Annual events

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Annual Vineyard Class

This class is for everyone who, while enjoying a glass of wine, has looked out across the vineyards and marveled at the whole scene. It's for those of you desirous of developing a greater appreciation of wine. Those of you who are thinking about planting a vineyard, or a few vines, will get the knowledge to plan your vineyard and also learn about the numerous other considerations essential to success.

If you are considering planting a small/backyard vineyard or even a larger one this class is for you. If you are a wine lover and and want to better understand what all goes into the bottle of wine that you enjoy with dinner then this class is for you too.

We will cover:

• Site Selection
• Ground Preparation
• Choosing the Appropriate Rootstock
• Variety Considerations
• How to Plant a Vine to Give it the Best Chance for Growing
• Propagating Vines From Cuttings
• Field Grafting or Bench Grafting - What's Better (How to do Both)
• Planning the Layout of the Vineyard for Success and Productivity
• Choosing the Right Trellis System for Your Site
• Row Orientation North South or East West
• Materials and Hardware for the Trellis
• Sources of Plants and Vineyard Hardware
• Training Vines From Year One to Maturity
• Cultivation or No Cultivation - Which is Best For Your Site
• Cover Crop Considerations
• Prevention of Diseases and Disorders
• Pest Control - Vertebrate and Avian
• How to Design an irrigation System (5 ft./second rule)
• Heat Summation During the Nominal Growing Season
• Tools You Need
• Pruning - Form is Everything (almost)
• Economics of Grape Growing
• The Joy of Having a Vineyard

All of you have gone wine tasting. Driving through the country, looking for vineyards and then keeping your eyes peeled for the winery. You've all been curious about the vineyard. Why are the vines spaced that way? How do they get them to grow the way they want to? What's involved in their care? What kind of varieties do they decide to plant? Why are some areas preferable to others for grapes? How many bottles could you get from a single grapevine? When do they decide to pick? One question leads to the next. Sometimes you have even heard different answers to these questions. It can be confusing. What is really right?

I'll answer these questions and give you a practical, nuts and bolts, approach to planting grapevines. From beginning to end whether you want some vines for landscaping or a small vineyard for home wine production.

Of course there will be much more and the class flows well so sometimes people forget to take notes because it all sounds like common sense when you hear it.

Be prepared to walk around outside and for a generally cool environment in the winery.

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Annual Barrell class

Over the years, so many people have expressed their wonder about the craft of cooperage. Like, "Isn't it remarkable that it doesn't leak?" or "How can all those pieces of wood stay together without nails or screws or glue?" And my favorite: "Simply amazing!"

At this class, you will learn all of the terminology of barrels and their parts, their care, and their use; and why, after all these years, they are still the best thing for most wines.

Home winemakers and lovers of the lore of wine think this class is great. If you have ever wondered about barrels and their value to the wine industry, you will get a deeper appreciation, not only for the vessel itself, but for wine in general.

• Who are the "cellar rats" and what does "racking" or "topping up" mean?
• If you want to buy a barrel, what are the things you should look for?
• Are Bordeaux or Burgundy barrels better?
• What is better, French or American Oak?
• How should you care for a barrel after you get it?
• What is the best size barrel to use?

During this class, I will remove the heads (ends) of a barrel, shave the inside, toast it, and put it back together - and it won't leak. Once you see this, you will be infinitely more confident in the care and keeping of your barrels. If you are a wine lover, you will have a much deeper appreciation for the art of wine.

I suggest you bring a pencil and notebook, and also a camera, if you like.

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Annual harvest

You have a chance to join this fun event, join our mailing list!

We need around sixty volunteers to get the job done.
If you decide you'd like to help you need to bring pruning shears to cut the bunches of grapes off the vines.

It is usually much cooler in the early morning than it will be by lunch time so you may wish to wear a sweatshirt and then later change to a light weight shirt. Long sleeves can protect your arms from getting scratched by the vines. Sunscreen and a hat are optional. Bring a blanket or chair to enjoy your lunch on as we don't have enough chairs. When you get here I will explain how to pick the grapes.

Hopefully we will all be able to start work by 8:30 and we should finish by lunchtime or just a little later. If you finish your row please stay in the vineyard and help those who haven't finished and that way we can all stop work at the same time and enjoy lunch together.

Things to bring:

1. Sun screen
2. Hat
3. Old light weight long sleeved shirt
4. Cotton work gloves (some people don't like them)
5. Favorite pruning snips (shears)
6. Shoes you can work in the vineyard in
7. Camera to prove to your friends that you don't always sit behind a
   desk

We will enjoy lunch that we are prepare here at the winery. Those of you who have been here for lunch know you are in for a treat.

Read more below!

Cabernet Sauvignon Harvest

On October 13th a sizable group of terrific volunteers picked a good portion of the Cabernet - 14 tons! I think that was a record for us or certainly close to the record.

Now the remaining grapes have increased slightly in sugar content and the additional two weeks of "hang time" will add to the complexity of the final mix of the '07 Cab. The grapes are absolutely beautiful and there is no question that they are vintage quality. Veterans of the Chardonnay and the Zin will recall some selective picking and leaving grapes that were not that good on the vine.

We have 68 rows with 57 vines in each row. We have already picked half of each of the first 48 rows plus a little more. Now we need to finish. It is quite easy to pick with one person on each side of the row. That way you don't have to crawl through the trellis to get to the grapes on the other side of the vine.Two people can pick a half row in about three hours.

If you can start at 8:00 in the morning or no later than 9:00 we will finish and then we will have a great lunch. The weather is supposed to be cool, in the 70's, according to the agricultural weather news I subscribe to.
At one o'clock we will enjoy lunch that we are prepare here at the winery. Those of you who have been here for lunch know you are in for a treat.

While we are picking there will be water and soft drinks available in the vineyard. Our wines will be served with lunch. Everybody who helps all morning will take home six bottles of a delicious red wine we call Tourniquet Red. It is a Meritage blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines grown produced and bottled here. It is one of the best red wines in California, possibly the Western Hemisphere, maybe even the world.

On Saturday, October13th there were 102 wonderful people who showed up to pick Cabernet grapes. We finished about 1:00 and had lunch and those who could stay a while simply enjoyed the afternoon and watched they grapes that they picked get crushed. The most crucial thing was to keep the pickers supplied with empty buckets. The transporting and crushing of the grapes could barely keep up with that many volunteers.

Karen and I have a wonderful time working with you and making the experience a fun and educational one for you.
Hoping to hear from you!

Tom

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