The Challenge- Old Vine Zinfandel

Old Vine Zinfandel is by far the vine that has the most character. Gnarly and slightly pre-historic looking winemakers love them for their concentrated fruit and high quality, low yields. Grape growers find them difficult to manage as they require a lot of hands on work in order to preserve them. The challenge for vineyard managers is maintaining these vines so that they will produce great crops for years to come.  Old vines are grown on what is called a head pruning system. As the name indicates the vines are pruned in the shape of a head, creating a canopy with an open center that shields the fruit from direct sunlight, but also encourages light air flow to prevent mold or rot.  Almost all old vines are planted to St. George rootstock so they are resistant to diseases such as Phylloxera. On the other hand these vines are expensive to maintain as all work must be done by hand and yields very rarely top 2 tons an acre. Money spent towards labor almost never outweighs income when the fruit is finally picked and tons per acre is determined. During harvest, old vine zinfandel is the most difficult block to pick as the vines only sit about 3 feet high.  It is not rare for pickers to have to be on their knees to get off all the fruit.
Zinfandel traditionally ripens unevenly so growers and winemakers are especially challenged with determining when to pick. If growers decide to let the grapes hang to ensure even ripening winemakers must then have to deal with a wine that could eventually be higher in alcohol then desired. Picking too early leaves winemakers with unripe fruit, contributing unwanted flavors to the wine. Catch 22? I think so.
We currently have 2 blocks of old vine zinfandel; one we pick and sell to Williams Selyem for their vineyard designate and the other we pick under the John Tyler label. Recognized as a significant part of the history of grape growing and winemaking in Sonoma County, Zinfandel is uniquely California. As growers we hope to preserve our small portion of this important and distinctive varietal.

The hunt for the light brown apple moth

Similar to Sean Connery’s character in the Hunt for Red October where he plays a  captain on the hunt for a superior Soviet nuclear submarine, I too am on the hunt for dangerous pest; the light brown apple moth (LBAM).  For those not familiar with the LBAM it is an exotic pest native to Australia. These moths pose a serious threat to our environments ecology, beauty and agricultural productivity- not just in California but nationwide.  What makes protection against these moths so difficult is that they have few natural enemies in the U.S. and re-produce at a rapid pace. LBAMS feed on grapevines at all stages of their life cycle; overwintering larvae may feed on buds causing injured buds to fail in further development. During bloom, larvae may feed on flower clusters and after verasion feeding damage on the berries may allow rot organisms to infect fruit. Pheromone traps are the most efficient and reliable methods for trapping male adults but monitoring agricultural areas on a regular basis can help prevent their spread.

I’ve taken on the task to do LBAM monitoring at our three vineyard locations. Forms can be downloaded from the IPM website which provides you with everything from pest management guidelines to weekly monitoring sheets.  Now that the vineyards are into their berry set stage it’s important to examine the leaves and clusters for the webbed nests constructed by the larvae.  The website suggests monitoring several blocks in each vineyard on a weekly basis. If you suspect the presence of the LBAM it is important to notify your State department of agriculture or APHIS. You can find a listing of those contacts  here. Let’s all do our part to protect our vineyards and our country’s agriculture!

Ever wonder how a vineyard gets its start?

There are so many great things about spring time; sunny weather, Bbq’s, days at the beach and planting fresh vegetables to be enjoyed all summer long. With spring the opportunity also comes to plant a new vineyard. Starting a vineyard from scratch takes not only a lot of advanced planning but time, and of course a little financial investment. I went out in the vineyard with my dad and grandfather so he could take me through some of the meticulous steps.

This specific block that we are re-planting is about 2.0 acres. The first vineyard planted here was in 1964. We pulled those vines out in 1980 because they were starting to show their age and dropping in production. We then planted it for a second time but the vines developed phylloxera and started to die off suddenly. Two years ago we decided to start with a clean slate and pulled out all the existing vines. Hopefully the third time is a charm.

 So far we have prepared the ground, laid out our drip irrigation system and put in our stakes. We use vine spacing that is 11 x 6, which means that the rows are 11 feet wide and the space between each vine is 6 feet. The larger area used for planting a single vine enables that vine to have more room to grow and extract water from a bigger region, cutting down on the amount of water used to irrigate.  With this spacing we have estimated about 660 vines per acre with the total planting being around 1,480 individual vines. We use many different types of rootstock on the ranch but for this particular block  we are using the St. George rootstock.  I like St. George because it is a tough and hardy rootstock that is disease resistant. It is critical to start out with a strong rootstock to ensure a healthy vine in the long run. We purchased the rootstock from a nursery in Winters and have been keeping it packed in sawdust, moist and cool until we plant it. It is very important that once the rootstock leaves the nursery that the roots are kept moist or the vines will die before they are even planted. To prepare for the planting we take each individual rootstock, (that’s 1,480!) trim the top and the sides. The trimming of the sides will help to reduce the possibility of suckers growing next year. Newly planted rootstocks have a tendency to want to grow in several different places where they are not budded. This makes for more clean up work and labor after the vines begin to grow.

We dig a hole about 18 inches deep and plant the rootstock, its as simple as that. At this point because they are fairly sensitive we usually cover them with a milk carton to protect them from direct sunlight and extremely cold conditions. Now it’s a waiting game. We will wait until Fall when the wood on the rootstock hardens and then bud the rootstock with budwood from our own vineyard. Ever wonder how vineyards get expanded with the same type of grapes? We will take the budwood from an existing vineyard, mostly likely the Wente clone and bud it on to our newly planted rootstock. A fall budding will enable us to transplant the bud directly from the existing vineyard to our new rootstock, ensuring a higher level of success. We will do occasional updates of this vineyard and its various stages so check back soon! 

~ John Bacigalupi

Pinot pioneers

 Russian River Valley is known for producing some of the best pinot noir in the world. However the sensation did not happen over night. At Bacigalupi Vineyards we have some of the oldest pinot noir clones in Sonoma and Napa County. In John Winthrop Haeger’s book North American Pinot Noir , John documents about how my grandfather, Charles first came to know this famous grape of Burgundy.

 The first well documented planting of pinot around the Russian River occurred in the 1960’s, as it did in the southern Central Coast area. Early in the decade Bob Sisson, the University of California farm adviser for Sonoma- mindful of the heat summation studies done by Albert Winkler and Maynard Amerine in the 1940’s- began advising Russian River growers to try chardonnay and pinot noir in place of zinfandel. Several growers heeded Sisson’s advice, including Charles Bacigalupi, who owned vineyard on Westside Road. Bacigalupi had never heard of chardonnay or pinot noir before Sisson brought them to his attention, and claims he had to write down the names to keep from forgetting them. Eventually, he obtained pinot noir budwood from Karl Wente, probably from Wente’s new increase block in Arroyo Seco, but Bacigalupi remembers Wente telling him that the stock had come from France via the family’s old vineyard in Livermore.

From that  humble beginning my grandfather expanded his knowledge of the pinot varietal and experimented with several clones and planting locations. We now grow 6 different clones all in the Russian River Valley. Each clone has it’s own distinction both on the vine and in the glass. Here is a little bit about each clone;

Wente - easily my favorite because of it’s history and bright purple color when it’s picked into the bins at harvest. Originally brought over by the Wente family from France in 1912 the clone slowly made its way around several Livermore vineyards until it was certified by UC Davis. Because the most common clone planted of chardonnay is also called Wente this often causes some confusion but yes, Wente is also a clone of pinot noir as well. Our oldest block of pinot is planted to the Wente clone and dates back to 1968. Wente clones tend to be earlier ripeners and are usually harvested first. In wines they are known for producing great flavor profiles and color.

Pommard - The only clone in the Davis repertoire whose origin is cuttings taken directly from a producing European vineyard. The majority of our vineyards planted to Pommard is the original clone, UCD 4 known for producing wines with intense fruit,  mdeium spice and good mid palate complexity.

Dijon- Dijon clones are the most recent and best documented imports from France. We currently have 3 different generic selections of the Dijon clone; 115, 667 and 777. Clone 115 is said to have been selected in Burgundy primarily for its consistency of production. Clones with the higher numbers - 667 and 777  are often appreciated for their impressive fruit concentration and have created great enthusiasm with more recent availability.

Wadenswil- (pronounced Wad-ens-ville) originates from Switzerland and was imported to the US in the 1950’s. Several collections of this clone are planted widely but 2A is the clone that we produce, prized mostly for it’s high-toned berry fruit and notable perfume.

Our range of clones allows us  to experiment in both the vineyard and in production as far as what clone and planting location work the best. In 2007 we changed up our program a little and harvested the Wente and Pommard clones separately, after having blending the two on past vintages.  We plan to bottle them as individual lots this summer….. so stay tuned!

Spring it on!

 

Mustard time

 If you’ve driven through wine country lately there is probably something in the vineyards that you have noticed. This is the time of year that mustard plants are thriving in the vineyards. Their colors in the setting of the vineyards are particularly beautiful but did you know that there is also a benefit to using mustard plants in the vineyard. I sat down with my dad, John Bacigalupi and talked with him about the advantages.

“You can actually eat the bloom of the plant. It’s kind of hot and spicy like eating a radish. My understanding is it started out as a government subsidy to farmers who planted mustard in their vineyards. The tap root (a long root) of the mustard plant would open up the soil and aerate it. The plant produces a great amount of green matter that would be disked into the soil to replace organic matter. Farmers have been experimenting with planting mustard in vineyards for many years to get the natural chemicals from the plant into the soil and lower the Nematode counts. Nematodes are microscopic worms that live in the soil; some are beneficial and some are harmful and can carry diseases. We use mustard as a cover crop in several of the vineyards that tend to have more nutrient deficient soils. The plants will be present in the vineyards through late March.”

Every year the Napa Valley Mustard Festival celebrates the mustard plant featuring fine foods, local wines and of course all kinds of mustard.

Spending some time with the owls

It is hard to believe that it is January with all the beautiful weather we have been having recently. This weekend my dad and I set out to accomplish the very messy but important job of cleaning out the owl boxes. In keep with our sustainable farming practices, a few years ago my dad hand crafted 6 owl boxes and put them at the Frost Ranch vineyard. Using owls as a natural predator to help manage pest populations in the vineyard is not a new idea but with the increasing popularity and importance of sustainable and organic farming the use of this technique has increased. Hawks, bats and owls are beneficial predators that hunt unwanted rodents in the vineyard, reducing the need to use pesticides.

Annual cleaning of owl boxes is a small time frame, usually between Nov- Jan. Using gloves is a must and if you run into an owl while cleaning try to disturb them as little as possible. Today we did not run into any owls but there was evidence that they had been used, which is exiting! As you may imagine a strong stomach is good to have when doing this activity as owls tend to regurgitate a lot of what they eat. Nevertheless it’s all part of the job. This winter my dad has plans to build up to 5 more boxes to increase the presence of possible owl habitation in the vineyard. I look forward to next years cleaning!

Winter maintenance

So even though there is not a whole lot going on in the vineyards right now, one thing that we are focusing all our attention on is pruning. We started pruning about a month ago and we will continue to prune all through the winter until budbreak in March. Pruning is an important step in winter vineyard maintenance. It removes the old, dead growth from the vine to make room for the new growth in the spring. Because this is all done by hand there is a special technique and it can be time consuming. This photo was taken this morning. We were pruning the south block of Chardonnay and all the vines and ground were covered with frost.
This time of year frost and cold weather are actually desirable and benefit the vines. The cold weather will help the vines go to sleep and become dormant. It is during this time that they are storing energy and nutrients for the spring. All we need is some rain and we will have a good start to the new growing year.
On the other hand frost can be very dangerous when the shoots are starting to emerge at spring time. The frost will kill the buds and the new, delicate growth. This is what happened this past spring and what effected the crop sizes of this year’s harvest. I think that all vintners, including myself are hoping that Spring 2009 starts out with some warm weather.
~ John Bacigalupi

Ranch work

Today I went out with my dad to see some of the work he has been doing around the ranch. Because there is not a whole lot going on in the vineyards right now he has time to do some work around the ranch. He just bought a new spreader and is using it to spread manure around the base of the vines. We bought the manure from the neighboring dairy. This will help to promote better vine growth and help to produce higher quality fruit. The manure also replenishes the soil and encourages the recirculation of certain nutrients like Potassium Phosphate, nitrogen and lime. This project is just a small part of the Bacigalupi Vineyards sustainability practices. These practices ensure that we do not compromise the natural resources future generations require to meet their own goals.

“With dedication to producing the finest wine possible comes also the commitment to preserving the environment. Consistently striving to improve farming practices, I have tried to emphasize environmental soundness, sustainability and efficiency, all without compromising quality.”
~John Bacigalupi

Petite Sirah man

I wanted to share one of the most amazing and yet odd discoveries that my dad has ever found in the vineyard. It was our 2nd to last pick of the season and we were picking out the Petite Sirah. Planted on St. George rootstock and the Foppiano clone these Petite Sirah bunches are anything but petite. Petite Sirah or also called Durif originates from France and there are only about 3,500 acres planted in California. Although it is not an incredibly popular grape it is a very unique varietal. Nice and full bunches they tend to get pretty big. While picking through the rows Alberto, one of our pickers came across two bunches that had somehow grown together to create one large bunch that looked like…well….. A MAN! Not kidding up close this bunch of Petite Sirah grapes has a head, two arms and two legs. So we appropriately named him Petite Sirah Man. He is now currently frozen in our freezer and I’m not sure what we are going to do with him, but it is by far one of the coolest things we’ve ever discovered in the vineyard.

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