Vineyard Management Marathon

The Olympics inspired me to write this blogpost about the Marathon that is vineyard management. I came up with a heptathlon of activities that constitutes this marathon.
1-Spring Pruning

The first of the activities in spring is pruning. We try to begin spring pruning in February but it all depends on the weather. Since we are typically cold averse, it has to be above 30 degrees before we consider going into the vineyard to begin the first of the activities in the vineyard. This activity can take about a month so we are into March and sometimes April before all of the pruning is done.
2-Lowering Our Bird Nets

One thing that we did differently this year was to lower our bird nets and secure it with Velcro to our irrigation hose. We have always been meaning to do this because in past years, we are always pulling out shoots that have grown around the netting with their tendrils when they are left at a higher level on the trellis. This activity of pulling out the tendrils from the netting occupied most of the summer, with the last of the netting being lowered just in time for harvest! Not a very efficient use of time! We were able to lower the nets during March to mid-April.
3-Securing the Year's Fruiting Canes

This activity of securing the fruiting canes that were identified by pruning can take place concurrently with pruning so this year, we were done with pruning as well as laying down our fruiting canes by May 7th. Just in time for budbreak!
4-Shoot Removal

Soon after budbreak we are busy with shoot removal where we thin out the fruiting cane, leaving enough space between each shoot so that there is a good amount of airflow in the developling canopy.
5-Shoot Tucking

While we are busy with one area of the vineyard, doing shoot removal, other areas of the vineyard decide to grow uncontrollably. It wasn't too difficult this year since nearly every week we had a good amount of rain coupled with sunny (usually very hot and humid) weather. Shoots will grow!. There is nothing to do at this time but to suck it up and try our best at shoot removal and shoot tucking. Did I mention that it was easier to do this because our nets this year were no where near the growing canopy!
6-Hedging

Shoots are growing! While we shoot tuck we find ourselves needing to hedge! This year we had stellar help from our grandson who wielded an electric hedger. Along with my husband, they were able to hedge 5 rows of vines during the cool of the morning. Alas, our grandson had to go home but our granddaughter helped in other ways throughout the summer, lending a hand when needed and being in charge of mowing the vineyard!
7-Weeding and Deploying our Bird Nets

Now, we are at the present time. Last week, my husband weeded the vineyard and we raised the bird nests and deployed a few. The Auxerrois is the first to enter veraison, so those nets came down first and were closed with clothes pins and then the Chardonnay received the same treatment.
Although I categorized this marathon as a heptathlon, it can really be a decathlon since weeding occurs a few times during the growing season and mowing the vineyard is a weekly task. Next up is harvest!

2003 Robert Foley Claret

Recently, we had some friends over to celebrate a birthday. Our friend brought over this 2003 Robert Foley claret to pair with the pork loin roast that my husband made. Our other friend who is the queen of salad making brought over a delicious salad so the dinner came together quite seamlessly.
The 2003 Foley claret was delicious yet not unctious and was still tasting like a young wine, though it was now 20 year old! On the website Robert Foley Vineyards, provided some information about Robert Foley. His credentials include graduating from UC Davis in 1977 with a degree in Enology and Viticulture and working at Heitz. He is the founding winemaker of Markham Vineyards and Pride Mountain Vineyards. He began making his Robert Foley claret in 1998, which means that this bottle was his fifth vintage.
The wine was sparkling deep purple in the glass and had ample fruit but also cedar notes. Although the best pairing is with beef, the pork loin was a good foil. We all complimented our friend about how excellent the wine tasted!
One question I did have but could not find an answer to on the Robert Foley Website was about the label. It is so distinctive that I thought it must have a back story. Sadly, I could find no information about the label.
Update: I emailed Robert Foley asking about the back story on his wine label. He emailed me back! This is what he wrote: For the original label, 1998-2004 we used the Foley Family crest and coat of arms which includes the shield, helmet, pentafoils with the crest itself being the griffin atop the helmet. In 2005 we diminutized the label to be just the crest. We did a limited bottling of 20th Anniversary Claret and reverted to the old label.
It was so nice for Robert Foley to email me back! We further learned that his mother was raised in Milford, CT and lives there now. He also brought his harpsichord to Zuckerman's in Stonington to get it refurbished! I can only say that it is a very small world!

Chenin Blanc: Loire Valley

After two blogposts on the geology of the Loire river:

• Chenin Blanc: Geology of the Loire
• Chenin Blanc: Geology of the Three Major Geologic Regions

it's now time to focus on the Loire Valley, where the Loire empties into the Atlantic Ocean and where Chenin Blanc found it's home. Beginning at the Atlantic Ocean and traveling from west to east, the Loire can be broken up into three major regions: the lower region of Pays Nantais; the middle region of Anjou-Saumur and Touraine. The Centre region consists of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé.
Here is a beautiful map of the Loire Valley Wine Regions:¹

Geography, soil and climate are the elements that make up the Loire Valley’s terroir. The soil varies from region to region and has a large influence on grape varieties and vine growing practices, but our focus is on Chenin Blanc. The Chenin blancs of Vouvray, produced on soft white tuffeau limestone, are dramatically different in style and weight from the Chenin Blancs of Savennières, an appellation in the Anjou where the earth is covered with slate and other metamorphic rocks. Here is a brief overview of the appellations where Chenin Blanc is grown in the Loire and some of the producers that make Chenin Blanc.²
Anjou

• Savennières appellation:
• The soil here is purple and green schist. Schist both retains and reflects heat which stabilizes the vines and will also cause the roots to go deep to find the natural spring water that runs under these vineyards
• It is a small appellation comprising 360 acres of vineyard and 36 winemakers, and the yields are minimal, one of the lowest in all of France
• Producers to seek out:
  Domaine du Closel
  Coulée de Serrant
  Chateau d'Épiré
  Domaine aux Moines

Samur

• The soil in Samur is limestone. Limestone is excellent for water retention, and vines are under less stress here. This characteristic makes the wine a bit juicier while showing an intriguing mineral salinity.
• Producers to seek out for Sparkling Chenin:
  Bouvet-Ladubay
  Domaine de Filliatreau
  Gratien & Meyer
• Producers to seek out for still Chenin:
  Domaine Arnaud Lambert
  Domaine des Roches Neuves

Touraine

• Vouvray
• The soil here is predominantly clay (limestone-clay or siliceous-clay) soils. The complexity of the Chenin wine is perfectly expressed on these clay soils.
• Chenin Blanc in this appellation comes in many variations, sparkling, dry, and off-dry to sweet wines. The white wines of Vouvray, dry or not, have an aging potential of 10, 20 years, and more.
• Producers to seek out:
  Champalou
  Domaine Huet
  

References:
1. Loire Valley Wine Tour, The Loire Valley Appellations.
2. The Road to Wine, Chenin Blanc - A Loire Valley Introduction.
3. Jamie Brown, A Beginner’s Guide to the Loire Valley and Its Iconic Wines, Wine Enthusiast.
4. Jon-David Headrick Selections, Geologgy and Geography of the Loire.
5. The Wine Doctor, LOIRE VALLEY WINE GUIDE: CHENIN BLANC.
Val de Loire.

Vintage 2024: How Can It Be August!

It's already August. We are in leaf pulling mode and are working on the Auxerrois which are the first grapes to ripen.

We went to the vineyard around 9:30 today and immediately upon getting out of the car, we were hit with saunalike temperatures. Our granddaughter and I leaf pulled one row of Auxerrois and called it a day!