Designing a Commercial Production Winery with Expansion in Mind

"Designing a Commercial Production Winery with Expansion in Mind", is the mindset that we are in right now. Our morning conversations include projections of harvest from 2021 to 2023 with the idea of outfitting a small winery for these needs. I found this article online from The Grapevine Magazine. This article covered the basic construction elements of a startup production winery, while considering the most efficient means of expansion. This is right up our alley.
Size / Scale / Layout

• minimum suggested scale for a commercial winery is in the 1000 – 2000 case size
• for a 1500 case winery, plan on a minimum building size of 3,500 ft² with roughly 1/3 space devoted to tasting room and 2/3 to production/finished case storage
• a porch, office, event space (to be discussed), kitchen, etc can also be added
• a separate barrel room and warehouse room for stored cased goods is the most common space obstacle that beginning wineries face
• keep in mind how future building additions will tie together
• keep in mind elements such as roof line, utilities, placement of windows and doorways, and wastewater drains

Electrical Power

• ideally 400-amps of electrical service will provide more than ample power for your startup winery with significant room to grow into while keeping expansion in mind
• for one or two pieces of equipment that require 480 volts it may be less expensive to have a transformer bump-up voltage to 480 volts for those two pieces of equipment than having 480 volts delivered to the building and having to step-down the voltage for all remaining piece of equipment on 220 volts
• if you have access to 3 phase (common near urban / industrial parks/ large scale farms), recommend tying into that upfront
• most large pieces of equipment utilizing a frequency drive or motors at greater than 5 hp demand 3 phase electrical power
• 3 phase power is needed for several key pieces of equipment (press, destemmer/crusher, tank mixer, monoblock bottling line, etc.), purchasing a phase converter may be all that is needed

Water Supply / Wastewater / Drainage

• an on-demand hot water heater capable of hitting 180-185°F is important for sanitation purposes with a minimum recommended flow rate of 1 – 2 gallon per minute, to maintain 180°F for prolonged periods of time
• the on-demand water unit can have dual functionality as it can be used to sanitize winery production equipment on the production end and can also be used to sanitize stemware on the tasting room
• in the production area, figure on having 1-2 water access points (hose bibs) per wall
• minimizing the distance between heat source and end-point should be considered in order to increase efficiency and decrease heat loss
• lateral water lines that carry water from the source to its endpoint should be at least ¾” in diameter, as opposed to the standard ½”
• for waste water management, the four most common options to choose from include:
  (1) surface spreading
  (2) aerobic biological treatment
  (3) settling holding tank / septic tank
  (4) municipal sewage system (easiest if available near you)
• the placement of waste water management systems should be outside the zone of potential expansion
• location of drain systems should take into account future expansion possibilities

Building Ceiling Height

• the ceiling height should ideally be at least 16’ high
• this allows stacking 2 pallets of empty glass high during bottling (note a minimum 14’ is needed for filled bottles, assuming cases are stacked 5 high/each pallet and 2 pallets per column)
• as production volume increases size, so will your tank size – having tall ceilings allows for larger tanks

Misc. Items that Should be Considered

• Outdoor Crush Pad: At the starting scale of 1500 cases, a good size crush pad is 30’ x 30’ but could easily be 50’ x 50’ off of the production-end
  the concrete that is poured should be able to withstand the weight of a forklift, pallets of bottles, tanks, etc. (typically 5” or greater in thickness)
  may need to install a specific wastewater containment system on the crush pad
• Garage Door: the winery’s overhead garage door to the will need to accomodate the largest piece of equipment that will enter the building
• Loading Dock: although not an absolute necessity in the beginning, a loading dock with a docking plate (height adjustable) makes loading and off-loading logistics much simpler that taking the forklift to the back of semi and using a palette jack to move items to the back of the truck for pickup
• Production Floor Sealant: consider using an Epoxy Resin and Urethane protective coating to withstand a battery of abuse from constant foot traffic, heavy loads (forklift / pallet jack), and should be chemical and water resistant

Event Space / Tasting Bar

• space to hold events, also must include the appropriate support amenities: prep. kitchen, restrooms, storage space, etc
• make sure your plans have been submitted to ALL local and state authorities (Commercial Building inspector) before starting construction
• for the Tasting Room have a dedicated and segregated checkout area that is separate to the tasting bar. Ideally, this checkout area would be located right next to the exit of your building

References:
1. Piero Spada LLC, "Designing a Commercial Production Winery with Expansion in Mind", The Grapevine Magazine, April 10, 2019.

Racking Our Red Wines into Oak Barrels

Yesterday was a first for us. We went to Jonathan Edwards Winery where Jonathan Edwards and his crew had prepared two oak barrels for us so that our reds, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc could age in oak! Jonathan chose two of his 2018 Nadalie Elite oak barrels to store our wines for aging.
The paper chromatography taken of our wines on February 17 showed that the malolactic fermentation was over. This is a good time to transfer the finished wine from the stainless steel barrel that fermentation was done in, into oak. Jonathan Edwards had all of the equipment in place when we went over and the transfer went without a problem. We put in 35 ppm of sulfur dioxide (in the form of potassium metabisulfite). We ended up with a full barrel plus a full 5 gallon keg to use for topping up the barrel as the wines age.

We can't wait to taste our wines after barrel aging! Thank you, Jonathan!

4 Must Haves for a New Winery Construction---The Floor

Recently, we have been immersing ourselves in small winery construction and I came upon this site WINERY BUILDING DESIGN: 4 MUST HAVES FOR EVERY NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, it is a posting by SLOTDRAIN, a company founded on drainage systems solutions, which I found to be very helpful.
Wineries have specific needs that need to be met by the architectural design of the building. Here are some winery building must-haves to keep in mind when designing the perfect winery:¹

• A well thought layout
• Use quality insulation
• Choose the right flooring
• Install a slot drain system

Coincidentally, I was reading the December 2020 issue of Wine Business Monthly and came across an article called Cellar Floor Sanitation. Little did I know before reading the article that the cellar floor is a very important consideration in new winery construction. Here is what I learned:²

• the cellar floor is a tool, a critical piece of process equipment
• the cellar floor is subject to constant use and abuse all year long
• the cellar floor, like any other tool in the toolkit requires ongoing maintenance and needs to be clean

Sources of the most contamination in a winery include floor drains, floors and areas around bung holes. The worst time is during crush when winemakers can easily lose control of their daily cleaning protocol. Everything from outside dirt, foot and forklift traffic, crushed fruit and spilled wine will hit the floor.
After reading that, I envisioned that we would be wearing booties over our shoes to prevent dirt from entering our winery, trying to turn our winery into a cleanroom. I know, it's really not feasible. So, the answer to that is to have a floor that makes daily cleaning protocols not an onerous task.
The article went on to explain that no winery floor should be made of concrete, bad, a no-no. However, concrete could be resurfaced with a long-lasting urethane polymer.
Polymer floors provide:

• incredible durability
• almost bullet-proof impact resistance
• anti-slip footing
• OSHA/FDA approval

They can withstand all types of cleaning protocols including steaming, high pressure rinsing as well as heavy scrubbing. Another recommendation was to choose lighter floor colors to reflect light so that it is easier to maintain cleanliness in dark areas or under tanks.
We will certainly keep this in mind as we plan our winery layout.
References:
1. SLOTDRAIN, WINERY BUILDING DESIGN: 4 MUST HAVES FOR EVERY NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
2. Bill Pregler, Cellar Floor Sanitation, Wine Business Monthly, December 2020, pg. 40-45.

February 18 was National Drink Wine Day

I learned a day after the fact that February 18 was National Drink Wine Day. It was also the day that the northeast was going to get the storm that devastated the south. We were bracing for being stuck in our home (well, we already are kind of stuck in our home a la global pandemic) for a few days. I decided that I would make Ina Garten's Beef Bourguignon.
I already had many of the ingredients on hand and purchased a nice cut of beef chuck roast during my weekly grocery visit so I thought I was prepared when I read the recipe again and it called for an entire bottle of red wine such as a Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir!
My husband has a cellar but he wasn't parting with any of his wines to make this dish so on Thursday morning before the ETA of the snowstorm, I went to our local package store, Cask 'n Keg to search for a "cheap" bottle recommended by my husband.
I couldn't find the bottle he recommended but I did end up with 3 bottles of wine that I thought would suffice, meeting the criteria of "cheap". When I went to check out, I was telling the young man about my quandry and he said, "You're making beef bourguignon? My friend who also works here always uses this wine to make his beef bourguignon." And, he lead me to this:

The price was in my wheelhouse---$12.99 and it was a Kermit Lynch selected wine and a Cote du Rhone! I added it to my purchases. When I went home, I was met with my husband's approval, although he said he was about to send out a search and rescue team since I was taking so long.
Here is what the beef bourguignon looked like:

I did modify Ina's recipe a bit: No bacon (although I did use a huge dollop of bacon grease), no cognac, no frozen onions, added potatoes and forgot the parsley.
Most importantly, however, we did manage to consume an entire bottle of Cote du Rhone in the beef bourguignon, as well as a half a bottle of La Crema Pinot Noir on National Drink Wine Day.

Checking on our Malolatic Fermentation

In the blogpost on November 30, 2020, I wrote about Vintage 2020:MLF for our Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, checking the malic acid levels in our 2019 and 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, as well as our 2020 Barbera. My husband did the paper chromatography on November 24 and the results were shown in that blog. Just to recap though, here is the result of that experiment:

In the above chromatogram, the side-by-side comparison of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc shows that the conversion of malic acid (malate) to lactic acid (lactate) occured in the 2019 reds. The paper chromatogram also shows that the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc contains tartaric acid, malic acid and lactic acid. After malolatic fermentation (MLF) the disappearance of malic acid indicates that this secondary fermentation has occurred.
Here is the paper chromatogram of the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Barbera after MLF that my husband ran on February 17, 2021:

In order to make the comparison a bit easier to see, I cut and pasted the two chromatograms to show the November 24, 2020 and the February 17, 2021 results here:

The red ovals in lanes 4,5, and 6 indicates the malic acid and the chromatogram taken on February 17, 2021 lanes 7,8, and 9 shows the disapparence of that spot. This indicates that the malic acid-->lactic acid conversion has occurred. In lane 9, which is the Barbera, there is still a residual spot of malic acid indicating that the MLF may still be going on, albiet very slowly.

Outfitting a Winery Laboratory---Part 2

On February 13, 2021 I blogged about Outfitting a Winery Laboratory where I checked off the equipment that we had purchased and there were a few blanks against the equipment we had not yet purchased:
Equipment to Outfit a Winery Laboratory

Equipment	Year Purchased	Equipment	Year Purchased
Cash/Markham Still		pH Meter	2015
Paper Chromatography Equipment	2017	Ripper Equipment
Ebulliometer		Refractometer	2015
Filtration Equipment	2016	Scales	2015
Forceps and other Manipulators		Spectrophotometer
Heat Source		Test Kit for Residual Sugar	2015
Hydrometers	2020	Titration Equipment	2015
Material Mixing Equipment		Assorted Chemicals and Reagents	2015-now
Microscope		Misc. glassware including flasks, beakers, sample containers, test tubes, racks and pipettes	2015-now

In today's post I will follow the Morris paper and explain what the other equipment are:
Cash/Markham Still
A Cash/Markham Still is used for volatile acid analysis. Volatile acids are acids that turn to vapor when heated. Wine normally contains some volatile acid, usually acetic acid, as a result of fermentation. In addition, spoilage organisms may cause an increased presence of volatile acids.
Measuring the amount of volatile acidity in wine is useful for the detection of spoilage and to assure compliance with federal regulations regarding allowable volatile acidity levels.
Ripper Equipment
The Ripper analysis, which involves an iodine titration, is one of the most common methods used for SO₂ analysis. The equipment for this test is basically that used for titration and is relatively inexpensive.
There are some complications in using the test, however, since the test must be done with chemicals that are accurately standardized. Since the iodine solution used is not stable, it must be standardized regularly. An additional problem in using the test is that it is sometimes difficult to determine the endpoint of the titration when testing red wines. These problems can be overcome with sound laboratory procedures so that the test is generally accurate enough for winery laboratories.
Ebulliometer
An ebulliometer is used for testing alcohol content of the wine. An ebulliometer works by determining the difference in the boiling point of the wine and that of pure water. Since this difference is related to the alcohol content of the wine, tables that come with the instrument can relate the boiling point information obtained to alcohol content of the wine.
Spectrophotometer
Spectrophotometric analysis is useful for determining turbidity (cloudiness) and ripeness of tannins in wine and juice.
A Spectrophotometer takes a light source and splits it into its component wavelengths. By selecting a narrow band of wavelengths and passing them through a solution, it is possible to measure the percentage of light at that wavelength that is absorbed by the solution. This provides information on the presence of components in the solution.
Microscope
Getting a microscope depends on how much money you would like to spend on this equipment for looking at yeast and bacteria that might be in the wine.
Most of the rest of the equipment looked really expensive and at this time, we probably would not invest in any other equipment for our winery laboratory.
One thing that I did come across which we might try is the Titrets Test Kits for testing SO₂ levels in white wine.
References:
1. Justin R. Morris, Considerations for Starting a Winery, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas System, January 2008, Research Report 983.

Valentine's was Local

In the past, we have traveled long distances to share Valentine's Day with our friends, but this year our Valentine's was very local. In fact, it was just my husband and me at home. But we did manage to celebrate with a little bit of style. For dinner, we made Beef Wellington with a side of asparagus. Looks like legit restaurant fare, but it is really easy to make Beef Wellington, you just need a bit of puff pastry. We paired the meal with a 2019 Cabernet Franc from Jonathan Edwards Winery. The wine was medium body and was sparkling ruby in the glass. It had a great flavor with a bit of tannins on the back end. It paired well with the meal.

For dessert, our friends provided us with eclairs from our local bakery, Zest at the Velvet Mill in Stonington, CT.

We paired the eclair with our own 2019 Late Harvest Chenin Blanc, which we bottled on December 13, 2020. The aromas coming from the glass was one of very ripe peaches and it tasted like orange zest with a kick of acidity. We made 34 bottles of this late harvest Chenin Blanc.

Outfitting a Winery Laboratory

I wrote about Small Winery Investment and Operating Costs taken from a Washington State Extension Bulletin prepared by Le Ann A. Fickle et al. Although this is a very comprehensive and helpful bulletin, I realized that there was no inclusion of a winery laboratory.
For that, I turned to Considerations for Starting a Winery researched by Justin R. Morris and published by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
The publication provided a Table of Equipment that might be a part of a winery laboratory.² I modified the table to show the year that we purchased that equipment.
Equipment to Outfit a Winery Laboratory

Equipment	Year Purchased	Equipment	Year Purchased
Cash/Markham Still		pH Meter	2015
Paper Chromatography Equipment	2017	Ripper Equipment
Ebulliometer		Refractometer	2015
Filtration Equipment	2016	Scales	2015
Forceps and other Manipulators		Spectrophotometer
Heat Source		Test Kit for Residual Sugar	2015
Hydrometers	2020	Titration Equipment	2015
Material Mixing Equipment		Assorted Chemicals and Reagents	2015-now
Microscope		Misc. glassware including flasks, beakers, sample containers, test tubes, racks and pipettes	2015-now

Our first purchase when we started our small laboratory in our basement was a hand held refractometer. This equipment was necessary to test for sugars in the ripening grapes in the vineyard.
We soon realized that we needed a pH meter, titratable acidity and sulfur dioxide titration equipment which we found could be done using a Vinmetrica SC-300 Pro. This equipment is useful for extremely small quantities of wine that needs to be tested and is ideal for the home winemaker. My husband had to get additional burettes, glass beakers and a magnetic stir plate to modify it for our use.
We initially used Glucose test strips to test for the residual sugar. In 2020, once we had enough grape juice and consequently, wine that we could use, we bought a hydrometer which is much better at testing for the presence/absence of sugars.
I am interested in what the other equipment can do so in the upcoming blogpost I will write about them.
References:
1. Le Ann A. Fickle, Raymond J. Folwell, Trent Ball, and Carter Clary, Small Winery Investment and Operating Costs, Washington State Extension Bulletin.
2. Justin R. Morris, Considerations for Starting a Winery, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas System, January 2008, Research Report 983.

Tasting Our 2019 Chardonnay

Last night, we tasted the third experiment of our 2019 Chardonnay where we fermented small batches with three different yeasts. We used X16, D47 and CH9 to do the fermentations and so far we have tasted the X16, D47 and last night we tasted our Chardonnay fermented with CH9.
When we bottled the CH9, we were surprised that there was very little aroma compared with the X16 and the D47. But last night we did detect a bit more aroma developing in the bottle. I thought it smelled a bit like anise. We paired the Chardonnay with chicken in a creamed sun-dried tomato sauce over gnocchi. Yum.

Small Winery Investment and Operating Costs

I am trying to gather information regarding how we go about constructing a building up on our vineyard property. My first attempt at gathering this information was reported out on this blogpost called Farm Winery Layout which was taken from two research articles written by Patrizia Tassinari et al. and Daniele Torreggian et al. conducted in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy.
I also constructed a table of Projecting a 5 Year Harvest---Part 2 calculating harvest amounts that we expect in the coming three years.
Today's blog is about Small Winery Investment and Operating Costs based on a Washington State Extension Bulletin prepared by Le Ann A. Fickle, Raymond J. Folwell, Trent Ball, and Carter Clary. I found the report to be very enlightening. If you are contemplating starting a vineyard/winery this is a very good bulletin to read.
The authors compared the total investment costs for wineries producing 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 cases of wine.
We aspire to be a 2,000 case winery so the summary of the "Equipment Lists, Prices, Construction Costs, and Investment Costs by Winery Size" in Appendix A was of interest to us.

The above Table serves as a guide to the types of equipment and accessories that we should be thinking of purhasing and will be tailoring to our specific situation.

Projecting a 5 Year Harvest---Part 2

In the last blogpost, Projecting a 5 Year Harvest---Part 1, I provided two tables, one is the table shown below and the other was a table of vines and the years that they were planted. These two tables taken together, with the aid of some assumptions can provide us with projections of harvest for the coming years.

Variety	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal
Auxerrois	636	50	1670	120
Chenin Blanc	3930	280	8201	655
Chardonnay	291	26	1136	75
Cabernet Sauvignon	332	25	888	70
Cabernet Franc	377	30	872	70
Barbera			110	9

Here are some assumptions made to fill in the chart above.
Projections
Auxerrois
In both 2019 and 2020, we had 485 vines planted in rows 2, 4 and 5 which began bearing fruit. The Table above shows that in 2019 we harvested 636 pounds of Auxerrois which increased to 1670 pounds in 2020. Each row of Auxerrois contains approximately 189 vines. We train the vine to double Guyot and typically leave 5 shoots on each arm. The Auxerrois typically produces two clusters per shoot which means that each vine has a potential to produce 20 clusters.
Year 2021: For 2021, the same number of vines from rows 2, 4 and 5 will be in play, for approximately 485 vines. Assuming that each cluster will be 3 ounces, the projected harvest would be 1818 pounds.
Year 2022: From the above Table, it appears that the Auxerrois began producing grapes 3 years after being planted, so in 2022, the vines in row 2, 3, 4 and 5 will be bearing fruit. The approimate number of vines will increase to 676. Once again assuming that each vine will carry 20 clusters and each cluster will weigh 3 ounces, the projected harvest would be 2535 pounds.
Year 2023: By 2023, the entire block of Auxerrois should be producing grapes so that means that there will be 945 vines each producing 20 clusters weighing 3 ounces giving us a total harvest weight of 3544 pounds.
Chenin Blanc
For the Chenin Blanc, both in 2019 and 2020, rows 6-16 were producing fruit. In 2020, rows 17-22 were added to the harvest weight so we saw the weight more than double. Similar to the Auxerrois, we train the vines to double Guyot and typically leave 5 shoots on each arm. The Chenin Blanc typically produce two clusters per shoot which means that each vine has a potential to produce 20 clusters. The clusters on the Chenin Blanc clone 982 are densely packed and larger that the Auxerrois and the typical weight is approximately 4 ounces.
Year 2021: We expect the entire block of Chenin Blanc to be producing grapes. That means that there will be 2259 vines of clone 982 to 832 vines of clone FPS-1 for a total of 3091 vines. If we assume that each cluster weighs 4 ounces that would be a total of 15,455 pounds at harvest.
Year 2022: Year 2022 will be projected to be the same weight giving us 15,455 pounds at harvest:
Year 2023: In year 2023, we hope to have the entire 17 rows at full capacity which means 189 vines in each row. Assuming 20 clusters per vine, the total harvest weight would be 16,065.
Chardonnay
We are still learning our way around the best viticultural practices for Chardonnay. Our Chardonnay is the first to show signs of downy and powdery mildew and is a challenge for us. We did dramatically better in taking care of the Chardonnay reflected in the harvest weights of 291 pounds in 2019 versus 1136 pounds in 2020.
Year 2021: Each row of Chardonnay contains 189 vines for a total of 1512 vines. We train the vines to double Guyot and typically leave 5 shoots on each arm. The Chardonnay typically produces only one cluster per shoot which means that each vine has a potential to produce 10 clusters. If we assume that each cluster weighs 3 ounces the harvest weight in 2021 will be 2835 pounds.
Year 2022 and 2023: For years 2022 and 2023 we expect that the weight will remain the same unless the shoots begin to produce 2 clusters per shoot or if the cluster weight increases from 3 ounces to something higher than that.
Cabernet Sauvignon
We have had harvests of Cabernet Sauvignon in both 2019 and 2020. The weight of the harvest has increased from 332 pounds in 2019 to 888 pounds in 2020. We train the vines to double Guyot and typically leave 5 shoots on each arm. Each shoot can carry 2 clusters. This clone of Cabernet Sauvignon forms a loose cluster so each cluster may be 3 ounces.
Year 2021: In year 2021, if each vine had 10 shoots and each shoot carried 2 clusters, there will be 20 clusters on each vine. Assuming that each cluster weighs 3 ounces, the total harvest weight will be 1418 pounds.
Year 2022 and 2023: Year 2022 and 2023 will yield the same weight unless there is an increase in cluster weight.
Cabernet Franc
We have had harvests of Cabernet Franc in both 2019 and 2020. The weight of the harvest has increased from 377 pounds in 2019 to 872 pounds in 2020. We train the vines to double Guyot and typically leave 5 shoots on each arm. Each shoot can carry 2 clusters and we assume that each cluster weighs 3 ounces.
Year 2021: In year 2021, if each vine had 10 shoots and each shoot carried 2 clusters, there will be 20 clusters on each vine. Assuming that each cluster weighs 3 ounces, the total harvest weight will be 1418 pounds.
Year 2022 and 2023: Year 2022 and 2023 will yield the same weight unless there is an increase in cluster weight.
Barbera
We have done something a little different with the Barbera. We have spaced the Barbera vines a meter apart so that each row contains approximately 250 vines. In 2020, we had our first harvest meaning that those vines that we planted in 2017 were mature enough to bear some fruit. In 2020, we harvested 110 pounds of Barbera. We trained the Barbera to single Guyot and each Guyot carried 8 shoots. Each shoot had 1 cluster. The Barbera form small, loose clusters and each cluster might weigh 2 ounces.
Year 2021: In 2021, we will probably have 250 vines for which we can lay down a single Guyot. If we leave 8 shoots and if each shoot carries one cluster with a cluster weight of 2 ounces, we will harvest 250 pounds of Barbera.
Year 2022 and 2023: In 2022, the vines planted in 2019 in row 35 may be mature enough to train and bear fruit. If we make the same assumption of 8 shoots per cane and with each shoot carrying one cluster weighing 2 ounces, we could harvest 500 pounds of Barbera.

Variety	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal
Auxerrois	636		1670		1818		2535		3544
Chenin Blanc	3930		8201		15,455		15,455		16,065
Chardonnay	291		1136		2835		2835		2835
Cabernet Sauvignon	332		888		1418		1418		1418
Cabernet Franc	377		872		1418		1418		1418
Barbera			110		250		500		500

The projected numbers in the above Table are very conservative place holders for the true harvest values based on the assumptions that were made for each variety. Still it is interesting to see in black and white what the harvest might look like.

Projecting a 5 Year Harvest---Part 1

Although we have been harvesting small amounts of Chenin Blanc since 2015, we haven't approached anything near a full vineyard harvest until 2019. So, as of last year, we have two data points regarding the harvest numbers for our varieties. Based on those numbers we can set up some projection of how future harvests might transpire.

Variety	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal	Lbs	Gal
Auxerrois	636	50	1670	120
Chenin Blanc	3930	280	8201	655
Chardonnay	291	26	1136	75
Cabernet Sauvignon	332	25	888	70
Cabernet Franc	377	30	872	70
Barbera			110	9

Here is a chart of when we planted (re-planted) our different varieties that are in the vineyard. For historical reasons, we always think of the Auxerrois as row 1. The Auxerrois is planted on the west side of the vineyard and each successive row takes us to the east side of the vineyard. All vines were planted in the row from the south end of the vineyard to the north end.

Auxerrois
Although we have only 5 rows of Auxerrois, the chart above shows that it was the most variable planting, meaning that in any given row, the vines come to maturity at different times. Auxerrois row 1 is a mixture of vines planted in 2019 and 2020. Auxerrois row 2 was planted in 2017, 2019 and 2020. Axuerrois row 3 was planted in 2019 and 2020. Auxerrois row 4 was planted in 2017 and Auxerrois row 5 is the most advanced, being planted in 2016.
In 2019, the Auxerrois from rows 2, 4 and 5 gave us fruit that we harvested. The same is true for the harvest that occured in 2020.
Chenin Blanc
From the above chart, most of the Chenin Blanc clone 982, rows 6-16 was planted in 2016. The south half of row 17 was planted in Chenin Blanc clone 982 in 2016. The north half of Chenin Blanc row 17 and rows 18-22 was planted in 2017 with Chenin Blanc clone FPS-1. Our first major harvest of Chenin Blanc occured in 2019 from fruit in rows 6-16, the 982 clone planted in 2016. Last year in 2020, we harvested fruit from the entire Chenin Blanc plantings from rows 6-22.
Chardonnay
The 8 rows of Chardonnay rows 23 - 30 was planted in 2016 and although we had a small harvest in 2019, our first major harvest occurred in 2020.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The two rows of Cabernet Sauvignon clone 412 rows 31 and 32 was planted in 2016. Our first harvest occurred in 2019 and we had an increase in the harvest in 2020.
Cabernet Franc
The two rows of Cabernet Franc are planted with two different clones. Row 33 is planted with clone 214 and row 34 is planted with clone 327. We had our first harvest in 2019 and we had an increase in the harvest in 2020.
Barbera
We have 2 rows of Barbera. With the Barbera, we are trying a very close spacing so instead of approximately 189 vines per row, we have 300 vines per row. Row 36 was planted in 2017 and row 35 was planted in 2019. In 2020, there was a bit of filling in that occured at the north end of the vineyard. We had a very small harvest from row 36 of the Barbera in 2020.
This sets the stage of how I plan to make a projection of what the harvest might be in 2021 under ideal conditions. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog.

Vintage 2021: Ground Hog Day

It appears that Punxsutawney Phil's prediction for 2021 is that we will have 6 more weeks of winter. Looking outside yesterday, one couldn't disagree with Phil. This past weekend we saw temperatures dip into the negative region with the wind chill and there were blizzard conditions last night.

We might have gotten an accumulation of approximately 6-inches of snow. Although, to be honest, the snow removers are doing a great job and our street is well plowed. We are still hunkering down and visions of a nice hot soup is permeating the air this morning.