harvest reports
The Story Inside the Story - Viticulture and Winemaking Update
April 13, 2004 - Invisible Plantings
To My Friends:
In this time of grape glut and case good oversupply, there is an invisible planting and replanting going on in some of the most serious appellations and best vineyards. Astute growers and wineries are taking advantage of these down times to redesign and upgrade parts of their vineyards in order to produce quality on par with anywhere in the world. In most of these cases, we are talking about retooling with closer spacing, growth-restricting rootstocks and clones that produce fine flavors and textures. At the same time, environmental concerns are being addressed so that these vineyards have less impact on the land. These replantings are not cheap. They tend to cost anywhere from two to three times more than the original installation. This is the investment that must be made if we are going to compete globally.
At Benziger Family Winery on Sonoma Mountain, we have three new blocks of grapes being planted in 2004. A block of Cabernet Sauvignon, 4 acres with one meter by one meter spacing, a block of Cabernet Franc 1.5 acres, using our own in-house clone which has produced excellent wines and a block of Zinfandel 1.5 acres with an unusual clone planted on traditional St. George rootstock which is head trained. Some grapes from these blocks will be available to use in 2007.
The weather this year continues to be summer-like. March was the all time warmest on record in Northern California. Our landscapes and vineyards look like mid-May, not mid-April. Think of this like the Mets winning the first 12 games of the year. It raises your eyebrows, but there are still 150 games to go. More...
New Cabernet Sauvignon block at the Benziger Family Ranch. One meter by one meter spacing.
Benchgrafts being planted at Benziger. Rootstock below. Variety above the knuckle. These are already one year old.
Later, Mike