P. O. Box 395

Dallas, Oregon 97338

 

Phone/FAX

 503.831.4703

 

E-mail

amalierobert@msn.com

 

Web site Address

www.amalierobert.com

 

Hello and Welcome!

This page is where we will be tracking the 2009 growing season. Each month, Ernie will post the latest news from the vineyard. Check out the 6 year Degree Day comparison chart. Notice for 2009 we have accumulated just 10 degree days! However, as you can see, we are looking to accumulate around 2,000 degree days before harvest. But when?

What’s a Degree Day, you ask? Well, that is farmer speak for tracking the growing season. Degree days are our approximation of what climate the vine is experiencing. We set 50 degrees as the benchmark, because very little development occurs in the vine below 50 degree's. We set out temperature loggers in a grid pattern throughout the vineyard. These loggers take a reading every 24 minutes, and hold about 1 month's worth of data.

We read them each month and look for the average temperature. If the average is below 50 degrees, we do not accumulate any degree days. If the average is above 50 degrees however, we subtract 50 from it, then multiply the average temperature by the number of days in the reading for that month’s Degree Day accumulation.

For example, if the average was 53 and we had 30 days in the sample, the degree days would be 90 degree days. Typically we need about 2,000 degree days to ripen Pinot Noir, a bit more for Chardonnay.

This brings us to rating a vintage based on the growing conditions. Typically, this is hard to do without tasting the wine, however that seems to be little deterrent these days. With the exception of severe frosts or rains, most years will produce very good to excellent vintages. That is if the grower is paying attention. Look for his or her footprints in the vineyard. That is a somewhat overlooked clue to vintage quality.

Winegrapes have one purpose on this Earth - to ripen seeds, and they will do it very well in most years. That means they will put up shoots and leaves, to ripen the seeds in the berries and then build sugars and drop acids to entice some fauna to eat the berries. The fauna is the transport mechanism to disperse the seeds, and the vine’s job is complete.

As winemakers, our job is to taste and monitor the development of the fruit, with the purpose of producing compelling wines. The science part of winemaking provides us with the rules of the road. These are the sugar levels (Brix) and pH. Once these numbers enter a specific range, then we switch from analytics to sensory evaluation.

The vine provides us with clues as to fruit maturity. One key factor Ernie uses is to chew the skins and seeds. This will release potassium and tannins, and provides a marker for planning harvest. Berry by berry and row by row, Dena and Ernie walk through the blocks to monitor flavor development. In laying out our own vineyard, we chose to create small blocks, most of which are less than a single acre. This allows us to select harvest dates that more accurately maximize aroma and flavor development in our wines.

From there, we hand harvest by block and map the fruit to a specific fermenter. Each fermenter will produce about 4 barrels of wine. So in the cellar, we can walk the barrels as we do the vineyard blocks. Check back in the summer, and we will cover blending those barrels.

All the best,

Ernie

 

Climate Update: April 2009

Published May 4, 2009

Hola!

Just a little reminder that Tuesday is Cinco de Mayo. Other than that, not too much to report.  Well, maybe a little bud break here and there. 

We have accumulated 1.31 inches of rain since the 1st of April and that is 0.52 inches less than the same period in 2008. Q1 2009 rainfall was 13.41 inches and was 1.83 inches less than the 15.24 inches of rain for Q1 2008. The historical 30 year average for Q1 is 19.72 inches of rain, or 536,384 gallons per acre, mas o menos.

We have recorded 10 degree days this month. Our highest high was 83.00 and our lowest high was 71.80. Our lowest low was 30.10 and our highest low was 34.10 degrees Fahrenheit. For comparison, we did not record any degree days for April 2008 or April 2007; about 25 degree days for April 2006 and 49 degree days for April 2005. And everyone remembers how those vintages turned out! Ay Caramba!

One bright spot is that chisel plow springs are only about $25 apiece this year, plus s/h. Yes, the alternate rows have been flailed, mown, chisel plowed and rotovated. As soon as we get a break in the weather, I will be drilling buckwheat and vetch to those rows to help digest last years canes and winter cover crop and provide nutrients for the fall feeding frenzy. I can now finally answer "Si" to the following question with 100% certainty. "Does the roto-tiller need its clutches replaced every year?"

Now, onto the good stuff - we declared bud break in the Pinot Noir on Wednesday, April 22nd at 2:13 pm in block 10 which is full of wonderful Wadenswil clone grafted onto 5C, what a thrill! So far I have seen no scarring, or other signs of bud mite damage. As the season goes along, I am keeping a keen eye out for any potential mite issues. When mites are prolific they can really catch your eye, not unlike the hook on a screen door. No bien!

It seems the press corps has confirmed my suspicions regarding the 2008 vintage, so now we must start over. So for this year, I say we are "5x5" in declaring the vintage of the year.

Muchas Gracias,

Ernesto