Grape Expectations

A lot of talk has been swirling around about the upcoming 2010 vintage in the Russian River Valley. This harvest is expected to be one of the longest growing seasons in recent years which can present a sort of cause and effect scenario. On one hand cool weather means slow ripening and extended hang time. This can result in intensely flavored fruit, and sugars developing at a more balanced pace, which in turn equals yummy wine!

 The down side is that when growers are still bringing in fruit in November, the threat of rain can be a real issue as mold and rot can devastate a crop. The waiting game is one that growers would prefer not to play, considering there is a small window of opportunity to harvest the grapes in such a cool season. Growers can work all year long tending to vineyards, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on labor and maintenance costs only to have it ruined at the end of the season by bad weather. Already 2-3 weeks late there is no doubt that growers will be looking intensely at the clouds come late September.
There’s also some worry that the whites and some red varietals may mature at the same time, resulting in a monster workload at the winery. Typically whites will arrive first; Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay ect. Lighter red varietals such as Pinot Noir are next and closer to the end of the season come the heavier reds such as Zinfandel, Cabernet and Syrah. When many different varietals are ready at the same time it usually becomes a race to get the fruit off the vine, crushed and in the tank so there is room for the next load.

There is no doubt that 2010 has been a challenging growing season. In our 54 years of grape growing we always strive to produce the finest quality fruit we can, this year will be no different and we look forward to sharing this harvest season with you!

Cluster News!

A new photo from one of our Chardonnay vineyards shows some great cluster development as we start the month of July. With a successful bloom period we are now in the stage of fruit set where berries start to form where the flowers use to be. The berries then increase in volume, primarily water which occurs during warmer weather. The sugar content of the berries also increase with the start of verasion
Other vineyard maintenance during this time includes canopy management and removing leaves from around the clusters. Leaf pulling encourages sunlight exposure and better air flow which reduces the potential for rot and mildew. This is also a time when we would do our first pass of crop thinning. Thinning by hand removes a certain amount of clusters to achieve the optimum tons per acre and vine balance.
Next step….verasion!

Budbreak at Bacigalupi Vineyards

Yes, it’s bud break time in the vineyard. The bare vines, dormant all winter, are just starting to spring back into action. The fuzzy white buds in the early ripening varietals (Chardonnay and Pinot noir) are now bursting open to reveal the very first of the tender green leaf tips. This is the first emergence of growth that will eventually bear fruit. Most often vines in the Russian River Valley will break later because of the cooler climate and fog cover that can linger in the early morning. The timing of bud break can also be influenced by rootstock and clone. This is an exciting yet delicate process as threats of frost can come as late as May as seen in past years. The transition from dormancy to bud break comes as the days lengthen and the soil is warmed by the sun, awakening the vine from its dormant state. The vine uses its stored energy and food to start producing new growth. From a pruned vine this new growth pushes out into the light eventually using the sunlight as its energy source. The next step after bud break is bloom when the buds begin to flower and we get the first glimpse of what this years harvest will bring.
The wet winter of 2010 was a pleasant surprise for growers after several years of less than average rainfall. However, with farming there is always room for concern as a potential late Spring rain can damage crops by knocking blooms and buds off the vine. I asked my dad about his thoughts on the threat of late rain and its affect on this years crop, his response:

“Like so many things in farming it comes down to Mother Nature’s
sense of humor.”

Here’s hoping for a warm Spring and a great 2010 vintage!
~ John and Katey Bacigalupi

Spring it on!

It’s here! The first sign of bud break for 2009. I was walking with my dad the other day and noticed the first buds breaking out from one of our Chardonnay vineyards. This first emergence of growth that will eventually bear grapes. Most often vines in the Russian River will break later because of the cooler climate and fog cover. This is an exciting yet delicate process as threats of frost can come as late as May as seen in past years.

The transition from dormancy to bud break comes as the days lengthen and the soil is warmed by the bun, awakening the vine from its dormant state. The vine uses its stored energy and food to start producing new growth. From a pruned vine this new growth pushes out into the light eventually using the sunlight as its energy source. The next step after bedbreak is bloom when the buds begin to flower and we get the first glimpse of what this years harvest will bring.

Mustard time

 If you’ve driven through wine country lately there is probably something in the vineyards that you have noticed. This is the time of year that mustard plants are thriving in the vineyards. Their colors in the setting of the vineyards are particularly beautiful but did you know that there is also a benefit to using mustard plants in the vineyard. I sat down with my dad, John Bacigalupi and talked with him about the advantages.

“You can actually eat the bloom of the plant. It’s kind of hot and spicy like eating a radish. My understanding is it started out as a government subsidy to farmers who planted mustard in their vineyards. The tap root (a long root) of the mustard plant would open up the soil and aerate it. The plant produces a great amount of green matter that would be disked into the soil to replace organic matter. Farmers have been experimenting with planting mustard in vineyards for many years to get the natural chemicals from the plant into the soil and lower the Nematode counts. Nematodes are microscopic worms that live in the soil; some are beneficial and some are harmful and can carry diseases. We use mustard as a cover crop in several of the vineyards that tend to have more nutrient deficient soils. The plants will be present in the vineyards through late March.”

Every year the Napa Valley Mustard Festival celebrates the mustard plant featuring fine foods, local wines and of course all kinds of mustard.

Spending some time with the owls

Owl Box

It is hard to believe that it is January with all the beautiful weather we have been having recently. This weekend my dad and I set out to accomplish the very messy but important job of cleaning out the owl boxes. In keep with our sustainable farming practices, a few years ago my dad hand crafted 6 owl boxes and put them at the Frost Ranch vineyard. Using owls as a natural predator to help manage pest populations in the vineyard is not a new idea but with the increasing popularity and importance of sustainable and organic farming the use of this technique has increased. Hawks, bats and owls are beneficial predators that hunt unwanted rodents in the vineyard, reducing the need to use pesticides.

Annual cleaning of owl boxes is a small time frame, usually between Nov- Jan. Using gloves is a must and if you run into an owl while cleaning try to disturb them as little as possible. Today we did not run into any owls but there was evidence that they had been used, which is exiting! As you may imagine a strong stomach is good to have when doing this activity as owls tend to regurgitate a lot of what they eat. Nevertheless it’s all part of the job. This winter my dad has plans to build up to 5 more boxes to increase the presence of possible owl habitation in the vineyard. I look forward to next years cleaning!

Winter maintenance

So even though there is not a whole lot going on in the vineyards right now, one thing that we are focusing all our attention on is pruning. We started pruning about a month ago and we will continue to prune all through the winter until budbreak in March. Pruning is an important step in winter vineyard maintenance. It removes the old, dead growth from the vine to make room for the new growth in the spring. Because this is all done by hand there is a special technique and it can be time consuming. This photo was taken this morning. We were pruning the south block of Chardonnay and all the vines and ground were covered with frost.
This time of year frost and cold weather are actually desirable and benefit the vines. The cold weather will help the vines go to sleep and become dormant. It is during this time that they are storing energy and nutrients for the spring. All we need is some rain and we will have a good start to the new growing year.
On the other hand frost can be very dangerous when the shoots are starting to emerge at spring time. The frost will kill the buds and the new, delicate growth. This is what happened this past spring and what effected the crop sizes of this year’s harvest. I think that all vintners, including myself are hoping that Spring 2009 starts out with some warm weather.
~ John Bacigalupi

Ranch work

Today I went out with my dad to see some of the work he has been doing around the ranch. Because there is not a whole lot going on in the vineyards right now he has time to do some work around the ranch. He just bought a new spreader and is using it to spread manure around the base of the vines. We bought the manure from the neighboring dairy. This will help to promote better vine growth and help to produce higher quality fruit. The manure also replenishes the soil and encourages the recirculation of certain nutrients like Potassium Phosphate, nitrogen and lime. This project is just a small part of the Bacigalupi Vineyards sustainability practices. These practices ensure that we do not compromise the natural resources future generations require to meet their own goals.

“With dedication to producing the finest wine possible comes also the commitment to preserving the environment. Consistently striving to improve farming practices, I have tried to emphasize environmental soundness, sustainability and efficiency, all without compromising quality.”
~John Bacigalupi

Petite Sirah man

Petite Sirah Man

I wanted to share one of the most amazing and yet odd discoveries that my dad has ever found in the vineyard. It was our 2nd to last pick of the season and we were picking out the Petite Sirah. Planted on St. George rootstock and the Foppiano clone these Petite Sirah bunches are anything but petite. Petite Sirah or also called Durif originates from France and there are only about 3,500 acres planted in California. Although it is not an incredibly popular grape it is a very unique varietal. Nice and full bunches they tend to get pretty big. While picking through the rows Alberto, one of our pickers came across two bunches that had somehow grown together to create one large bunch that looked like…well….. A MAN! Not kidding up close this bunch of Petite Sirah grapes has a head, two arms and two legs. So we appropriately named him Petite Sirah Man. He is now currently frozen in our freezer and I’m not sure what we are going to do with him, but it is by far one of the coolest things we’ve ever discovered in the vineyard.

A sense of relief

“I was thinking yesterday as I was pulling leaves out of the bin for our last pick of grapes for this harvest that in about 10 months from now I’ll be doing this all over again. The thought of seeing or picking another grape anytime soon is quite exhausting. I look forward to winter; the rain, the quite, the shorter days. It is also at this time I realize my deep appreciate for our workers and all that they do throughout the year. They put in long hours and are very dedicated as well as really caring about the quality of their work.
Right now we are doing things that will help us prepare for the winter months ahead. These include seeding the cover crop, checking drains, preparing the irrigation against frost and repairing roofs and siding. Even though there are no grapes on the vine there is still a lot of work to be done.” Visit our website to read more about it http://www.johntylerwines.com
~ John Bacigalupi

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