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CHAPTER 1
A year in the life of a vineyard
A month by month chronology of a vineyards growth and a winemakers care.
January
Harvest is over and the vines have dropped their leaves and are gone into a dormant stage for the winter. With the rainy season, November through April, the growth of the cover crop planted in December is in full swing. You may think the vegetation between the rows of vines is simply weeds, this is not the case. Depending on what nutrients the soil is lacking in a vineyard the mixture of seeds for the cover crop is specifically designed to replenish the missing nutrients. A mixture of various plants such as clover, mustard, oats, bell beans and various grasses is mixed for each vineyard to replenish the nutrients in the soil. This vegetation controls erosion during the rainy season and prevents the growth of weeds. During the first part of the growing season in mid March the cover crop will compete with the vines for water and nutrients, slowing the vigorous growth of the vines, causing the root system to grow deeper into the soil.
The cover crop serves a secondary purpose by creating a habitat for beneficial insects. Spiders and ladybugs prey on vine pest insects like the "leafhopper" and "sharpshooter". Around the mid May, the cover will be tilled back into the soil adding nutrients to the soil.
February
It is getting near the start of growing season and final pruning back of the vines shoots from the previous year will take place. Pruning is done by hand and a skilled worker can prune about 300 vines in a day. To illustrate the amount of labor needed for this task you need to know that when a vineyard is planted it is planted to a grid that consists of two numbers. If the grid is a 6 x 3, that means the spacing of the vines is six feet between rows and three feet between vines; a 4 x 4 means four feet between rows and four feet between vines, etc. A 6 x 3 grid will have 2,023 vines per acre; a 4 x 4 grid will have 2,722 vines per acre. I have seen grids as tight as a 3 x 2. The tighter the grid the more stressed the vines become as they are all competing for the same nutrients and water in the soil. The more stressed the vines become causes them to produce lower yields with smaller fruit, however, the fruit will have a more concentrated and intense flavor. While driving around wineries take a look at the vineyards and you will begin to see the difference in vineyard grids.
March - April
The vines are coming out of dormancy and the shoots are starting to grow. Bud break starts about late March, depending on weather, and the first to break is usually Merlot, with other varietals breaking over the next month. The critical concern during March and April is frost. Temperatures and humidity are monitored t h roug hout the vineyards, the lower the humidity the great e r the risk for frost damage. Some of these high-tech monitors will automatically call the vineyard manager's cell phone if the temperature reaches 33° F.
Frozen air reacts like water and will seek the lowest level. You probably have seen the large fans in the vineyards. These fans rotate 360°, mixing the warmer air 15 to 30 feet above the ground with the frozen air down by the buds increasing the temperature three or four degrees, just enough to prevent frost. They can be set to turn on automatically when the temperature reaches a pre-set degree, and usually turn on between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Some of these fans have heating elements and blow out warm air to combat frost.
Another way to combat frost in conjunction with the fans is by the use of diesel or oil "smudge pots". You may see these around a vineyard, a 4-foot tall device with a fuel tank built into the bottom that looks like a stove pipe. These pots will be placed around the vineyard by the crew and lighted, producing warm air for the fans to circulate throughout the vineyard. The pipe running up the side and back into the unit is to re-burn any exhaust gases so the flavor of the grapes is not affected. Cold air, like water, will seek the lowest level. The vineyard manager will study the topography of the vineyards and place the heaters in strategic locations depending on the "flow" of the frozen air in relation to the lowest point in the vineyard. In 2008, we had a hard freeze in late April with early morning temperature dipping to 29° F, resulting in a 20 to 30% loss of crop. This can be a very serious situation in the early stages of grape growing and can devastate that years crop if not monitored on a hourly basis.
May
Shoots are growing and the berries have started to form. In late May, each berry will open into a delicate white flower. The flowers are self-pollinating so there is no need for bees or wind to carry the pollen. During the three week pollination period the main concern is weather. Rain, wind or high heat can impair pollination. Rain during bloom will cause the flower petals to fall over the floral part of the flower, like throwing a wet towel over the flower, and pollination will not take place. Heat will cause the pods (seen as small berries on the cluster in the photo) to stick and will not allow the flower to emerge and pollination can not take place. Severe weather during this time can cause extensive crop loss. The second photo shows a mature cluster of grapes that did not pollinate correctly.
In May, the workers will start "suckering", going through the vineyard and pruning off all the small shoots, or "suckers" that grow out from the main canopy. The "canopy" is the leafy foliage above the grape clusters. This process is what gives vertical trellising the narrow, vertical canopy. This also forces the vine to put more energy into fruit production as the vines would rather produce foliage as opposed to fruit.
"Tucking" will also be done. This is a term for training the new main shoot branches upward through the trellis catch wires. Workers will go through the vineyards and tuck each of the shoots inside the system of wires. During this time the cover crop will be tilled into the soil to replenish soil nutrients.
June – July – August
When the grape clusters form they look like small beads and develop very quickly. By mid-to-late July they will be about 2/3 of their full size. The vines are growing vigorously and during this period numerous vineyard management procedures are employed. Training the vines on the trellis system is an important part of the grape growing process. There are many types of trellis systems, depending on the varietals and the ratio of sun exposure wanted by the vineyard manager. Think of the canopy, or leaves, as a solar panel. This is how the plant gets the photosynthesis it needs from the sun, and this can be regulated with the trellising system. Several common trellis systems are vertical trellising where the canopy, or the leafy area, will be narrow and go straight up the catch wires, allowing sun exposure on both sides of the canopy. The main "cane", or the two branches that form the "T" after winter pruning, are located on the first wire which is called the "fruit wire" where the grapes will hang during growing. Above that are three or four "catch wires" where the growing shoots will attach themselves and form the canopy that will grow upward each season. Another style of trellising, the canopy will be trained into a "V", above the canes and fruit wire, utilizing two sets of catch wires. This allows sunlight into the center of the canopy as well as on both sides. The canopy can also be trained to grow in a certain direction allowing a greater ratio of morning or afternoon sun on the fruit. On old vines, there may be no trellising and the canopy is allowed to sprawl out in all directions, with the canopy shading the grape clusters. This is called "goblet" trellising because after winter pruning the vines will have 5 or 6 branches growing up from the main stock, resembling a wine goblet from the 1700's. Prior to the 1970's there was no trellising and all vines were goblet style.
"Leaf dropping" is when the workers go through each vine and cut off individual leaves that are blocking the sun or shading the grape clusters. To little sun will cause uneven ripening and uneven color, giving the wine a green vegetable undertone flavor. To much sun will cause over ripening and sunburn the grapes resulting in raisining. Leaf dropping will ensure the proper ratio of sunlight and air circulation on the fruit.
Once the clusters form, "dropping fruit" is done. This is where workers go through the vineyard and cut off clusters of grapes that they know will not be of good enough quality at harvest. Some wineries do not want the grape clusters touching as this will cause shade on one cluster and ripening will be uneven, so they will drop fruit to prevent this.
Mildew is one of the biggest problems during growing season. "Sulfuring", which is approved for organic farming, is a practice where powdered sulfur is spread throughout the vineyard several times a month to combat mildew.
About the first of August the grapes go through "verasion", where the red varietals soften and ripen, changing color from green to burgundy. White varietals go through the same change with the color changing from bright green to a paler yellow-green as they soften. During verasion the vine's energy shifts from vegetation growth into fruit ripening, increasing the sugar content, or "brix" count, turning the fruit sweet while decreasing the acid. Brix is a measurement of sweetness that can be calculated by using a refractometer, or simply by the winemaker tasting the fruit. During verasion, crop thinning and more fruit dropping will occur. Some wineries will drop as much as 60% of the fruit, depending on the intensity of flavor and the crop yield they desire. This process forces the vine's ripening energy into fewer grape clusters that remain on the vine, concentrating flavors and producing a higher brix content. The sugar content in the grape is what will turn into alcohol during fermentation (see fermentation in Winemaking, from Harvest to Bottle). The fruit that is dropped will eventually be tilled back into the soil, adding nutrients and enriching the soil.
In Napa and Sonoma, California, May through October is the dry season and usually there is no rainfall. Irrigation may be necessary during this time. "Dry farming" is a term that refers to watering the vines just enough to keep them alive, which stresses the vines, producing smaller fruit with a more intense flavor. Vines are tested in different parts of a vineyard to ensure they are within the water-stressed range the grower desires and are responding accordingly. The vines are very rugged and survive well in poor soil and water conditions. S ome wineries do not water the vines at all causing the tap roots to penetrate the soil 20 to 30 feet deep. Throughout the growing season the vineyard manager will take leaf stem samples and do a "petiole analysis", which checks for nutrient deficiencies in the vine.
Insects and rodents are a concern during growing season. With sustainable farming practices, nesting boxes are placed throughout the vineyard to attract songbirds, owls and hawks. The songbirds eat the insects and the owls and hawks provide 24-hour rodent control with owls hunting at night and the hawks during the day. This is very effective as an owl will go through about 1,000 rodents a year. Some wineries build bat habitats as a bat will eat 15 to 25% of its body weight in insects every night.
September – October
If the year was normal, the grapes are ripe, harvest time is at hand and the scramble begins with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc being harvested around the first of September, finishing with Cabernet Sauvignon sometime in October. Weather is a key factor in harvesting. Rain and humidity can cause mold, or "Noble Rot", which may force an early harvest to avoid loosing the crop. During a light rain or mist, the wind fans will come into play once again, more or less blow-drying the grapes to prevent mold.
The suns heat causes the sugar content in the grapes to rise. Grapes are monitored daily, even hourly, so they can be harvested at the peak of flavor with a balanced acid and sugar level. Sugar levels in the grape rise and fall throughout the day causing many vintners to harvest at night or during the early morning before the heat from the sun elevates the sugar level.
Another sign of ripeness is the stem. It should separate easily from the grape and the seeds should be brown and not adhere to the pulp. The ripe seeds will produce softer, more mature tannins. A hard, underdeveloped seed will be green and bitter and impart those same qualities into the wine. The decision of when to harvest is the most important decision in winemaking. When the decision to pick is made, the winemaker wants the harvest done immediately before the balance of the grape is thrown off by weather, time of day, or hang-time of the clusters.
Most smaller wineries handpick the grapes and hand sort the fruit prior to crushing, another labor-intensive undertaking which provides a better quality fruit going to the crush pad. A worker can pick up to five tons of grapes in an eight-hour shift. An acre of vines will produce anywhere from 3 to 6 tons of grapes, so you can calculate the labor needed to harvest a 50 acre vineyard.
Hand harvesting provides the best quality fruit as clusters can be inspected prior to picking and any inferior clusters discarded. Smaller wineries may harvest a vineyard two or three times, picking the ripest fruit, then waiting four or five days and making a second harvest and sometimes a third harvest. This provides the freshest, ripest fruit for the winemaking process. Harvesting is a 24-hour process with banks of lights being towed through the vineyard for harvesting through the night.
Larger wineries can not take the time or expense to hand pick, although they may do this for their reserve wines. These wineries "machine harvest" which is a process where a mechanical harvester straddles a row of vines and shakes the vines until the individual grapes fall off the stems onto a conveyer. With this process they get ripe grapes, under ripe grapes, over ripe grapes, and foreign objects like leaves, twigs, sticks, etc. The fruit is transported to the winery in large semi-truck bins, where the weight of the fruit can crush itself, and is dumped into the destemmer crusher, usually without inspection or sorting. This is one reason why the large volume "every day" wines do not have the quality or intensity of flavor as the smaller boutique wineries and are less expensive. That is not to say there is not a need for the large volume "every day" wines. This is a niche that is needed as no one wants to open a $50 or $80 bottle of wine with a spaghetti dinner. It is all a matter of personal taste and there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to wine tasting. The bottom line; if you like the taste, enjoy the wine.
November
By now, most of the fruit will be in and the harvest officially over. The vines are going dormant for the winter with the leaves are changing color to red, purple and yellow before dropping off. The red wines have finished fermentation, which takes on average 7 to 20 days, racked to remove sediments, and barreled to rest up to three years before bottling and being released to the public. White wines that are barrel-aged are usually bottled and released within a year.
December
Once harvest is over, vintners hope for a good, hard frost, which will make the vines go completely dormant and pruning can begin completing the annual cycle. After the first frost, clean-up work begins in the vineyard with dead shoots being removed from the trellis system. The shoots will be pruned back to just under the first catch wire, leaving about a foot of branch shooting up from the "cane", or main branch of the vine. The big concern is avoiding "eutypa dieback", a fungal disease spread by airborne spores that can kill the vine. Pruning creates an open wound on the vine making them vulnerable to these airborne spores. This foot of growth left on the vines is a barrier for the "eutypa dieback" disease. If the spores get into the shoots it will not reach the main vine as these shoots will be pruned all the way back in final pruning in late February or March, just prior to bud break. Some growers will delay any pruning until just before bud break, and prune all the way back once in early March. The reason all the old growth from the previous season is pruned off is because the vine will only produce fruit on new growth.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Simplified Wine Tasting Kit"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Thomas Griffith.
Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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