1995 Domaine Maume Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques

Recently, we had Mary over for dinner to thank her for taking the soil samples for us. My husband made a pan seared beef tenderloin and deglazed the pan to make a crimini mushroom sauce. We paired the tenderloin with this 1995 Domaine Maume Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques. It is nearly 20 years old but the flavors were still holding together wonderfully. It was dark purple in color with cherry and raspberry notes, with a well balanced acidity. My husband remembers that he purchased this wine on auction and we still have some left.
Here is an interesting online article I found about Domaine Maume.

Dowsing for Water: My Husband is a Believer

We are in the process of having our well drilled and after interviewing 3 well drillers in our area, we selected Tony. When we met with Tony about a week ago, my husband nudged me so that I could ask Tony if he knew of any dowsers. Tony mentioned that he is a dowser as is his father! I was elated.
Yesterday, Tony came to dowse for water. My husband came to get me from the vineyard where I was weed wacking with my wheeled trimmer. I asked Tony if he was holding a willow branch and he said that any type of branch would do. Tony had made a dowsing rod from a tree growing on the property. Tony had already figured out where the well should go and it wasn't where we wanted it, but it was close enough. After showing us where the dowsing rod was pointing to, Tony asked if I wanted to try it. Definitely! Suffice it to say that I am not a dowser. Then, Tony asked if my husband, the skeptic wanted to try it, and wouldn't you know, my husband can dowse! This turned by husband from a skeptic to a believer! He said that it felt like the rod was rotating in his palm and then would point down to the location that Tony found. Tony said that it would be okay for me to take and post the video shown below:

Determining When and How Much to Irrigate

In my previous blog on An Acre Inch of Water, I wrote that the number 27,154 is important to know because that represents the number of gallons of water it would take to cover one acre of land with one inch of water.
A really good article that explains when to irrigate can be found on line in the November/December 2001 issue of Practical Winery and Vineyard. It is written by Larry E. Williams, titled Irrigation of Winegrapes in California. This article encapsulates and explains what I learned in Lesson 7 of the U.C. Davis Online course, Viticulture for Winemakers. It answers two questions (1) when to irrigate and (2) how much water to apply.
When to irrigate can be determined by using:

• Soil-based tools can determine the actual or relative amounts of water in the rooting zone of grapevines
• Neutron probe
• Capacitance sensors
• Plant-based tools can be used to measure vine water status
• Pressure chamber

How much water to apply is determined by:

• Evaporative demand at the location of the vineyard
• Stage of vine development
• Percent ground cover by the vine’s canopy

To determine the vineyard's irrigation requirement, the following equation for full crop water use in inches is given by:

• ET_c is the crop ET (evapotranspiration) or vine water use
• ET_o is the potential evapotranspiration or the reference ET
• k_c is the seasonal crop coefficient, or the fraction of water a non- water-stressed crop uses in relation to the ET_o and is dependent on:
• Stage of vine growth
• Degree of ground cover (shading )
• Height or the canopy
• Canopy resistance (regulation by the vine or crop)
• k_c will vary throughout the growing season; it is not a constant fraction of ET_o

The above equation is used to calculate how much water we would need to irrigate in inches. Since this blog is getting a bit long, stay tuned for the next installment on how to convert inches to gallons for irrigating.
Reference:
1. Larry E. Williams, Irrigation of Winegrapes in California, Practical Winery and Vineyard, November/December 2001.

An Acre Inch of Water

One of the things I learned (and have already forgotten) was the importance of the number 27,154 gallons, or the number of gallons in an acre inch of water. When talking about irrigation, it is important to know (memorize it!) this number.
I found a good article that explains this measurement written by Bill Peacock, Tulare County Farm Advisor called Understanding Water Units. Knowing the number of gallons in an acre inch, or an acre foot will aide in determining how long we have to run our pump to apply a given irrigation amount.
When we planted our vineyard in 2013, we had one of the driest summers that we have experienced. When we went to Brookdale Farm to speak with Trevor, he agreed but also mentioned that he thought that this summer was even drier, albeit a little cooler and less humid. We didn't realize that Connecticut summers can be so dry. The past records show that Connecticut has an average of 4 inches of rain every month, but this average can come from a flash flood or from a hurricane. In order to grow quality grapes, a reliable source of water is an imperative.

Irrigation is Vital

On Wednesday, we took the afternoon off to take a road trip to New Hampshire to visit Trevor at Brookdale Farm. Trevor worked as an engineer and now spends his retirement as the 7th generation farmer at his family's Brookdale Farm.
We were there to see the irrigation equipment that Trevor sells and to see how he uses the equipment to irrigate his vasts plantings of blueberries, raspberries, apples, etc. Trevor took us to his blueberry patch and showed us how the polyethylene pipe was laid on the surface for irrigation. We were by a pond that Trevor mentioned can be drained in 2 days. He showed us the filtration system and the quick disconnects that will allow for easy winter storage.
Trevor mentioned that he has worked with several wineries on Long Island and confirmed that vines really need a reliable source of water during the first few years after planting. Trevor did a quick back of the envelop calculation for how much irrigation line we will need based on our row length and how many rows of vines that we have. He came up with a figure of 30 gallons per minute that our well will need to produce. All of this is predicated on the amount of water that our well driller can find. Time for me to revisit Lesson 7 from the U.C. Davis Online Course, Viticulture for Winemakers, which is all about irrigation.

Time to Take Some Soil Samples

It is time to take some soil samples again to see how the vineyard is doing. Based on the pattern of survival of our plants, we mapped out various regions of the vineyard that we want to sample. We believe that the front of the vineyard is different from the other areas and we are hoping that the soil tests will show us what is happening. We also believe that the east side of our vineyard, where the Chardonnay has been planted is very different from the rest of the vineyard. We had indications last year when we took our soil samples that the pH on the east side of the vineyard was a bit acidic. We decided to sample the vineyard based on the following diagram:

There are certain rules that must be followed when taking a soil sample:¹

• Collect a number of cores or slices by walking in a zig-zag pattern over the area
• Collect 10 cores as the minimum for an area 10,000 square feet in size
• Sampling depth should be 4 to 6 inches deep
• Make sure that all the cores are thoroughly mixed together
• Fill plastic bag about 1/2 full (approximately 1 cup) with the mixed sample
• Submit for testing

Fortunately, we had Mary's help yesterday and armed with a soil probe, Mary took the soil samples, while I was the scribe. Mary took 10 core samples from each defined area. It took us approximately 3 hours to sample the entire vineyard. Thank you, Mary, for volunteering above and beyond the call of duty!
Now to send the samples off to be tested and wait for the results.
Reference:
1. University of Vermont, How to Take a Soil Sample.

Well Drilling and Dowsers

Yesterday, we went up to our vineyard to check our water gauge to see how much water the recent storm brought us. We were delighted to see that we received 2 inches of rain which fell slowly, but consistently during the overnight hours on Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning. That broke a long string of rain free days since July 4th when the remains of hurricane Arthur gave us 1.5-inches of rain. We have come to the realization that relying on Mother Nature is too risky so we have taken steps to provide our young vines with a consistent source of water via a drilled well.
So, when we received the July/August issue of Vineyard and Winery Management, I read with interest, the cover story called Witch Way Down: The Divine Search for Ground Water. This article is right up our alley because we are at a point where we will be meeting with the company representative that will be drilling our well. The article is about finding sources of water through dowsing or "divination", a combination of human intuition and supernatural inspiration. I finished reading the article and thought that I need to find a willow stick so that I could test my dowsing powers, but my husband poo-pooed the idea. I didn't think too much more about dowsing until a timely email from Cameron Roucher, the vineyard manager at Rathfinny Estate in Sussex, strongly suggested that we look for a dowser! Calling all dowsers in or around Connecticut!

2012 Henri Bourgeois En Travertin Pouilly Fume

Our friends brought this 2012 Henri Bourgeois Pouilly Fume, when we had them over for dinner recently. We paired it with Ina Garten's Mussels with Saffron Mayonnaise and smoked salmon and cream cheese on cucumber slices. One note about the smoked salmon appetizer, we originally served it on crackers, but the cream cheese has a tendency to make the cracker go soggy, but a cucumber is the perfect vehicle because it adds a nice crunch to the dish, and a little smoked salmon can go a long way.
We were first introduced to Henri Bourgeois when we had his, to me, sublime 2008 La Demoiselle, a Sauvignon blanc from the Loire valley. We followed it up by tasting his 2009 Les Bonnes Bouches. This 2012 Pouilly Fume was a new one for us. On my palate, it tasted of passionfruit and honey and reminded me of a New Zealand Sauvignon blanc.

Climate Change and Winemaking

This summer appears to be a repeat of last summer, as once again we are in need of a good soaking rain. In talking to a few people about this lack of rain, they have made the observation that the Connecticut River serves as a "rain break or barrier". Points west and north of the river seem to get more rain than regions east of the river and we are located east of the river. Now that we are back to post pounding, the dry soil has made post pounding a little more difficult.
However, unlike last summer where July was extremely hot and humid, we are having days that are in the low 80s with night time temperatures that can dip into the high 50s. This is good for grape growing as warm days followed by cool nights preserves the acidity that is important in creating a balanced wine.
A friend of mine sent me a link to an online article titled Climate change will leave wine lovers drunker and poorer. The article mentions that hotter summers in places like Bordeaux are leading to wines that now contain around 16% alcohol, compared with 12.5% in the early 1980s. The article also states that by mid-century more than four-fifths of the land in France, Italy and Spain that’s now used for vineyards will be producing grapes unsuited for wine. The hot weather will leave grapes with more sweetness, but with less of the acidity required to produce a balanced wine leaving the wine tasting bland.
Toward the end of this article, I read that French champagne-makers are buying up land in southern England. Here is a map of where grapes could be grown in England as the climate changes:

Where grapes can be grown in the UK by 2080.UK’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, via cees-edu.org
This made me think of our friend, Cameron Roucher, the vineyard manager at Rathfinny Estate in Sussex, where they are growing grapes to produce sparkling wine. They are poised to take full advantage of this impending climate change!

Fee Fi Fo Fum Who is Eating Our Grape Leaves?

We are seeing a few of our vines with this type of damage where only the leaves have been munched on. We ruled out deer and we have looked on the plant to see if we can find the culprit, but no such luck. The damage is localized and only a few of the adjacent plants are showing this type of problem.
What this reminds me of is the damage that we suffered last year from the beautiful but voracious Eumorpha pandorus. You would think with the bright orange coloration that we would be able to spot this leaf muncher pretty readily, but it has proven to be quite evasive.
The plants that have had their leaves eaten are responding by growing their lateral shoots so it still looks rather green and now, somewhat bushier.
Here is a close-up from last year of the type of damage that this caterpillar can do.

1999 Cristom Marjorie Vineyard Pinot Noir

Our friends who have a vineyard came for a visit to see the state of our vineyard and to have dinner with us. They have two children, but this weekend, they found themselves childless (thank goodness for camps!) and so they were able to make a little trek to spend some time with us. We began with a taste of Kerner, which exhibited the fruitiness of a Riesling but was packed with some good acidity. This wine is a good summer quaffer and priced around $20.00 makes it a good buy. We then moved on to Duval LeRoy Champagne with oysters and smoked salmon and cream cheese on cucumber slices. Our main dish was a mushroom risotto with seared scallops which we paired with this 1999 Cristom Marjorie Vineyard Pinot noir. We all enjoyed the wine which was dark purple in color and still had substantial fruit flavors that was the perfect foil for the earthy mushroom risotto. Yum! Cristom is located in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and their website mentions that the Marjorie vineyard is named after the founder Paul Gerrie’s mother. The vineyard was planted in 1982 and the first release from this vineyard was in 1994. My husband and I are wondering if we have any more of this Pinot noir that he bought when it was first released. Some digging is in order!