Vintage 2026: Vineyard Work

If good weather prevails in March, we begin our vineyard work and this year it was very cold and snowy until the last week in March when we were able to get back into the vineyard. We began with work that we didn't get a chance to finish at the end of last year, namely lowering our nets and Velcroing the nets to our irrigation wire. We began our work in our red varieties and as of today, we've lowered 24 rows of nets and done the first pass of pruning the tops of last year's canes and making the first cut on last year's fruiting cane.
We had help from one of our friends, Ted, who came to help us with the removal of last year's canes. We have also been aided by the very nice weather that we've been having which is a change from previous years when April showers bring May flowers.
Another change we made this year was to remove our cuttings which we have stacked neatly on each linepost. So, last Thursday, Ted and our friend Mary, came to help us remove the cuttings from the vineyard. They removed all of the cuttings from 14 rows of the vineyard so we are feeling pretty good about the work that has been done so far.
There is more good weather coming up so hopefully we can get to doing the pruning that we need to do before budbreak!

2021 Rivetto Langhe Nascetta Lirano Nascetta

A few weeks ago, my husband brought out one of his recent purchases, a 2021 Rivetto Langhe Nascetta Lirano Nascetta.
It is a white wine from the Piedmont region that almost went extinct. As nebbiolo became the favored grape for wine making in Piedmont, the Nascetta, a delicate, unstable, difficult to cultivate grape with unpredictable yields, gradually disappeared from the vineyard.
The person credited with the revival of Nascetta is Elvio Cogno. In 1993 Elvio Cogno and Valter Fissore, together with other producers from Novello, accepted an unusual invitation from journalist Armando Gambera and uncorked a few bottles of Nascetta from 1986. The Nascetta astounded everyone for its fine and elegant profile, tasting very much like a Sauterne.
In 1994, not one vineyard with 100% Nascetta could be found so the grapes had to be cherry-picked from among the vineyards throughout Novello in order to make the 1994 vintage of Nascetta which consisted of 800 bottles made by Elvio Cogno.
In 2002, Nascetta became a DOC “Langhe” wine. In 2010, it obtained the most prestigious recognition of its own appellation, “Langhe Nas-cetta of the Township of Novello,” whose production is only authorized within the confines of the township of Novello and using 100% Nascetta.
The Rivetto Nascetta to me had a distinct aroma reminiscent of Viognier. The wine was mascerated on it's skin for 72 hours. I didn't really appreciate the style of this wine but I need to give it another try with an open mind if not an appreciation of being a grape rescued from near extinction.
References:
1. Azienda Agricola Cogno, The story of Nascetta, January 1, 2019.

Vintage 2026: March Pruning Time is Here

The winter was a cold and very snowy one but for the last few weeks, we have had nice enough weather to get out into the vineyard to begin our pruning duties for this vintage. We typically begin by removing all of the Agfast that we've put on the vines to keep the growing shoot straight. It's good during the growing year, but bad when we have to remove it. There are literally thousands of these little black ties in the vineyard which makes removing them a time consuming task that can take 2 weeks or so.
We thought we would try something different this year. We began by cutting the tops of last year's shoots, which have now hardened into canes. It is at this point that we remove the Agfast. My husband cuts last year's fruiting cane, leaving the few shoots that he deems will become this year's fruiting cane.

We tested our new method on our red varieties, the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and the Barbera. The reds can be challenging because the tendrils are tough and difficult to remove from the trellis wire. It's a good thing to tackle this first when we are anxious to get back into the vineyard.
We have a marker in the middle of the vineyard so instead of working the entire 800 feet, we work to the marker and then work our way back. In this manner, we can do 4 half rows of the vineyard in one shift, finishing the other half of the row on our second shift.
In the one week that we've been in the vineyard, we've managed to get all of the red varieties, 6 rows, to the point of the final pruning. The method that we are using now allows us to go into the vineyard to work even if it is raining. We can remove the shoots that have been cut from the live part of the vine. This is definitely a game changer for us.
I hope that this method that we are using allows us to get the vineyard ready for bud break sooner than we've done in the past. Crossing my fingers!

Gamet Champagne

We recently got together with our friends who love oysters and champagne. She really likes Pinot Meunier based champagnes so my husband procured this Gamet champagne with them in mind.
The Gamet is made with 85% Pinot Meunier and 15% Pinot Noir. Right off the bat all of us loved this champagne. The Pinot Meunier brought a full-bodied richness to the champagne and it paired so well with the oysters. The champagne is made with indigenous yeast and fermented for 24 monthas in stainless steel. The finished champagne was disgorged in June 2024 and 4 g/L dosage was added at that time.
This champagne was imported by Skurnik and on their website, I found more information about the family. Their story is about two families farming on different banks of the Marne and their descendants.
Shortly after World War I, two women, Victoire Garnier on the left bank of the Marne and Berthe Heucq on the right bank of the Marne began farming the land that they owned and making recoltant manipulant (grower owned) champagnes.
In the 1950s Victoire Garnier's original holdings on the left bank of the Marne, were expanded into the Mardeuil by her grandson, François Gamet. Meanwhile on the right bank of the Marne, Berthe Heucq’s grandson Robert was growing his family’s holdings in Fleury-la-Rivière, tending vines and bottling his own wines.
In 1993, Fabienne Heucq, Robert’s daughter, and Philippe, the son of François Gamet met and fell in love. They had a daughter, Marianne. Since 2018, Marianne is the fourth generation champagne maker, taking over the running of the estate and continuing the tradition of being a recoltant manipulant since it's inception.
Marianne’s brother, Jean-François is a trained enologist currently working in Bordeaux. He travels back home to assist his sister and parents with harvest, blending, and bottling.
Champagne Gamet remains a grower-producer, with vineyards totaling eight hectares in three villages – Mardeuil on the left bank and Fleury-la-Rivière and Damery on the right bank.
References:
1. Skurnik Wines and Spirits, Gamet
2. Terroir, Gamet.