A nice glass of Mi Sueno Syrah next to my laptop.   The Vinodogs slumbering in front of a log fire.

Ahhh. Life is good.

Stop!

No, don't stop...apparently, little vines, you are right on schedule.

With the change to Daylight Savings Time last weekend, I have been able to do some outside stuff when I get home from work e.g. walk the Vinodogs. Tonight, after returning from our promenade, something caught my eye - budbreak, and the genesis of the 2011 vintage, in the Orange muscat block. I was thinking it seemed a little early this year, but plainly the vines know better than me. The OM's timing in deciding when to awaken from their winter slumber is very close, if not identical, to last year.

Unfortunately, frost is forecast for tomorrow morning. Here we go again!

Chilly.

It was a tad cold here in Vinoland this morning, a crisp 29 degrees Fahrenheit. Everywhere and everything in sight was white with a thick frost which then glistened prettily in the rays of the rising sun. This lone grapevine leaf looked, perhaps hopefully, towards the warming sun in vain: its season is done. But, Christmas is coming and the snappy temperature served as a jolly reminder that my favourite season is just around the corner.

What the...?

...it's May 22nd! Frost this morning: Hail this afternoon. Someone should tell Mother Nature that it's supposed to be spring in California!

Bean dip.

This past week, in his spare time, Vinomaker has been busy mowing and weed-whacking/strimming the tall, lush vegetation that has sprung up all over the vineyard. Alternate periods of rain and sunshine have resulted in a verdant extravaganza of weeds this spring. Besides looking rather unkempt, high vegetation in the vine rows can contribute to frost damage of the developing vintage. By effectively raising the floor of the vineyard, tall plants positively invite frost to settle right at the level of the succulent, new shoots on the grapevines. The uninterrupted flow of dense, cold air past the vines is extremely important.
In the long grass at the edge of the creek, I found a couple of runaway bell beans (Vicia faba) enjoying their reprieve, after a quick swim, from certain disking death over in the Far Niente vineyard a mere 100 yards away: a fate their siblings succumbed to just a few days ago. They will be safe here in the sanctuary I call Vinoland.

Can spring be far behind?

No, in fact spring is just a few hours away. Of course, these Pinot gris and Syrah buds seem to think the vernal equinox has already arrived. I can forgive them their mistake, we have had spectacular 80/81 degree temperatures the past couple of days. Even the trees in Vinoland are bursting with baby leaves giving them a green, fuzzy hue from afar and don't get me started on how tall the grass is. However, trees and grass are not in the least threatened by spring frost, but grapevines are. My promiscuous grapevines, with their casual attitude towards frost, might be in for a rude awakening.

The secret ministry of frost.

It's no secret that spring frosts spell trouble for the winegrower. Although it is forecast to rain tomorrow, and the day after, this mornings frost heralds the imminent onset of up to an eight week period of interrupted sleep for the Napa Valley's vineyard managers. It is a tad early for me to be overly concerned for my vines. However, I did notice rather corpulent looking Chardonnay buds in the eastern block of the Far Niente vineyard as I was walking the Vinodogs late yesterday afternoon, and that may be a concern for them.
I think budbreak will be several weeks early this year, and so I'm estimating my sleep will be interrupted within the next two weeks. Those wind fans are loud!

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.