Congratulations: It's a Bud!

Bud Break: Those magical words in the wine industry when our lovely little "soldiers" come back to life.  Think Conformation or Bar/Bat Mitzva... a big deal in the life of a wine grape.

Basically we are talking about the start of a new growing season from which, depending on the varietal, you can approximate the harvest date. 

Now the fact that it's already beginning here in the Dry Creek Valley AVA is a bit weird.  The big story here is waiting out the rest of the Winter (yes, it's still Winter here) and the treat of frost.  

Those young buds aren't crazy about frost!  "Death of a primary shoot usually results in subsequent development of a shoot from the secondary growing point."  Something growers really would rather avoid.  Like other farmers, wine growers spend these days hoping for the best.

Barrel Tasting: Predicting the Future!

The Wine Road's Barrel Tasting weekends are coming up!  Two weekends (Mar 5/6 & 12/13) are offered for the wine enthusiast to sample wine from the barrel.  Some wineries offer "futures" these weekends.

Barrel tasting is a good experience to better understand the stages that wine goes thru before it gets to your table.  The barrels are using to both impart their own flavors and to age the wine before bottling.  The winemaker spends a lot of time doing samples to mark the progress of the wine, and now you can give it a try.

When you get a chance to purchase future bottling of these wines, you can usually save some cash off the release price.  It does take practice to discern the "future" quality of the wine.  It's all part of the fun!!

In Vino Veritas

Wine can be a very serious business!  But not on my wine tours!  The best attitude for wine tasting is a sense of Adventure and Discovery.  Imagine you're out looking for a hidden treasure, which in my mind that's exactly what we do when we go wine tasting.

Our "job" while wine tasting is to find the wines we like and grab a bottle or two for later.  Wine is all about memories; past, present and future.  That day you had that bottle of Merlot with friends in the backyard will be a happy memory for your lifetime, so that each time you have a glass of Merlot you are conjuring up that good time.

The most important tool that you use while wine tasting are your own experiences.  Don't try to out guess yourself by putting unrealistic expectations on your tastings.  I say to just let the wine talk to you and learn to listen.  You will find more of the wines you love this way.

Wine is a Farm Product

Good wine starts in the vineyard.  Simple.  The better the grape; the better the wine.

It takes the entire seasonal cycle to produce that grape.  While Harvest gets most of the tourists' attention, it is just one phase in the life of the vine.  In February, here in the Dry Creek Valley AVA, the vines are enjoying a time to recharge their energy banks!

I took this photo yesterday, Feb 11, 2016.  The Sun was out and it was pleasantly warm.  In the background is a local landmark: Geyser Peak.  Notice the Olive Tree in the foreground.  Many of our local wineries are producing their own olive oil.  You can also notice the little puff of smoke...it being a "burn day" and the discarded grape canes from this years' pruning are being recycled. 

The life of the vineyard never stops.  Point is that it's always a good time to visit the wineries and vineyards of Dry Creek Valley!

Yes, Virgina, it rains it California

The wine grapes we are familiar with, vitis vinifera, had its origins in the high desert of the Middle East.  They're a desert plant.  They don't require tons of water.  As a matter of fact, many vineyards are, "dry farmed" without any inrrigation!

That doesn't meant they don't need water.  They rely on winter rains to soak into the ground so they can go looking for it.  Grape vines are the second deepest rooted plant on Earth.  If they are thirsty enough they'll dig down 30 feet!

The short story is that too much water makes for lazy grapes.  Lazy grapes don't taste great.  So growers know that if the vines are a bit "stressed" then they will produce taster grapes.

"We don't dry farm in order to save water," Leeds (a Rutherford grower) said. "If we thought we could have more productive or healthier vines, we'd water. Yes, we're concerned with the environment, but we make more flavorful grapes and more flavorful wine by farming organically and dry farming."