Muscat is busting out all over.

In between stacking firewood and helping Vinomaker chip the Syrah prunings, I had a quick peek into the Orange muscat block to see if anything was happening. Lo and behold...budbreak. Hello to the genesis of the 2009 vintage.
Now I just have to worry about frost.

...Ego deputo.

...and here is a vine I prepared earlier. Actually, it is the same vine but I have given it a new 'do'. This vine is not an ideal model, the positions are a little low, but it will improve with subsequent years. Every vine is different from the next and each vine offers a new challenge.
V2 is happily chewing away on a cane I cut from the trellising wires. My little mulching mongrel.

Veni, vidi...

Happy first day of spring!
I had a bit of a sleep in this morning but I was out pruning before the sun came up over the eastern Napa hills.  I pruned for most of the day, accompanied by the Vinodogs, and I am happy to say the Syrah is done. All the Syrah, that is, except for a few odd vines that need special attention.
The vines in Vinoland are head trained and cane pruned - meaning a 2 bud renewal spur and an 8 bud fruiting cane on each side - although there is one, short experimental row of Syrah that is cordon pruned. Cane-pruning is a slightly more labour intensive way of pruning but in the long run it makes for better fruit.  Ergo, good wine.

Spring is almost sprung.

The past couple of days have been spectacular weather-wise. It is amazing how winter has just suddenly disappeared. Sure we could get nasty frosts through April here in Napa, but for all intents and purposes, winter is over.
My daffodils are all but finished and my tulips, short-lived at the best of times, are about 75% done. My irises have just started blooming. A large Valley Oak, (Quercus lobata), to the north of the house has large, swollen buds and even a few immature leaves. Spring doesn't even officially begin until tomorrow.
Nicest of all the early spring surprises around here, for me, is the recurrence of my cover crop from three years ago. My field peas, (Pisum sativum), are dotting the vineyard with their happy, purple and lilac flowers. The sub-clovers I planted last autumn don't seem to be making an appearance just yet. Thank goodness for the self-seeding prowess, and nitrogen fixing capacity, of these little legumes. The peas were easy on the eye as I pruned today. My babies look so pretty.
Of course V2's early mowing protocol, (with her never resting jaws), will mean there will be less self-seeding next year!

Head above the rest.

Hidden in this mess of mustard is a head trained vine. I do not know the varietal although I could find out as Vinomaker knows its dad. Just look at it. Brilliant! I love head trained vines. Look at the permanent structure. Cast your eye over the pruning work needing to be done. Fantastic!
The grapevine is...a vine...quelle surprise! It will twist and turn its way up a tree, or anything taller than itself, in order to reach the top and...the sunlight. Truly head trained vines give little support to the actual vine except for their own established trunk. The pruner maintains an almost cartwheel-like structure on which the fruiting spurs are renewed each year. Fabulous!
The main advantage is that it is an extremely cost effective way of training. No stakes, no trellising, and in the case of a dry farmed vineyard, no costly irrigation system. The disadvantages are many. For example, greater instances of disease, heightened pest management issues, and it's bad on your back at harvest time...but like high heels, from adversity comes great pleasure.

Happy Birthday V1.

Yes, Vinodog 1 is celebrating today. She is 11 years old...or 77 in human years. The old girl is getting a little slower these days...and of course she now needs reading glasses.
Happy Birthday V1!

True Wine Lover 5.

It is hard for me to give the French credit for much of anything. However I must doff my cap to, the one and only, Louis XIV. If not for his penchant for an obscure Hungarian dessert wine, the rest of us would not be able to readily enjoy a snifter of fine amber coloured Tokaji. Thank goodness he made a point of pouring it at his court, thus initiating a fashion for this varietal that Vinogirl would eventually benefit from.
Last night brother Thud cooked a fabulous goulash for family OTW, Vinomaker and me. We paired it with several truly wonderful Napa Cabernet sauvignons. For dessert we had a wonderful Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonoyos, (accompanied by a Key Lime pie).  It was delicious.
I am not going to review this varietal, just recommend that you drink it from time to time.  It would be worth your while.  Even Pope Pius IV quipped: "Summum pontificem talia vina decent!"  Worthy indeed.
So, vive le Roi Soliel...or at least his taste buds.

Good wood.

Today I started to prune. Finally! Vinomaker probably thought I was never going to get started.
I didn't prune a lot, I had school in the morning after all. I did all of our Orange muscat and a few of our Syrah vines. Even though I procrastinate every year, once I get started I thoroughly enjoy myself.
I love the decision making involved in pruning. Each vine presents a different challenge. I stand back, assess the plants vigour from the previous season, and prune accordingly. Each vine is an individual. Each vine demands that I recognise its potential. Each vine rewards me at harvest time.
You can see in the picture above that the pruned wood of the two vines look different. The redder wood is the Orange muscat. Vines also vary in the hardness of the wood. For instance, I always get blisters when I prune Cabernet sauvignon vines. Cab wood is so hard in comparison to other varietals.
In the picture you can see some powdery mildew scarring on the Syrah wood. A sign that our sulphur protocol may need adjusting this year. Furthermore, you can see that I didn't lose any fingers, at least not this time.

That damned, illusive pimpernel.

Today is Vinomaker's birthday. Whoo hoo!
He's 29, or so he says. (The only thing that is 29 around here is the highway that runs north/south on the west side of the valley.)
The Vinodogs bought their dad a hat each which was very sweet of them. He got some other great gifts too, including a weather station from Family OTW.
The best pressie though, was a University of California book called 'Weeds of California'...1800+ pages, in two volumes, of every weed you could ever wish for. Or maybe not.
There are some pretty weeds, like Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), blooming in the vine rows right now. However, there is one that I know only by its foul odour which is not dissimilar to dead, rotting fish. Lovely.
I can identify most other weeds in the vineyard but seeing as new ones seem to appear all the time, this publication will come in very handy. Train-spotting at its finest.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!

Think twice, cut once.

It's raining. It's windy. I could put on my raincoat and wellies and go outside and start pruning, and maybe I will later today, but for now I have decided to stay put and service my pruning shears.
As I have mentioned before, pruning is the most important thing that one can do to grape vines. It stands to reason then that the equipment used should be in tip top condition. I prefer to use Felco pruners but any brand of pruning shears need to be cleaned, sharpened and oiled quite frequently. This will ensure that the pruning cuts are clean, the pruner can work fast and, in the process, doesn't end up slicing through a digit. (Leather gloves are a good idea too).
I'm an OK pruner, but I am not very fast. I would not have stood a chance in the contest that was held last Thursday. The 8th Annual Napa County Pruning Contest attracted the best and fastest pruners in the valley. It's amazing to see these field workers make their way through a vineyard, almost locust like, leaving trimmed vines in their wake. It's back breaking work and I take my hat off to the men, and women, who make it possible for me to enjoy a glass of wine. It's a bit of an art and not everyone is good at it. I acknowledge that there are vineyard managers who oversee operations and wealthy vineyard owners who make the planting of the land to vines possible in the first place. However, it is the pruner who has that one on one interaction with the vine and determines the crop yield and quality of the fruit. Without great fruit a winemaker cannot make great wine. I, for one, am glad that the pruners get a little recognition for the essential work they do.
For a long time, I have wanted to throw down my pruning gloves and challenge somebody, such as ex-ambassador Katherine Hall, to a pruning contest. Vinomaker thinks this is mean spirited of me, but I think it is highly unlikely that she knows anything about viticulture. I am positive she would not accept the duel anyway and even if she did, I'd win gloves down. I'll just have to be satisfied with sticking to drinking wine from producers who actually know what is going on out there in their vineyards.

Just because 4...

I determined that I would begin pruning today, but it was raining. So, whilst I should have been out tromping around the vineyard with my wellies on, I decided to put on my new boots and go shopping instead. Wine shopping that is. Life is good.

Speaking of hoity toity...

...Vinodog 1 sometimes gets ideas above her station, but I love my little mustard queen anyway :)

Cut the mustard.

If indeed the mustard in the vineyards of northern California was first sown by Franciscan monks more than 200 years ago, it is one of the most enduring cover crop success stories ever, at least in the Napa Valley.  Due to the unusually warm January we experienced, (and the high 60's low 70's temps we have now), the field mustard (Brassica campestris) is out in full force.  It looks beautiful, contrasted against the the still dormant, skeletal looking vines.  So beautiful in fact that it inspired a whole festival dedicated just to it.  The Napa Valley Mustard Festival, in it's 16th year, attracts the well heeled of the valley's society doyens...the rest of us just live and work here. Ho hum.
There are far superior choices of cover crops that could be planted in the vineyard.  Brassicas in general can prove to be a little problematic.  For instance, B. campestris, can attract green peach aphids (Myzus persiae) that build up on the mustard during winter and early spring.  Although these aphids do not affect vineyards, they may disperse and carry diseases to other crops.  Not good.  So vineyard managers, cut the mustard, sew some subterranean clovers to smother it out and let the hoity-toity find another weed to celebrate instead.

Micro Pest Management.

Look at this cutie pie, a baby ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus).  I was sweeping up leaves this morning, when I found this baby hanging out in the damp edges of our Orange muscat planting. I wish I could have captured a shot of his/her tongue flicking in and out, giving me a good sniff. So cute, but yet so useful. I deposited him/her safely, under the leaves at the base of one of the vines, out of harms way. After all, I want this baby to reach adulthood and be the 30 inch long, slug eating predator it has the potential to be.
Godspeed little one...just leave my favourite lizards alone!

Licensed to sell.

Today I stopped at the college and bought the required books for my English course, (text books are expensive). I wish I were taking something a little more exciting than this particular class but I have out of the ordinary time constraints this semester.

I am disappointed in not being able to take one of the follow-on classes from the oenology programme I took last semester, e.g. Spring Winery Operations. This would be an especially good time to take that class as Napa Valley College (NVC) was just recently issued permits allowing them to sell wines produced by the students. NVC is California's first community college with a bonded winery. The bond allows the college to sell up to 1,000 cases per year. A 2008 Chardonnay will be the first release available for purchase and any profit from sales will help support the viticulture/winery programme.

The college is well regarded among Napa Valley wineries, which hire many of its students and encourage employees to study there. Graduates work as grape growers, winemakers, marketing specialists, and in other areas of the industry. However in some cases, natural winemaking talent is put on hold because some classes at the college require the student to be at least 21 years of age. These classes involve wine tasting and to stay within the confines of the law, (a law I totally disagree with), students must be of legal drinking age.

Unfortunately, Vinogirl, is slightly above the age limit...and some!

Farella...with food.

Whether Vinomaker likes it or not, we have grilled salmon every Saturday night...gotta have those Omega 3's. We have found that some wines just don't work with this relatively fatty fish, like Chardonnay or Torrontes, for instance. Generally we fall back on a trusted compliment to the salmon, good old Sauvignon blanc.
This past Saturday night we had one of the best SBs that I have ever had. The Farella-Park 2007 is just plain delicious. It had, which I didn't believe was possible, the minerality that you get with a good Sancerre....from a Napa wine no less. If you are a fan of Sauvignon blanc as Vinomaker and I are, then this may be the quintessential, varietal expression.
Just fab, not Kiwi style, not full-on Sancerre, not over-bearingly Napa...just about as good as it gets...with or without food.

It's not rocket science.

A friend, Sky King, brought this newly released cult wine (Sky King's words, not mine) over for Vinomaker and me to try last night.  The 2006 Rocket Science, from Caldwell Vineyard, had great colour extraction, a high alcohol content (14.9%), heavy mouth feel, not a lot of tannins, an underripe red plum fruitiness and a burst of vanilla on the finish. Yes, being a 2006 it is young, but I think you can take its youthfulness out of the equation: this wine just seemed a little out of balance to me. Thankfully, this is not John Caldwell's (famous in these parts for his suitcase clones) primary label, other Caldwell wines I have tasted have been far more enjoyable. The name, Rocket Science, I am assuming is a tongue-in-cheek attempt at saying that winemaking is NOT rocket science.  That's right, it's not.  But it can get awfully complicated.
Is Caldwell a cult wine?  I personally don't buy into the whole cult wine fad.  Last year I was fortunate enough to be able to partake in a blind tasting of wines commonly referred to as 'cult wines' - Bond, Harlan, Phelps, etc., all 2002 Cabernet Sauvignons.  My favourite was a David Arthur Elevation 1147.  I'm a bit of an 'emperors new clothes' type person, so I'm usually not easily influenced by the opinions of others. To me, the David Arthur was simply the best of the bunch because I was assessing it with my taste buds, nobody else's.

Rocket Science is great if you like a particular brand of humour paired with your wine.  Admittedly, it was a rather nice quaffing wine once it opened up, albeit a little young right now.  In the end, I was just left feeling sorry for the poor retailer who is trying to merchandise this wine, on it's side, in a bin.  The angled sides of this bottle would make it rocket right out onto the floor, whoosh!

To quote Colin McPhail of Larkmead Vineyards, "Less cult, more cultivation". With that being said, I'm launching myself out into the vineyard.

Vine Land Security.

It's still going to be winter for quite a while yet. Perhaps less so in California than other parts of the world, I admit, but it seems almost spring like this morning.
The local red-shouldered hawk, (Buteo lineatus), population seems to be out in full force today. A pair has spent the morning hunting in our vineyard, hopefully successful in partaking of a fresh, juicy breakfast of Pocket Gopher. Others flew overhead, their voices loud in warning, for whatever reason, to the ever circling Turkey Vultures, (Cathartes aura). These super ugly birds, by the way, drive the Vinodogs crazy. Not hawks, not crows, just vultures.
Gophers are responsible for the death of many a vine in the vineyard. They nibble their way through the roots which eventually causes the vine to die. Then they move on to the next vine!!! In her day V1 used to do a pretty good job of keeping the rodent inhabitants of our little part of Napa in check. In her prime she was very adept at dispatching the little devils in two quick chomps. However she has slowed up of late and Vinomaker and I have had to employ other means of 'pest management'.
Owl boxes are one approach, so we have several strategically dotted around the property. Alas, as of yet we have no occupants. I don't understand why, they are really nice boxes made by a friend, the view is fabulous and the rent is free...meals included.

A is for...

...anxiety. It is also for the grade I got in the oenology class I took last semester. My 4.0 GPA is still intact...whoo hoo!!!
I must admit I was getting a little worried as the grades seemed awfully slow in being posted on the college's website. I checked it several times over the Christmas holidays and was becoming ever increasingly discouraged when nought was to be found. But at last, Wednesday morning, I checked before going to work...and there it was in all it's pointy glory...my A. Phew!
This semester I will be only taking one class as I have a heavier work load, my family will be here from Blighty and I will be happily winging my way home in May. But the one class I'll be taking is...English. I just know I am going to flunk it!

The year in preview.

When most people are still thinking up New Year resolutions that they may or may not keep, I decided to take a more practical approach to the year ahead.
Accompanied by the Vinodogs, I took a stroll through the vineyard to assess the amount of pruning work to be done in the near future. Due to the fact that white wine grape varieties bud out earlier than red wine grapes, I paid particular attention to our Pinot grigio and Orange muscat vines. The Syrah usually displays bud break a whole 2 weeks before the Cabernet Sauvignon, (which is clone 4), so I most likely have at least 4-5 weeks before I have to start to prune either red varietal. Even then I will prune the vines higher up on our hill than those down by the creek to lessen the chance of damage by late frosts.
I really like pruning the vines. It is said that it is the one most important thing that you do to the vine as you are determining the crop and vegetation for the year ahead.
The vines are very forgiving, if I get a little over zealous with my shears, which has happened in the past, they grow back next year, tah rah!!!