The fruit is picked!! Thanks so much, volunteers. You really make owning a small vineyard not only possible, but fun. I might not make as much money as a doctor or lawyer, but thanks to your support and encouragement, I feel enough respect to make up for it.
After the fruit was picked, we took it up in a refrigerated truck (sans refrigeration cause it broke) to Mocksville. We crushed and destemmed and pumped it to a tank where it macerated for approx 4 days. Yesterday, I turned off the chiller to let the must warm up to prepare it for inoculation, but by the time I was pumping over this morning, it still wasn't very warm. I put the yeast in, along with some nutrients, and pumped over for 5 more minutes. When I left the winery this afternoon, the thermometer still said 59, and that's a little low for my tastes. I hope to come in tomorrow and see proof of inoculation. It could take a while to get going because the final spray we put on (3 weeks before harvest) was still quite visible on the grapes.
But I'll keep you update. Pictures to come I swear!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Harvest time!!
These past few weeks have been stressful, to say the least. After a month of little rain and hot temperatures, we've had about three weeks of moderate temps and rain almost twice a week! Some days in July were so hot that it was difficult for the plants to produce fruit. Consequently, we started running low on food about three weeks afterwards. It wasn't quite time for us to plant the fall garden, so, basically, we've been experiencing a shortage of food. We've decided to close the farm stand to the public until later in the fall. If you'd like to purchase any food, just email us and we'll get an order together for you.
The grapes will be harvested tomorrow!!! On Wednesday, the brix were at 21, so hopefully they'll be at 22 by Saturday. It's actually been a little cool for my tastes recently. I think we'll have good acid this year, but I wish the brix were a little higher. The reason we're picking now is because it seems like there will be a few rainy days ahead. The seeds are dark brown and crunchy, the sugar is ok, and I know that waiting longer could just allow the grapes to go bad. If there's one thing I've learned through growing grapes, it's that 'waiting for perfection' is an unattainable goal. In agriculture, the act of waiting can be very dangerous. It's like that bird in the hand proverb: grapes in the winery are worth more than grapes hanging on the vine.
Dad and I are going up to Raylen this morning to pick up our harvesting bins, then over to Charlotte to get refrigerated trucks. The employees are coming in at 1 to sharpen the clippers, wash picking baskets, and start taking the nets off. We'll start picking at 6am. We'll need all the help we can get tomorrow, so if you're free, come out for a few hours. We culled the grapes while still on the vine, so it should go fairly quickly.
I'll post the results of the harvest as soon as I get the results from the lab. Happy Autumn everyone! It's almost time to relax.
The grapes will be harvested tomorrow!!! On Wednesday, the brix were at 21, so hopefully they'll be at 22 by Saturday. It's actually been a little cool for my tastes recently. I think we'll have good acid this year, but I wish the brix were a little higher. The reason we're picking now is because it seems like there will be a few rainy days ahead. The seeds are dark brown and crunchy, the sugar is ok, and I know that waiting longer could just allow the grapes to go bad. If there's one thing I've learned through growing grapes, it's that 'waiting for perfection' is an unattainable goal. In agriculture, the act of waiting can be very dangerous. It's like that bird in the hand proverb: grapes in the winery are worth more than grapes hanging on the vine.
Dad and I are going up to Raylen this morning to pick up our harvesting bins, then over to Charlotte to get refrigerated trucks. The employees are coming in at 1 to sharpen the clippers, wash picking baskets, and start taking the nets off. We'll start picking at 6am. We'll need all the help we can get tomorrow, so if you're free, come out for a few hours. We culled the grapes while still on the vine, so it should go fairly quickly.
I'll post the results of the harvest as soon as I get the results from the lab. Happy Autumn everyone! It's almost time to relax.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Whew!
I don't know if you remember last year's epic mission with the netting of the vineyard, but I must say that compared to last year, this year has been a delight! Thanks to making all those mistakes last year and to my time netting the vineyard near Melbourne, we will probably finish netting the vineyard (including prep-work) in exactly one week! The extremely hot weather these past few weeks has pushed veraison up even further than it was last year. The early bud break and mild May meant that the grapes grew fast and happily. The next to last week of June, I saw my first Chambourcin start to turn color. I thought this must be a mistake. Is it a disease? or virus? But no, the grapevines were fine. They were just ready to turn a little early.
Thus, my family and employees jumped into gear. I didn't have to beg to have the vineyard sprayed or mowed one last time before netting, I didn't have to explain the need for netting, and all the employees were able to work extra long hours on sweltering afternoons.
We used an old basketball goal (courtesy of a Sundrop Promotional Toy cerca 1985) on the back of our ATV to feed the net up and over the rows. Most of the little cups we put over the posts last year to facilitate the snag-less dispersion of the nets were brittle and broken, so we just took them off. Turns out, the corners of our 2x4 supports aren't that bad. The nets slid right over. Plus, our canopy is much crazier than last year and that crazy canopy is helping to keep the nets away from the fruiting zone. We didn't get much of a chance to position our shoots, plus laterals never really broke and we decided after last year's sunburnt crop not to leaf pluck. We got a lot more shade this year, and hopefully better fruit. Killing multiple birds with one stone!
So I guess we're to the count down to harvest. I must get my affairs in order and make sure all the other crops are well prepared for my future lack of attention. I hope we don't get too much rain between now and then. I don't really know how we'd spray the vines with the nets on. This super early harvest might be a blessing in that we get to pick all the fruit before we put in the fall garden. I just hope I get all the paperwork and permits in time. I wasn't planning on needing the paperwork until the last week of August. We'll use the same basic vintage plan as last year for the majority of the Chambourcin, but I'll be trying some extended maceration batches and natural fermentations in the back of the grocery store just to see how it goes. I don't know if we'll have any white this year. Pierce's Disease has pretty much affected every single Vidal blanc vine we have. We'll probably be replanting the rest of the vineyard this upcoming winter and spring. It breaks my heart to see the little grapevines scorched and withered, but I know there's nothing I can do for them, so out they go. Onwards and upwards for a new variety of white which will hopefully make as good a wine as the Vidal made last year.
I still don't have a camera, so sorry for the lack of pictures. I got a disposable one (yep! they still exist!) so, when I got those photos developed, I'll put them up.
Thus, my family and employees jumped into gear. I didn't have to beg to have the vineyard sprayed or mowed one last time before netting, I didn't have to explain the need for netting, and all the employees were able to work extra long hours on sweltering afternoons.
We used an old basketball goal (courtesy of a Sundrop Promotional Toy cerca 1985) on the back of our ATV to feed the net up and over the rows. Most of the little cups we put over the posts last year to facilitate the snag-less dispersion of the nets were brittle and broken, so we just took them off. Turns out, the corners of our 2x4 supports aren't that bad. The nets slid right over. Plus, our canopy is much crazier than last year and that crazy canopy is helping to keep the nets away from the fruiting zone. We didn't get much of a chance to position our shoots, plus laterals never really broke and we decided after last year's sunburnt crop not to leaf pluck. We got a lot more shade this year, and hopefully better fruit. Killing multiple birds with one stone!
So I guess we're to the count down to harvest. I must get my affairs in order and make sure all the other crops are well prepared for my future lack of attention. I hope we don't get too much rain between now and then. I don't really know how we'd spray the vines with the nets on. This super early harvest might be a blessing in that we get to pick all the fruit before we put in the fall garden. I just hope I get all the paperwork and permits in time. I wasn't planning on needing the paperwork until the last week of August. We'll use the same basic vintage plan as last year for the majority of the Chambourcin, but I'll be trying some extended maceration batches and natural fermentations in the back of the grocery store just to see how it goes. I don't know if we'll have any white this year. Pierce's Disease has pretty much affected every single Vidal blanc vine we have. We'll probably be replanting the rest of the vineyard this upcoming winter and spring. It breaks my heart to see the little grapevines scorched and withered, but I know there's nothing I can do for them, so out they go. Onwards and upwards for a new variety of white which will hopefully make as good a wine as the Vidal made last year.
I still don't have a camera, so sorry for the lack of pictures. I got a disposable one (yep! they still exist!) so, when I got those photos developed, I'll put them up.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
David Goforth's Peaches!
We have peaches from David Goforth (Cabarrus Co. extension worker)!! They are delicious. Come get some today! We might even have plums and blackberries...
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Farm Stand Open for Business!
We're opening up the farm stand tomorrow! Hours will be Monday-Friday 11-6! We'll have a whole array of late spring and summer veggies. Let us know if there's something specific that you want and we'll reserve it for you (like fennel or swiss chard which are hard to keep fresh all day).
Look forward to seeing you! Let us know if you want us to bring you up some wine to try!
Look forward to seeing you! Let us know if you want us to bring you up some wine to try!
Monday, May 28, 2012
It's an early Summer
It's been a while since I've posted, but trust me, we've been hard at work. We've doubled the size of the garden from last year and we're doing it with one less employee, so needless to say, it's been a taxing few weeks. The weeds have taken over, but we're starting to get control of everything again. I have hopes that in two weeks, we'll be back on schedule and have a tolerable level of weeds!
The vineyard is looking amazing. We've been spot on for the spray schedule so far and kept the black rot at bay. The thing about black rot is that the berries become immune to it as they grow, so about 4 weeks after flowering, we don't have to worry about losing our crop any more! But the leaves can still get black rot, and if we lose too many leaves, we can't ripen the crop, so we're not out of the dark yet. Last year, we got a great hail storm about this time as well. The threat of severe weather can take various forms and ruin a season in only a few minutes. As someone told me today- "I don't count my chickens until those grapes are in the picking bins!"
The grapes themselves are looking large. Because we got some hot, dry weather during flowering and berry formation, some of the clusters are a little spotty. In spite of that, I think I'd rather have spotty clusters than dense, tight, disease-prone clusters. It looks like we're about to stage 31 to 33 of the phenological development (page 5) so we're preparing for an early season. We'll be spraying the kaolin clay soon to slow down the growth and development of the little buggers. I'd better order some extra nets now! I got a lot of great new ideas for the netting in Australia, so we'll try to get it on in time this year.
We'll hopefully be opening up the farm stand in the next two weeks with all of our produce as well as introducing David Goforth's peaches. Until then, stop by the Elizabeth Ave Market or 4758 Poplar Tent Rd on Saturday from 9-12 and pick up the last of the lettuce, broccoli, kale, kholrabi, and fennel.
I lost my camera last weekend, so pictures will be slow in coming. Sorry!
The vineyard is looking amazing. We've been spot on for the spray schedule so far and kept the black rot at bay. The thing about black rot is that the berries become immune to it as they grow, so about 4 weeks after flowering, we don't have to worry about losing our crop any more! But the leaves can still get black rot, and if we lose too many leaves, we can't ripen the crop, so we're not out of the dark yet. Last year, we got a great hail storm about this time as well. The threat of severe weather can take various forms and ruin a season in only a few minutes. As someone told me today- "I don't count my chickens until those grapes are in the picking bins!"
The grapes themselves are looking large. Because we got some hot, dry weather during flowering and berry formation, some of the clusters are a little spotty. In spite of that, I think I'd rather have spotty clusters than dense, tight, disease-prone clusters. It looks like we're about to stage 31 to 33 of the phenological development (page 5) so we're preparing for an early season. We'll be spraying the kaolin clay soon to slow down the growth and development of the little buggers. I'd better order some extra nets now! I got a lot of great new ideas for the netting in Australia, so we'll try to get it on in time this year.
We'll hopefully be opening up the farm stand in the next two weeks with all of our produce as well as introducing David Goforth's peaches. Until then, stop by the Elizabeth Ave Market or 4758 Poplar Tent Rd on Saturday from 9-12 and pick up the last of the lettuce, broccoli, kale, kholrabi, and fennel.
I lost my camera last weekend, so pictures will be slow in coming. Sorry!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Back from Tasmania!
Hi Everyone! Last time I posted, I was going down to Australia to work in a winery. After working in the first vineyard and winery, my boyfriend and I moved to Tasmania to work for Bay of Fires Winery . This experience was great. They produce some very interesting wines. My favourites were the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris. Working at a larger-scale place will no doubt help us produce more consistent, well-made wines in the future. I also have a better understanding of winery logistics and design.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, mom and dad were doing a great job of managing the farm and vineyard. Mom was out at Poplar Tent every Saturday (except one) selling veggies, and Dad made sure that all the tractor work was done on time! It's great to see their passion and skills in farming grow.
The season so far has been a busy one. Remember when it got cold around Easter? Well, our little grapevine buds had already broken, and sadly, the Vidals suffered quite a bit of frost damage. A good half of them lost their primary growth. Lucky for grapevines and for us, there are secondary buds, which break if the primary growth is destroyed or removed. We'll probably harvest the Vidal twice this year- pick the grapes that didn't get frosted, and then pick the grapes from the secondary growth a few weeks later.
The Chambourcin is looking great. They experienced very little frost damage. We're looking forward to a great crop off of them this year. The dry weather we have right now is perfect for ensuring great flavours in the berries.
Of course, as luck would have it, our lawn mower is broken. Please don't judge us in our messy landscapes right now. It won't affect the quality of the produce. It might even make it better, in that the vines have to compete with the tall grasses. Fingers crossed for a quick recovery for our beloved zero-turn.
On the veggie side of things, The Community Supported Agriculture starts next week! I think we'll be having some kale, swiss chard, salad mix, spring onions, and rosemary. We've got a lot of weeding to do in the next few weeks, but I think that we're up for the challenge. I can't wait to get our customers out there with us and to share our passion of great food that's good for the earth.
If you're interested in joining our CSA, just let me know. I can send you an email with all the info. We still have about 5 spaces left, so grab them while you can!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, mom and dad were doing a great job of managing the farm and vineyard. Mom was out at Poplar Tent every Saturday (except one) selling veggies, and Dad made sure that all the tractor work was done on time! It's great to see their passion and skills in farming grow.
The season so far has been a busy one. Remember when it got cold around Easter? Well, our little grapevine buds had already broken, and sadly, the Vidals suffered quite a bit of frost damage. A good half of them lost their primary growth. Lucky for grapevines and for us, there are secondary buds, which break if the primary growth is destroyed or removed. We'll probably harvest the Vidal twice this year- pick the grapes that didn't get frosted, and then pick the grapes from the secondary growth a few weeks later.
The Chambourcin is looking great. They experienced very little frost damage. We're looking forward to a great crop off of them this year. The dry weather we have right now is perfect for ensuring great flavours in the berries.
Of course, as luck would have it, our lawn mower is broken. Please don't judge us in our messy landscapes right now. It won't affect the quality of the produce. It might even make it better, in that the vines have to compete with the tall grasses. Fingers crossed for a quick recovery for our beloved zero-turn.
On the veggie side of things, The Community Supported Agriculture starts next week! I think we'll be having some kale, swiss chard, salad mix, spring onions, and rosemary. We've got a lot of weeding to do in the next few weeks, but I think that we're up for the challenge. I can't wait to get our customers out there with us and to share our passion of great food that's good for the earth.
If you're interested in joining our CSA, just let me know. I can send you an email with all the info. We still have about 5 spaces left, so grab them while you can!
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| A beautiful, healthy Vidal blanc vine |
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| Frost-damaged vines |
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| Frozen Clusters :( |
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| Maybe they'll break bud again? |
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