Bud Break!

Javier & Marie Get Started on Vintage 2008
Spring is upon us, with Cherry Blossoms in the orchard and Bud Break in the vineyard.  In our Journey to Harvest column this year, we’re following the lives of two individual vines here at MacLeod Family Vineyard – we’ve named them Marie and Javier.  Last month, an argument arose between the vines with Javier complaining that Marie always gets to give her report first.  I ruled that from now on we would alternate each month.  But before we turn to their reports I have to dispose of another crisis.  Our hive of bees, that plays such a critical role in our cherry crop, inexplicably disappeared right before bloom time. Making phone calls like crazy, I finally found a bee keeper who would ‘loan’ me two hives for bloom time. We set up a special wooden pallet in the middle of the cherry orchard for them, and the bee keeper insisted that the bees have an unobstructed view of the morning sun and be tilted forward just so.  Apparently tilt and morning sun are big issues with the bee family.  Trying to run this ranch and vineyard is more an exercise in taking care of the emotional issues than farming!

Now for the vineyard report by Javier and Marie.  Readers do not forget that this year the vineyard reports are written by the vines them selves.  We are interpreting what is going on from the viewpoint of our vines.  Perhaps weird but all of us can stand a different point of view.

Javier de los Zinfandel Report:
“As promised last month Chuey did indeed bring four of his most expert pruners to help all us Zinfandel vines develop the proper canopy design.   And a nice job if I do say so plus they were so cheerful and positive doing this critical work.  I am always touched and impressed by the Latino crews when they do this difficult vineyard work for us with their cheerfulness and humor.  I know if I were doing it I would not be so cheerful.

“But more importantly I want to tell you about a visitor the Old Patron brought out to see us last week.  He was the grape buyer and vineyard manager for one of the very best wineries in Sonoma and Napa Counties and was looking for more Zinfandel grapes.  He stood right next to me so I was able to hear him tell the Patron, ‘this vineyard with its great hillside location, lean rocky soils, the right clone all combined with the new head pruning training has the opportunity to be really one of the great Zinfandel sites.  But there needs to be a lot of work done.  First you have to get rid of all these metal stakes, cross arms, and wire left over from the old cordon pruning system.  Then you have to get rid of and haul to a disposal site all these gross fungicide injected green end posts.  Once you have cleaned out all of this debris, bring in some great new or used split redwood vine stakes one for each vine.  I can visualize the beauty of the finished vineyard and its potential for really great grapes.’  He and the Patron drifted off beyond earshot. I hope the Patron follows up and does not drop the ball.  What a chance for greatness and fame for all of us.  Since that afternoon several weeks ago, this has been all we Zinfandel vines have talked about.

Marie Sauvignon Le Blanc:
“Well the pruners finally did arrive and of course with their awful portable potties.  But I will say that they were very business like and did a good job.  I was impressed that they painted each of our pruning wounds with plastic like white paint.  This protects us from airborne spores of the dreaded disease Eutypa.  These spores cause a cancer like canker that can be fatal.  Nice work Chuey.

All our buds – each of us has plus or minus 50- are now swelling and showing first a white cotton like line separating the two halves, then the hint of pink all gradually expanding until the first suggestion of green.  In human terms this is like being pregnant fifty times all at the same time.  To me even after all these years there is the pure miracle of it.  Believe it or not, inside each of my buds are the tiny cells that in turn will be one or two bunches of grapes.  And even more impressive these cells were formed last year during the early part of the growing season.  Talk about mass conception.  To me it’s as if I have been pregnant for almost a year!

“I can also note that Chuey got busy and mowed the high grass and (sadly) the beautiful yellow orange wild flowers in the rows between our vines.  This is very important to us as the Patron has been so cheap that he has never put in a frost protection system for us.  We have to depend on the fact that the cold air of a frosty night moves by gravity down our hill slope to low lying areas.  This mowing is highly critical as high grass keeps the air from freely moving down hill.  Several years ago the Patron was trying to grow Bell Beans to add nitrogen to our soil.  He did not mow them down in time so when we had a frosty night the cold killed about half of our young tender crop.  After this experience I heard him say `We grow old so fast and smart so slow!’

And to end my report on a positive note I overheard the Patron and Chuey saying that all of our potential crop has already been sold to some pretty first class wineries well known for great Sauvignon Blanc.  We vines expect nothing less.  Next month we might have a good report for Javier.