Don't let the Syrah catch you crying.

Don't be fooled by the sunniness of this photograph - the sun was only out long enough for me to take this snap.  And that was it, in the blink of an aperture it was gone again.
I hadn't once thought about panicking this pruning-season, until yesterday that is.  All day, nonstop rain had me near tears (well, sort of) because things out in the vineyard are progressing whether I am out there pruning or not.  Since last week, the Syrah vines have decided to swell their little buds to almost breaking point, so frustrating.  I had considered just putting waterproofs on and pruning in the rain, but the constant downpour was just too torrential.  February had been so nice, I thought I had started to prune early enough to give myself plenty of time to prune all of Vinoland's grapevines.  Wrong!
I had just over 3 hours (according to the weather forecast on my iPhone) to prune as much as I could this afternoon.  (There was one, very heavy, five minute shower, but Vinodog 2 and I just sat in the back of the barn and waited for it to pass by.)  Amazingly, I did fairly well: I pruned like a Vinogirl possessed.  I just have one short, experimental row of cordon trained vines to go, but I am determined to also get all of the canes tied down before the end of the weekend. Rain, rain go away...

Firewood.

It has rained and rained the past two days and there is more to come, sigh. On my way out for a walk with Vinodog 2 this morning, a quick check of Vinoland's rain gauge indicated that 4 inches of the wet stuff had fallen on me (I am taking it personal) in a little over 24 hours.  My weekend has been a disaster as far as pruning is concerned, I only managed to get a small number of Syrah vines pruned.  I feel like I am falling behind on my pruning schedule, so, yes, I am taking this ungodly amount of rainfall personal.  So is Vinomaker.
First thing this morning the sun was actually shining, but just for a little while.  As I was making breakfast I looked out to see if all that rain had had any effect on the creek that runs along the eastern edge of Vinoland. As it happens, I couldn't see the creek because during the night a huge oak tree had fallen across the creek just missing the Pinot grigio vines. On looking closer, I realised that a second tree had fallen, behind the first one, and had just missed crushing a neighbours fence.
Vinomaker is gutted, storm-felled trees are a lot of work.  He has been very busy the past few weeks removing sweet broom, acacia and an out of control bramble patch from the creek area - the last thing he wanted, I am sure, is the amount of chainsawing and chipping that removing these two trees will necessitate.  Me? All that I could think of was how toasty all that firewood will make me feel on a future, cold winter's night.

Orange you glad it's budbreak?

It was a busy day in the neighbourhood, well, this morning at least, then rain stopped play. And it rained hard all afternoon.  I did not manage to get anything pruned today and the forecast for the weekend is less than favourable for that particular vineyard activity.
The Far Niente vineyard crew have been pruning up a storm since Monday and thankfully, for them, it looks like they finished early this afternoon.  Interestingly, they did not pre-prune (aka double pruning or delayed pruning) this year, instead they pruned all the way down to two bud spurs to finish the job.  Probably the reason why they have been pruning in the one vineyard all week.
The general viticultural-consensus has it that pre-pruning can help stave off infection from Eutypa lata, a fungal disease of the grapevine. This year, the vineyard manager at TWWIAGE has also decided to forego pre-pruning in favour of a quick application of a fungicide, at pruning, that will hopefully prevent new infection in spurs and cordons.
It did stay dry long enough this morning for me to notice that budbreak has well and truly begun in the Orange Muscat vines (slightly later than last year), and bud swell in the Pinot grigio.  I need to get my skates on. Or, perhaps, a pair of water skis.

It's July already.

It is July Muscat time already.  When I got home from work last night, Vinomaker suggested that I take a peek at Vinoland's table grapes. Confound it, not that I'm an expert or anything, but I'd say that my one, white table grapevine is going through budbreak.  Sigh.
In my haste, last weekend, to prune through as much of the Syrah as I possibly could I didn't even think to check the table grapes.  There are three table grape vines in Vinoland; July Muscat, Crimson Seedless and Red Globe.  The budwood for these vines came from a small demonstration vineyard that used to grow alongside the student vineyard at Napa Valley College (alas, bulldozed out years ago), so I am a tad sentimentally attached to these vines.  The three vines are prolific producers, most years bearing more fruit than Vinomaker and I can eat ourselves, so we share.  I will be pruning this vine today to ensure we have an abundance of table grapes in the summer.

Dewi Sant: 2016.

Happy St. David's Day!
The threat of a full on El Niño year for California was apparently just that, a threat.  There has been quite a bit of rain this winter, but not the amount that was forecast: February's weather was simply spectacular. Temperatures in the the mid-70s all month were very springlike, just gorgeous.  (We have not had the need for any type of heating in Vinoland for the past 11 days.) Consequently, Vinoland's daffodils all flowered early this winter and it was hard for me to find a perfect bloom to photograph - hence the rather bedraggled, dog-eared daffodil represented here on today's post.  There possibly could have been a better specimen just outside Vinoland's gates, but I didn't want to venture that far in my pyjamas.  Wouldn't want to frighten the neighbours so early in the morning, would I?  Nope.
Bore da!

Vineyard chic.

I am still pruning.  I didn't get as much pruning done this weekend as I had hoped: too much other stuff to do.  I am about 70% through pruning the Syrah vines, but I am thinking that I am still on track to finish pruning all the black grapes (that includes the Cabernet Sauvignon), and tying them down, before budbreak begins. Fingers crossed.
I may be a little behind on my self-imposed pruning schedule this year, but with a new pair of Felco secateurs, a customised holster and a pink Vinogirly girl belt - I am doing it in style.
Prune on!

A pop of colour.

It's a bit early to celebrate California Poppy Day (April 6th), but this happens to be the first poppy to bloom in Vinoland this year and I think it is at least worth a mention.  This afternoon, I was busily pruning away in the Syrah vines when I looked up and spotted this poppy flowering away all by its lonesome.  Well, there was a tiny, pollen-covered Amartus tinctus beetle crawling along the edge of one of the poppy's petals, but no other buds had deigned to open and keep this single, fiery-hued flower company.  California poppies grow like weeds almost everywhere in and around Vinoland as they are prolific self-seeders.
The poppy is not the only splash of colour in Vinoland; there are field marigolds, vinca, vetch, buttercups, oxalis, speedwell (all the usual weed-suspects) flourishing already, but none are quite as eye-catching as the California state flower. Pruning is progressing better than expected due to the fact that the weather has been behaving itself.  Still, pruning can be pretty monotonous, so it's nice to now and again look up from a vine and spot such a cheery bloom.

Busybuddies.

I finished pruning the Pinot grigio vines on Vinomaker's birthday, this past Friday.  Today I finished tying all the Pinot grigio canes down.  It feels good to be finished with the white grapevines already.
It was a gorgeous day, a bone-warming 65°F, so I decided to start pruning the Syrah vines.  I didn't get very far though before it was time to take Vinodog 2 for a walk.  On my way past the Orange muscat vines I noticed that bud swell has begun.  It's happening, right now!  And so another vintage begins: my viticultural-clock is ticking.  Sigh.

Not boaring.

Not in the least boring was Vinomaker's birthday dinner last night at the Rutherford Grill, Rutherford.  The place was absolutely heaving with diners when we arrived, it was a good job that we had reservations.  Food was great; a surprisingly, for me, tasty Brussels sprout appetizer (Brussels sprouts are an obsession of Vinomaker's), a tri-tip/butternut squash enchilada combo for Vinomaker and a seared ahi tuna platter for me (it was a Friday in Lent, after all).  The Rutherford Grill's 'By the Glass' menu is a little paltry, but Vinomaker managed to amuse himself with a glass each of; a Ledson 2014 Viognier (Sonoma Coast AVA); a Swanson 2014 Pinot grigio (Oakville AVA) and a Pride Mountain Vineyards 2012 Merlot (Napa/Sonoma AVA).  I had one glass of sparkling wine to celebrate the anniversary of Vinomaker's birth, a Domaine Carneros 2011 Brut (Carneros AVA).  And plenty of Rutherford Grill 2016 Tap Water (Rutherford AVA).  A fun dinner.

The Spring Mountain District AVA.

It has been over a year since I last did a post on the American Viticultural Area (AVA) signs in the Napa Valley.  How did that happen?  I know I have been a little busy, but so busy that a whole year has passed, sheesh! To remedy that I offer up, for the reader's delectation, the Spring Mountain District AVA sign.
The Spring Mountain District (an area, not a peak) was officially established as an AVA in 1993.  Located on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains, on the western side of the Napa Valley, this AVA encompasses about 8,600 acres on elevations that range from 400 feet, beginning down in St. Helena, to 2,600 feet at the top.  Up there, one feels like the Napa Valley is a million miles away.
Today is Vinomaker's birthday and so, as is our tradition, we decided to go winetasting.  Usually it is me who chooses which winery to visit, as a surprise, but this year Vinomaker requested that we visit Pride Mountain Winery.  Pride produces a lovely Merlot that we have both enjoyed over the years, but neither of us had ever visited the winery, so we loaded ourselves into the Vino-mobile and headed north.  Driving six miles from the valley floor, up through the Spring Mountain District AVA, to an elevation of 2,200 feet, over the Napa County line and into Sonoma County, an hour after leaving Vinoland and a half mile downhill into Sonoma County, we eventually arrived at Pride.
Pride's winery and vineyards actually straddle both Napa and Sonoma counties (there is a cobblestone-strip in the pavement outside the winery's caves that delineates the boundary).  An interesting fact is that Pride has to specify on their wine labels the percentage of grapes from each county.  And, of course, Pride has to make sure they pay the correct taxes to each county.
The tasting and tour at Pride was a really nice experience, in no small part due to the hospitable Nikki who hosted our small group of eight Pride-enthusiasts.  Vinomaker was a little disappointed that they had already sold out of their 2014 Viognier, (total production for Pride is approximately 18,000 cases a year), but Nikki assuaged Vinomaker's fear of going Viognier-less on his birthday by treating him to a tank-sample of Pride's soon to be bottled 2015 - he was delighted.
Great wines, nice facility, interesting history, genial host, wonderful drive up the mossy-ferny-redwoody-winding Spring Mountain on a grey, drizzly day.  Good fun.
Happy birthday Vinomaker!
Nine down, seven to go.

Happy St. Valentine's Day: 2016.

There haven't been many posts on Vinsanity of late.  Why?  Well, I have been busy being busy and being sick.  But the primary reason is that I have been suffering from being short on inspiration.
Pruning is coming along slow but sure.  This Pinot grigio tendril wanted to wish everyone a wonderful St. Valentine's Day - it was being romantic.
Happy St. Valentine's Day to you all.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Who on earth would argue with the profound observations that are oft contained within the American fortune cookie?  Not me.  Besides, I think this crunchy-prognostication is spot on.
I would love to be home (England) right now, being festive and enjoying big plates of braised chicken feet and char siu cheong fun with my sister-in-law.  One slightly stale fortune cookie is not an adequate substitute for a butt load (technical term) of delicious dim sum.
Gung hei fat choi to you all!

Pruning 2016.

The planets aligned for me today; the weather was beautifully sunny, I managed to get my errands finished earlier than expected and I had a couple of hours with no other pressing demands upon my time.  So, without further ado, I started to prune the Orange Muscat vines. It felt good to be out in the vineyard.  Vinoland's 2016 pruning season has begun.  It is a later start to pruning for me than last year, but better late than never.

Fungus fun.

We have been having an awful lot of rain lately, so, consequently, there is an abundance of fungi, moulds and lichens growing in and around Vinoland: everywhere is so verdant right now. However, now and again something other than the colour green catches my eye.
This fun-coloured fungus, commonly known as cobalt crust (Terana caerulea), or blue velvet on a stick, is currently flourishing on much of the split oak logs in Vinoland's woodpile.  This photograph doesn't really do the vividness of the hue of this fungus justice, it is even more striking to the naked eye.
Whilst the thriving local flora is keeping me amused (because, after all, it is fun to look at), I am patiently (sort of) waiting for the rainy season to end so that I can start pruning the grapevines.  I don't want to be out in the vineyard, pruning away, and have some opportunistic organism begin to grow on me. Yesterday was gorgeous, sunny and 65°F and would've been perfect to start pruning, but, alas, I was in work.  I know that finer weather is just around the corner.

A rainy January.

Not one drop of rain fell in Napa the entire month of January 2015, but that hasn't been the case this year.  January 2016 is more than making up for the lack of rain last year.  Just because California needs rain it doesn't mean I have to like it, and I don't.  Sigh.  And neither does Vinodog 2.  I generally find that rain cramps one's style; whether that style is wanting to start pruning grapevines, or, simply, wanting to go for walkies.
Undeterred by the inclement weather, V2 and I decided to brave the wind and the rain and take ourselves over to Alston Park for a brisk walk. We both got really wet, and muddy.  And it wasn't that brisk as it took a little extra time to circumnavigate all the streamlets coming out of the hills and vineyards.
There is a little bit of pruning going on here and there around the valley, but not much.  Of all the vineyards around Alston Park, over on the west side of the valley, only one small section of one vineyard has been pre-pruned.  It is early days yet, the pruning-season is only just beginning, but the long range weather forecast is for extended periods of rainy weather.  V2 and I are hoping the meteorologists are wrong.

Capping it off.

I don't know how he does it, but once again Vinomaker brought a wine up from the cellar, to have with dinner recently, that he hadn't the foggiest idea as to how the wine came to be in Vinoland in the first place. Vinomaker is a veritable international-wine-man of mystery, I tell ya!
Unlike other times, when Vinomaker will pour a glass of mystery wine for me to taste blind, this time he handed me a corkscrew and had me open the wine instead.  However, the bottle didn't have a cork closure, or even a screw cap. Nope, to open this bottle of wine I had to turn the corkscrew around 180° and use the bottle-opener end.  How exciting, something fun and unusual, the wine bottle had a crown cap closure. But wait, not only did the bottle have an unorthodox closure, but the bottle, a sort of wine/beer bottle hybrid, was a full litre in volume.  Whoo hoo!  I was being entertained so much by the packaging that I didn't even look to see what the wine was, other than it was a white.
The wine turned out to be Austrian in origin: a H&M Hofer, 2013 Grüner Veltliner (Weinviertal DAC).  What a great quaffing wine; tart, refreshing, appley, citrusy, with a tiny hint of herbaceousness, this Grüner Veltliner was just delightful.  I don't care how this wine made its way to Vinoland, I just know I want more to appear.

Rain stopped play.

Today was the day that the new Oakville Crossroad bridge, the bridge that makes it possible to reach Highway 29 from the Silverado Trail, was supposed to be completed.  I say supposed because, (like anything to do with government it seems), the bridge is not yet finished.  Shocker! Closed due to a small 4.1 earthquake that occurred on May 21st of last year, this was the first time I had driven up close to the bridge since the day before the temblor struck.  So, for the past 8 months, if I had had the sudden urge to treat myself to a latte, or a $15.00 bar of chocolate from the Oakville Grocery, I would have had had to endure an almost 17 mile round trip instead of the usual 3 miles.
Citing rainy weather (damn you, El Niño), the Napa County Public Works Department has said it needs several consecutive dry days so that it can finish striping the lanes, etc.  The new opening day, for the $5.2 million bridge, has yet to be announced.  Sigh.
I am thinking, perhaps, that if a few English workies had been on this particular construction project that the Oakville Crossroad bridge would have been finished on time.  If the English continually had to wait for rainy weather to be absent for several days on end we'd never get anything built.  Thud recently finished building this Gothic cottage.  There was no playing around, Thud built his bothy come rain or shine.

Morning in the Winery: 3.

This morning, Vinomaker and I attended the 3rd annual Morning in the Winery (MITW), an event sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners and meant specifically for locals.  This year there were six wineries to choose from; Leaf and Vine, Starmont Winery & Vineyards, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, ZD Wines, Frank Family Vineyards and Laura Michael Wines.  I chose Starmont simply because it was closest to home.  Actually, in all honesty, Leaf and Vine is probably fractionally closer to Vinoland, but I have been wanting to visit Starmont for a while.  So Starmont, located on the very edge of the Los Carneros AVA, it was.
Winemaker Jeff Crawford was our host for a tour of the facility which is a certified Napa Green Winery (and he went on about the winery's greenness extensively).  But he also spoke a little bit about viticulture, winemaking and the history of Starmont itself.  Starmont is owned by the Schlatter family who also own Merryvale Vineyards.  Whilst touring, I got to taste a Chardonnay and Pinot noir, not surprising as those two grape varieties are widely grown in the Carneros.  After the tour was over, Vinomaker and I wandered into the tasting room where they were letting visitors taste a Starmont, 2012 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.  Not an outstanding Napa Cabernet, but outstanding because its retail price was a paltry $29.00, (i.e. paltry by Napa standards).
Overall, I must say, it was a very pleasant visit to Starmont.  Nice building, very clean and organised, good wines and a chance to get away from a grey, drizzly January morning.

Once upon a 160 million years ago.

One hundred and sixty million years ago today the Napa Valley was underwater.  Not underwater as in the my-mortgage-has-a-higher-balance-than-the-market-value sense. No, the Napa Valley was literally underwater. Glug, glug.
I had the honour of spending yesterday evening in the rarefied company of a multitude of Oakville winegrowers and vintners: a veritable who's who of the Oakville AVA.  The Oakville Winegrowers were hosting geologist David G. Howell at the Robert Mondavi Winery and I was fortunate enough to be extended an invitation to attend.  Yay!  Once again, Mr. Howell's insight as to the geological history of the Napa Valley, specifically Oakville, and its influence on present-day grape-growing was riveting stuff. God bless vulcanism, plate tectonics and glaciation.
Aside from the 160 million year geological-education, I was given the opportunity to sample a plethora of Oakville wines, mainly from the 2012 vintage, prior to the presentation beginning. Really fascinating stuff, the presentation and the wine.  All of the attendees had contributed bottles of their own wines for the pre-presentation meet-and-greet.  I have to say, of all the wines represented, the TWWIAGE Cabernet sauvignon really stood out from the crowd.  That made me very happy.

Out with the old.

Out with the old, but not necessarily in with the new.
Usually I am not one for making New Year resolutions, but this year I have resolved to declutter my life.  I just have too much stuff.  I am challenging myself to throw out, or recycle, at least one item a day.  The item to be binned does not have to be something substantial, it just has to be something that I no longer have a use for and is just sitting collecting dust.  I am doing good so far: I threw away three things today. Vinomaker dug up this bottle of Jackson's Napa Soda down by Vinoland's creek a few months ago and it has sat in his woodshop ever since.  I have decided, for now, that it can stay.
Napa Soda Water was bottled at a natural springs, located on Soda Canyon Road, between 1875 and 1929.  The property eventually became the Soda Springs Resort which was owned and operated by a Colonel J. P. Jackson.  The property had an interesting history: it was eventually destroyed by fire in 1929.  Although this bottle is probably about 100 years old it does not have any monetary value, well, perhaps $10.00. But, seeing as Jackson is a family name, it's a keeper.  The bottle will have to be put to some use though, perhaps as a vase when the daffodils begin to appear in a few weeks time. This small piece of Napa Valley history has to have a job if it is going to stick around Vinoland.