In the Vineyard Women Are From Mars, Men Are From Heranus

Chemical Ali is alive and well and living in our vineyard, spraying anything green between the rows of vines with Round-Up. In the words of naturalist Barabra Kingsolver, author of Vegetable, Mineral, Miracle, "The more we use pesticides, the more pests have appeared." I subscribe to the principles of the sustainable vineyard, which suggests planting a cover crop to control erosion and naturally replenish the soil. Although the barley seeds I sowed in December's rains failed to take root, I've been nurturing nice weeds such as mustard plants and dandelions but as soon as the dreaded foxtail appears, which is a mortal threat to Bluey the Australian shepherd who swaggers through the vineyard as if he were the Lion King, the Queen dons her backpack sprayer, mask, and gloves, and mixes a few ounces of Round-Up concentrate and heads off to the weeds. "If we didn't have Bluey I wouldn't spray," she says. "The foxtail problem is all your fault. You don't pull out the weeds and you don't check Bluey's paws everyday," she complains. The foxtail is like an arrowhead that can't be pulled out once it enters the skin. It works its way through muscle piercing the lungs and has been known to enter the ear and cut through to the brain causing death. "There's a green patch over there between rows 1 and 2 and in front of row 1 without weeds, so please don't spray there, OK?" I gently suggest. "That green space is good for the vines." And I reminder her, "Please don't spray over there by the fence, because that's where we're going to plant the garden." We're planning to grow our own vegetables and eat better and live a greener, healthier life. She heads off to do her work in her vineyard and I go inside to make some calls and make some sales because there's work to be done in the daytime job to pay for all of the joys of weekend vineyarding. Ninety minutes later I take a break and go outside for a moment to soak up some sunshine and inhale some fresh air and there she is, a descendant of Chemical Ali, spraying the weedy cover crop I asked her to leave in peace. "What are you doing?" And with those are fighting words she rips of her mask and tosses the cap off her head and throws the $219 sprayer to the ground all in a huff and informs me that I never do anything and that she's the one who does everything and that I can go and pull all the weeds out myself. (Fortunately, her English is not good enough to instruct me to perform anatomically impossible and perverse acts with the sprayer nozzle although her tone of voice would indicate a desire to learn such vocabulary to unleash on her useless spouse.) "Calm down. There are no weeds in that area. I told you, I'll knock down those weeds myself with a shovel. Why are you spraying?" "There could be a snake on the ground. I want to be able to see it." "Look, the perfect camouflage for a rattler is the clay earth. It blends right in. But a snake in the short grass will stand out." Do you sometimes think women are from Mars and men are from Heranus? Are we just asses in our wives' vineyards? For the sake of Bluey, for the sake of not stepping on snakes, for the sake of maintaining matrimonial bliss, sustainability can wait. After all, the journey to a sustainable vineyard is a process.

Controlling Runaway Sugars & Harvest Date With Irrigation

At times I feel like an airplane captain charged with bringing this commercial flight in with the smoothest possible landing, especially after last year's fiasco when it was more like a jet fighter landing on an aircraft carrier at night slamming down the tail hook and almost skidding off the deck. I had already made an announcement to the passengers that this was the last chance to get up and stretch their legs as we would soon be preparing for landing (while our pilot friends in Napa Valley, far to the north of here, are just getting round to serving cocktails on their flight). The weather turned warm 9 days ago and as expected the sugars in the then purple grapes began to rise. It was time to check how much. I took a representative sample of 20 berries from each block measuring the juice with a refractometer. The results (as of 8 p.m. Aug. 20):

Tempranillo: 19.5 brix
Zinfandel: 21.5 brix
Petit Sirah: 16.0 brix

The shocker was the Zin, because the Tempranillo started and finished veraison before the Zin, and I was planning to harvest the Tempranillo first. In addition, I've been consistently irrigating the Zin with more water this year than last (when a heat wave struck this time last year sending the Zin sugars to 28 brix while the acid was still high).

I tasted the Zin grape juice, and sure enough, my mouth puckered at the tartness and extremely high acid. "Ladies and gentlemen this is the Captain. The good news is we're ahead of schedule, but on the ground there's a plane stuck in our gate. Air Traffic Control has put the Zin flight into a holding pattern." In other words, we're turning up the water (or in this case, planning to give it its normal irrigation). So, this morning (Aug 21) I watered the Tempranillo and Petit Sirah for 45 minutes (except for the 2 longest and most fruitful rows of PS which got none); the Grenache for 1 hour and the Zin for 2 hours.

If you're concerned about our precious water resources, the Blue-Merle's water usage in July was 43 HCF (31% less than our allocation) with a cost of $157 for 1,150 vines plus alpha (alpha being the "family fruit trees" avocados, macadamias, olives, figs, peaches, oranges, tangelos, lemons, limes, persimmons, kumquats, pomplemousse, etc. and the 47 Canary Island Palm trees the Queen purchased with our last savings at the start of the recession which are now worth more than our house).

For the record, the small block of Durif (aka Petit Sirah) vines at the bottom of the hill are done: the sugars taste perfect, the berries are wrinkled. These are always the first to budbreak in the Spring and the first to ripen. We'll let them go ... it's only a couple of gallons of juice at most and at harvest their over-ripeness will contribute rich flavors to the overall Petit Sirah harvest.

Seasonal warm weather is forecast for the next week with the Tempranillo and Petit Sirah flights preparing for smooth landings in September. I wonder how turbulent the Zinfandel approach will be and if the Captain's actions will deliver a harvest with perfect sugars, acid and pH?

Update as of August 28th:

Zinfandel: 23 brix; pH=3.15; TA = 1.35
Tempranillo: 22 brix; pH=3.6; TA = .94

Watered Zin last Saturday (full watering, about 1.5 hrs) and Tempranillo (about 45 minutes); watered Zin again on Tuesday in middle of heat wave; watered Zin today (Sat. 8/28) for one hour. No water for Tempranillo. Temperatures of turned seasonably cool today for end of August. Let's see what next week brings.) Here we are, watering a drought resistant plant, in order to control sugars and ripening. This is why we're wine growers, not grape growers.

Birds & The Bees In The Vineyard

After my nostrils were treated to the aroma of decomposed chipmunk before breakfast (I bet you never tasted that in wine -- I tell you there's more birds, squirrels, ants, slugs and chipmunks in wine then espresso and chocolate), I recalled a song we used to sing as children in North Carolina during the last Century:

Great big globs of greasy, grimy gopher guts
Mutilated monkey meat
Little dirty birdie feet ...
That's what I had for lunch.

Bluey and I traversed rows in the vineyard looking for bees (a sign that a bird had pecked a berry) and damaged, leaking fruit. Where we found it, there was sure to be an opening in the netting and perhaps a bird himself. Bluey came across the first sparrow -- he just wants to sniff their butts, not devour them--and I was able to reach in and eventually catch and release. (I was reminded of Snoopy and Woodstock.) We came across another bird, this one lifeless. I tried to pull it out, gently, and about to rip its head off, decided to leave it in the nets. Then we came across a "yellow bird" (shown at left) which we caught, brought to the Queen as a present, then released.

Our friends the honey bees made their appearance in the vineyard the other week, and we took preemptive action against the not so friendly yellow jackets, which I hadn't encountered in the vineyard until the Queen placed yellow jacket traps deep inside a row of vines (I suggested to her to place the traps outside the vineyard). I'm not sure what kind of yellow jacket mojo the traps contain but the person who harnesses a similar hormone in humans that causes women to swarm to men is going to be rich. There is a warning on those traps not to hang them during the middle of the day when the flying stingers are active and you are likely to attract the bastards to you. Folks, there is a reason for this. Pay attention to that warning.

As I walked back to the vineyard I passed the deceased sparrow, bless his heart, whom I could not remove from the netting. He was covered with yellow jackets, and I realized that the yellow jackets would be useful in cleaning up the carcass. When I returned the next day, there was just a skeleton. As I think about it, most creatures under the sky serve some useful function.

Last night, all the neighbors in Blue-Merle Country got together to honor Joe the Wino, hero of The Wine Summit hosted by Sarah Palin earlier in the week. They slaughtered a pig and roasted it and there were more than 100 people and more than 100 bottles of wine. What do you bring as a gift to a pig-pickin' party where the host has everything? I found the answer: Stone Beer. We were proud of Joe who, according to press reports, managed not to make a fool of himself. And I was glad that he honored us by requesting our wine. "Joe, what did Sarah think of the Blue-Merle wine?"
"Well partner, she's a Syrah drinker, K Syrah, Sarah."
"Shakespeare. Good one, Joe."
"When I poured her a glass of your 2007 Petit Verdot she said it was very floral. From her purse she pulled out a bottle of Channel #19 and emptied it. Then filled it to the top with your wine and sprayed it on."
"She's got class. I'm beginning to like her."
"I told her about a good follow-on to Cash for Clunkers our tech group had come up with: 'Cash for Klunkware.'
"I don't get it."
"You see, millions of people have old computers running old software. Under this new stimulus, the government will allow Americans to turn in their old software and receive a voucher to purchase new software."
"Brilliant. And who's going to pay for it? Microsoft?" Joe doesn't like Microsoft.
"How did you know?"
Dinner was served and Joe brought out the roasted pig wearing a Banana Joe's hat, sunglasses, a long sleeve linen shirt rolled up above the pig's knuckles and a Cuban cigar. The Queen would have nothing to do with this mockery and boycotted the event, saying it would bring bad luck. As the sun set and the moon rose the coyotes in the valley woke from their slumber and gave a first call.
"Joe, with all those coyotes living in the valley on your property, isn't there a problem with them chewing your drip lines?"
"Naw, I water them with a water trough. Since I started doing that, I haven't lost a drip line." I guess it kept them from chewing our drip lines also. "Drink at Joe's" must be what the coyotes around here say.

The next morning as I walked though the vineyard and came to the spot where the chipmunk was tangled in the net I found no chipmunk; only a hole in the net. He had been ripped out by a coyote. Another useful function served by Mr. Coyote.

I irrigated the vines and where there was mildew damage in the Aglianico grapes a single droplet of grape juice emerged on a round grape, and I immediately recalled when Coyote Karen was over during the full moon and wine seemed to lactate from her as she had two purple spots at precise locations on the front of her white T-shirt. (Editor's Note: Discretion cautions us from publishing the photo.)

As I hung yellow jacket traps, yellow sticky traps (to keep an eye on the sharpshooters) and replaced 2-gallon per hour water emitters with 1-gallon per hour in an attempt to reduce the vigor of two rows of vines, the Queen busied herself raking then vacuuming the vineyard. As birds destroyed the grapes, she was cleaning the vineyard.

"Sweetie," I started out, "What would you think about fixing the holes in the nets to keep the birds out?" I suggested as gently as a man can say when he means what the hell are you doing?!
"I want to clean up. Please, go and get your own vineyard."
"Why don't you leave the leaves and the canes where they are? It's good organic material for the soil and will help control erosion when it rains."
"Why don't you leave!" When Bluey heard this he exchanged the grapes of wrath for the coolness under a giant grapefruit tree.

Well, this has become the source of a major disagreement and you can tell there's not going to be any birds and the bees between us. I began thinking of taking out a paid classified ad and tweeting: Seek vineyardista lifelong companion who likes composting and organic farming. Will work for wine and birds & the bees. As I thought about that and especially the birds and the bees part the Queen began singing a song about how it was her vineyard, and her dog, and her wine, and her awards and how I wasted her little plastic bags by filling them up with fruit scraps and coffee grinds for the stupid compost pile.... I really couldn't hear what she was saying because the silence of the vines turns the wife's song into sweet wine. When Jesus said love your enemy I think he meant wife. This is not easy.

She volunteered to go into town to purchase clothes pins to make the nets more secure and Bluey emerged from under the grapefruit tree and we cut the last row of Zinfandel and yes we put the cuttings in a neat row along the vines so the organic matter could work its way back into the soil and the rain would be slowed as it fell and trickled down the mountain carrying any topsoil that was left. Next, I put some of the cuttings behind the row in the most inaccessible part of the vineyard and she will never go there to clean it out because the access is difficult and for fear of snakes. I even made a little video of the work. Merlot Mike says it takes 3-guys to net his vineyard and it started out that way with us when we made it complicated by using gas pipes on either side and attempted to lift the netting (wrapped around a PVC pipe) over the vines which resulted in more singing by the Queen. She finally threw away the pipes and took the nets and did the netting herself while I was at my daytime job. She is barely 5 ft. tall and that was an accomplishment and I was more proud of her for the sixth time this year since Michelle Obama ran for First Lady and was proud for the first time to be an American.

The Queen returned about the time Bluey and I finished the netting and we hiked down the mountain and came to my favorite aloe which the Queen doesn't like and had apparently hacked to pieces as she stormed out. She doesn't like the aloe because it starts off cute and fits in a wine glass but as they grow they become larger than a barrel and they have sharp edges and she's always saying dig it out and I was planning to dig it out someday but not today and not this year but in a couple of years and she has taken vengeance on my favorite plant. Upon inspection I see that half the plant is eaten out by none other than Mr. Gopher -- who has been in retreat these last few months. I am pleased by this and even a gopher has his good points. As do coyotes, yellow-jackets and spouses.

I check Bluey's paws for foxtails and we go inside and the Queen has prepared sushi and an omelet made of octopus and vegetables. After lunch I top the barrels of 2008 wine which hold great promise, tasting along the way. Is this a chore?

2009 Vineyard Log: The Importance of Good Records

Good record keeping is part of being a good steward of the land and a good winemaker. Keeping records is also a requirement to achieve "sustainable vineyard" designation. I've decided to post records of significant vineyard events & milestones under this journal headline, returning periodically to update. (I keep similar records of wine vintages as well.) Alas, no life and death stories today; just dreary facts. I am reminded of my friend Dr. Hugh Straley of Seattle who once observed, " When marathon runners get together they discuss their bowl movements." When I see my vineyard buddies this week I'll say, "I'm going through veraison." (I describe veraison as the grape's version of menopause as they make that transition from young, hard, green-pea to mature, luscious nectar, with heat flashes to boot.) To which the other grower asks, "What are the brix?" The Tempranillo (which means "early" in Spanish) are about 95% through veraison today, and yes I'll go out and measure the brix after I finish this post, and finish paying the bills (yes, there is that).... A few hours later.... The brix are at 15 and just for fun here's a little video showing how I picked the berries and measured the sugar.

2009 Vineyard Log

Last water in 2008 (mid-Nov., 2008)

Good rain storms November, December '08

Jan 30th started pruning in earnest, finishing February 14th (mostly)

Feb 21 - 22 (last major rain) Finished all pruning. Finished rain. Total season rainfall less than normal after getting out to a great start, about 8 inches.

Feb. 28 - March 8: Sprayed lime sulphur and oil

April:

Planted about 40 Tempranillo Vines. (About 30 of these were a mistake and will be transplanted in winter.)

Bud Break: March 21. Lower part of vineyard (Petit Sirah), first bud break. Also, lower part of Petite Sirah on less vigorous root stock are netted early July. (Much mildew damage there).

April 17: Admire Treatment First Irrigation. Glassy wing sharpshooters appear in early April. Also, in July after setting yellow traps we catch 5 sharpshooters in one week. In August, the sharpshooters are gathering around the two rows of Tempranillo vines which have found their own source of water putting out green shoots. Cannot add Admire -- too close to harvest. This could be a problem.

2nd Irrigation two weeks later. (in hindsight, this one unnecessary)

May Water Usage: 26 HCF, 53% decrease from May 08 (May weather unseasonable cool, foggy, cloudy.) Vigorous growth throughout vineyard --especially lower Tempranillo and Petit Sirah on 5C rootstock--and should be able to cut back irrigation even more next year.

Planted 18 "potted" Aglianico vines end of May to fill in gaps.

Powdery mildew developed in late May (should have been spraying. Must implement spray program next year.) Treated with 10 pounds wettable sulphur and 2.5 lbs. Kaligreen, spraying June 10 - June 17 with backpack sprayer. Sunrise Vineyards management sprays with Rubigan on June 26th (whole vineyard in less than two hours).

June--Petiole analysis of Zinfandel block. Results show nitrogen deficiency, which can be remedied by composting. (Will order compost in fall for nutrition and erosion control.)

June Water Usage: 46 HCF (15% under water rationing allotment of 54 HCF).

July 19: Tempranillo veraison, 15 brix. (Picture at top shows the berries.) Zinfandel veraison beginning. Petit Sirah, heavily damaged by mildew, seems mostly a lost cause. Many Petit Sirah bunches "tight"--need to address. Aglianico -- just a few grapes turning. Aglianico crop is light, and we may decide not to pick. Grenache grapes still green; lost 1/2 to mildew. Promising harvest this year is Tempranillo and Zinfandel.

July Water Usage (7/6 - 8/5): 42 HCF (Allocation was 63 HCF). Except for one week of "hot weather" the week of July 18th, weather has been unseasonable cool.

August 1st: Tempranillo at 19 brix (100+ berry sample); taste is still tart. Will we be harvesting in 3 weeks? Petit Sirah lower block is already ready, but since block is small, holding back. Two lower rows of Tempranillo have found a water source, putting out green shoots. (Not good.) Must cut irrigation to them next year. Birds are finding holes in nets and penetrating, causing damage. Bees have arrived. Irrigated 1.5 hours (2 gallon/hr) this week. (Just one hour last week.) Zinfandel at 70% veraison. Grenache at 50% veraison. Aglianico still mostly green. Will drop most of the fruit. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

August 7th: Zinfandel finishes veraison. Aglianico veraison beginning.

August 14: Tempranillo at 22 brix (100+ berry sample with hydrometer); pH=3.63; acid= .787 Zinfandel block at 19 brix; pH=2.98; acid = 1.54 Caught and released 5 birds today that had penetrated the nets. Grenache veraison complete. Last, light watering of Tempranillo (one hour) August 16th. Cool for 6 days, not much ripening.

August 26 (Weds): Tempranillo at 24 brix. pH= 3.75 acid (TA) = .7 Acid test done with Accuvin quick test, so accuracy is questionable. I also question accuracy of pH meter. (Will need to recalibrate.) Temperatures have warmed up since Sunday into the mid-80s, reaching 90+ today. No water last weekend. Grapes are ripening quickly now. Many (but not all) of the grapes damaged by birds have become sweet raisins. This may add "jam" characteristics to the wine and raise sugars.

Last week in August heat wave. Temperatures climbed above 90, close to 100 degrees. Zinfandel grapes dehydrating and at 26 brix on Saturday. Watered for one hour on Saturday to try and bring down the sugars. Mad rush to harvest the Tempranillio & Zinfandel last Sunday in August. (One container 1/2 full of Zin grapes left in vineyard ... must thoroughly check next year, and remind friends/pickers to bring grapes to the center of the vineyard, dumped ton larger containers, which can be easily transported downhill.) Tempranillo come in at 25 brix. Zinfandel come in at 27 brix and cold soak to 28 brix the next day. pH's of Zinfandel & Tempranillio are high. May need to water more next year during August to prevent such rapid ripening, but we'll see. The new wines made from these groups are fruit forward, and taste surprising good for new vines. About 1,100 pounds of Tempranillo, 500 lbs. Zinfandel, 100 lbs. Aglianico are harvested that Sunday. Mid-week, we harvest the Petit Sirah (about 400 lbs.) and the next Saturday (Sept. 5th) the Grenache. Full account of the wines (including brix, TA and pH is kept in the 2009 vintage log.) Some remaining Aglianico grapes/raisins used to raise sugar of Ramona Brunello grapes and Valley Center Petit Sirah grapes.

September watering: heavy watering after harvest. Seems to have been much stress on some of the vines, because of heat wave. Will need to see how they recover. Removed emitters from over vigorous vines near leach fields; and gave .5 gallon emitters to some other vines near leach field.

Sharpshooters in lower part of vineyard (Tempranillo mostly, some Petit Sirah vines) in August concentrated on over-vigorous vines. This is serious. Not sure yet of damage caused and extent of Pierce's disease infection. (Until now, it seems we've lost about 3 vines to PD.)

November 1, 2009 - Last deep watering. Water usage for October, including Nov. 1st watering was 35 HCF. Bill for October watering is $135.82 (Bill for September watering is )$173.62.

Education: Took Pete Anderson's course at Mira Costa Community College on Vineyard Management. Attended sustainability seminar put on by California Winegrower's Institute and am completing self-assessment.

More later.

Green Initiatives and Sustainability at Blue-Merle Vineyard

Al Gore (famed inventor of the Internet) and I invented the LCD projector and the hands-free Earset for mobile phones in the 1990s. When I saw his Academy Award winning documentary on the environment, I knew what needed to be done. Here is a partial list of Green Initiatives we've taken at the Blue-Merle Vineyard & Winery:

1) Carbon Offsets. We replaced two acres of weeds with vines. Each vine supplies enough oxygen for one human-being/year. We support the breathing of 1,150 souls across the world -- who otherwise would not have enough to breathe.

2) Eliminating Green House Gases. Carbon dioxide gas is a by-product of the fermentation process. To cut down carbon emissions, instead of releasing CO2 into the air outside, we trap it in our garage through a hole in the ceiling, converting green house gases into harmless garage attic gases.

3) Renewable Resources. The "hair of the dog" contained in every bottle of Blue-Merle wine is a natural, renewable resource (it just keeps growing on Bluey and he just keeps shedding it into the wine during his inspections). We use corks grown by Portuguese trees -- no wasteful, metal screw caps here.

4) No Animal Testing. We don't use rabbits for animal testing of our products. Rather, we let the rabbits gorge on our vines. We do let Bluey (a canine with a keen sense of smell) sniff each wine batch at all production stages. And, when concocting blends, each must pass Bluey's sniff & taste test before bottling.

5) Recycling. Each bottle consumed in house is recycled. (2 household members x 365 days/ year X 1 bottle wine per household member = 730 bottles/year). This initiative has kept at least 730 glass bottles from clogging landfills each year. Our rich neighbors who subscribe to wine shipments from Napa Valley each month give us their used shipping containers to reuse. We compost stems & grape skins (by dumping them in our neighbors' vineyards at midnight).

6) No pesticides. We do not use poisons to control rodents, varmints and gophers. We use "Owl" Gore, occupant of the barn owl box. We do not pour gasoline down gopher holes (that would pollute); nor do we do we flush out gophers with water (that would be wasteful in our draught stricken land). We catch our gophers by hand, mano y mano. If that doesn't work, nearby Camp Pendleton has offered us aerial combat support.

Dear reader, as modern technology has made it possible for you to comment on this blog suggesting to us how to become more green and reduce waste, kindly let us know additional steps we can take to be more responsible citizens.