The cool spring has kept growth slow and steady and allowed us to keep up with all out vineyard tasks while gradually finishing all the planting.
We have almost all the Riesling in the ground now and most plants are pushing up shoots and leaves already. The quality of the Riesling vines was very good with large healthy roots on the rootstock. The sandy soil where the Riesling is planted holds water better than the rocky, gravelly soil of the Pinot Noir down below so initial recovery from the shock of being planted seems to be quicker than the Pinot Noir.
We finished planting the Pinot Noir about a month ago and already many of the plants have shoots pushing out of the milk cartons. Typically 5-10% of new plantings do not survive and will need to be planted again the following year. We only have around 3% showing no signs of growth at this point.
Our Gewurztraminer is healthier than we originally thought. Although winter damage was severe and in many cases resulted in trunk disease, we do have many plants that will give a light crop load this year. We will probably produce this ourselves as it will not have significant market value as grapes. With less than a ton of fruit we will likely be able to produce 30-40 cases.
The Merlot is also proving to be healthier than we originally thought. There is an area at the top of the plot where most plants are dead but most of the plot is alive and will produce a reasonable crop this year. We are toying with the idea of producing the Merlot ourselves as well. We have agressively shoot thinned and many plants only have 2 cluster on them. Shoot thinning is like helping the plant to choose it's favourite children and put all it's resources into growing and ripening them. The less shoots and clusters a plant has, the more energy is going into them and generally the higher quality they are. We expect to get around 1.25 tons of Merlot which will produce around 70 cases.
The older Riesling is very healthy and growing strongly. With the temperature climbing this week we will be busy tucking the shoots into the trellis wire to control where the growth is. I expect that by the end of the week most of the Riesling shoots will be above the top trellis wires.
We have gone through a couple of major infection periods for mildew in the last few weeks. With rain and moderate temperatures mildew can flourish in the leafy canopies. This is a major problem for growth and development this time of year. Most growers spray a cumulous sulpher spray to protect their vineyards during this time. Although we are not particularly interested in acquiring an organic designation, we do prefer to use sustainable, organic and even biodynamic techniques wherever possible. So far, with careful monitering we have not seen any significant signs of mildew infection and have avoided doing any sprays.
We expect to see flowering over the next few weeks. During this time it is important to minimize any activity in the vineyard. Spraying, shoot thinning and rain can all cause damage during flowering and ultimately effect the amount of fruit produced.
The rain has also delayed pouring of our crushpad in front of the winery. This should be completed in the next few days after which we can start putting the siding on the front of the winery building. The rolling door will also be installed following the concrete finishing.
The dogs have both been enjoying the cooler spring. Darby is enjoying lazy days sleeping in the sun on the deck then cooing off inside. Scruffy has been busy with pest control duties and has drastically reduced the local gopher population in the last month. He is also fighting an ongoing battle with mice that seem determined to have families under the trailer despite repeated eradication. We will have to watch for snakes in the vineyard as the weather warms up. We don't know yet how either dog will react when encountering them.
I finally had time to get a load of compost for the vegetable garden last week so we are ready to plant the seeds this week. We are looking forward to eating some garden fresh food in a few weeks time.
