October 2012

We decided to make the journey back up to the lot one last time this fall.  We headed up to Carlton in early October.  I had expected the rain to be in full force, but it was still dry in the area.  It was a pleasant fall weekend in Oregon wine country.

We did not have big plans for the weekend.  We were interested in seeing the vineyard area after the final round of stick picking.  The plan was to finish the stick picking and then get various fertilizers put down before seeding the cover crop.  Our vineyard manager has been working on the site and told us everything would be done within a few days.  The rain would start soon and it is important to get the cover crop down before it starts raining.

The north facing hill, our primary planting area, looks great.  The land has little or no debris left on it and the soil is a soft powder.  The cover crop will protect the soil over the wet winter and we will be ready to plant the first vines in spring!

We spent some time looking for water on the lot.  This is the driest time of year.  If there are any wet spots, it is likely we could use them for water throughout the year.

There is an area on the property that we have not done much with yet.  The area has a lot of growth, both trees and brush.  We have found water in this area on each of our trips.  This trip was no different; we found some lingering water in the pond.  We also found a small stream in the area.  This is an area that could provide an additional water source for the house.

Unfortunately, Chris had to do some repair work on the well setup.  The pipe that runs from the well to the tank had broken from the weight of the soil as it settled.  It took almost all day, but Chris changed out the parts to fix the break.  We added extra support in the damaged area to avoid this problem in the future.

Everything is ready for winter.  Our vineyard manager will keep an eye on it for us and we will go up in spring for the planting.

Work Trip in July

 After a lot of hard work (by Chris, not me), the fence is finally done!  Chris spent 9 days in Oregon in early July to work on the lot.  He had big plans for the trip:

• Finish the fence around 11 acres
• Hang the gates
• Install the well pump
• Connect the well to the new tank

The primary task was to complete the fence.  On prior trips, we had put up the fence along the north side and the east side of cleared area.  The path along the south side was a tougher challenge because of the slope and the curves.  More H-braces had to be installed to navigate the path.  The west side was the last to be fenced.

To this point, none of the gates had been installed in the fence.  Two large gates had to be placed along the road and man gates were places in other areas.  This completed the fence!

The second task was to finish the well setup.  The well is an artisian well, which means that it has enough pressure to free flow when it is uncovered.  This is a bit of a problem since the well pump has to have wires attached for power.  Chris had to find a way to seal the well several feet below the cap.  He found a product that is installed several feet down to seal the water line and which has the wiring pre-run through it.

After connecting the wiring and dropping the well pump, the sealer is sunk in the well.  A hole for the water outlet is below the sealer.  The pipe for the water outlet has to be run to the tank a couple of feet below ground.  The same trench is used to hold the wiring that runs from the shed to the well.  This wiring is used to power the well pump.

 

Well with cap

This is the new storage tank.

Water tank

Chris did a great job on this trip.  By the end of it, the fence was done and the well was setup for use.  We do not have plans on another trip to Oregon in the near future.  Even without us there, preparation activities will take place.  This fall we will have the land fertilized and a cover crop planted.  It will then be ready for the first planting in February or March of next year!

May 24 - 28

We took another trip to Oregon at the end of May.  Chris planned to install the solar setup for the well and work on the fence.  I helped...a little :-)

We opted to drive up for this trip so that we could pickup the solar panel in Mt. Shasta, California.  We drove to Reno and stayed over night and then headed up to Mt. Shasta.  From there, we continued on to Carlton, Oregon.  The best part of the drive was southern Oregon.  It was absolutely beautiful!  I cannot wait to see it again.

The shed was completed a few days before we arrived.  It is a small 24'x24' building that will house the tractor and some attachments.  Chris designed the solar setup that would require a panel on the roof, 2 batteries, and a circuit panel.  He assembled some of it at home, but had to do the final work at the lot.  The solar panel will power the well pump, the tank pump, and the lights in the shed.

The land clearing had progressed since our last visit.  The 11 acres was cleared and ready for stick picking.

Oregon is so pretty!

May 9-15

Chris and I spent about a week in Oregon with his parents, Mary and Doug, in May.  We wanted to show them the area and the lot, as well as get some work done.

While we were away, some work had been completed by Larry and team at A-1 Logging.  They had dug out a pad for the shed by the well and covered it in rock.  We planned to build a 24'x24 shed with a 12' lean to on the side.  The shed is big enough for the tractor and the attachments.  All of the dirt that was removed from the hillside was dumped on the other side of the access road to form a large parking area.

The guys from A-1 has also been working hard on clearing nearly 11 acres.  They used a D8 and an excavator for the work.  The goal was to remove all of the trees and stumps from the area and gather the material in burn piles.  Clearing with the D8 left a variety of sticks and rocks that must still be cleaned up before we plant.

We scheduled the ground to be ripped and stick picked later in summer.  Ripping involves multiple passes over the land with a tractor pulling long metal stakes through the ground to bring roots and rocks to the surface.  Once ripped and stick picked, the land will be disced before a cover crop is planted for fall.

The majority of the week, we spent working on the fence.  We decided to fence in about 11 acres in an almost square shape.  We started with the northern edge of the property along a hillside that A-1 had cleared.  For those that have not put up a deer fence before, it is hard work!  You start by building 'H-braces' in the corners and every few hundred feet.  Then you put in the wooden poles every 100 feet, or so, with metal poles every 20' between them.  Finally, you attach the fence to one side and stretch it to the end point.

We got better at the process with practice, but we definitely started slow.  By the end of the week, we had finished the northern edge of the property.  Chris had plans to return at the end of May to work on it again.

Our new tractor!

One of the most important pieces of equipment on the vineyard is the tractor.  We decided to go ahead and buy one so that it could be used in some of the land prep.  We bought an 85 horse power Kubota narrow tractor.  We picked it up at Oregon Vineyard Supply on our first day visiting Oregon in May.  Bill, our OVS sales rep, gave us a short lesson of how to use the tractor.

We made good use of our new tractor during the rest of our visit.

April Trip - Part 3

We were back on the lot on Saturday to meet with a couple of vineyard managers.  We were working with a vineyard  manager, but it did not work out.  We met with 2 others on this trip to get their thoughts on the land and the next steps.  We are currently in the process of clearing some land.  Once it is cleared, there will be some effort required to make it plant-able.  We will also need to fence in the area to keep the deer and other animals away from the plants. We will have to decide on the vineyard manager pretty soon to make sure the upcoming work happens on time.

Before we work on the fence and land prep, we had to decide exactly how much land we will enclose.  The picture below shows the lot with our current plan drawn out.  The property lines are in red and the existing road is black.  The blue area, about 10 acres, will be cleared and fenced this year.  The house graphic is in the approximate location of the home site.  The diagonal cleared area is where power lines cross the property.

It was a crystal clear day, so we were able to see far off into the distance in every direction.  The two pictures below are looking toward the east at Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson.

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Hood

This is the view of the home site from the top of the hill to the north.  In just a few years this hillside will be covered in grape vines and there will be a beautiful house on the other hill.

April Trip - Part 2

We have been working with Country Side Nursery for the last few months. It is a local wholesale nursery that grafts vines. We have already placed an order for vines that will be planted in spring 2013. We stopped by on Friday to visit our vines and discuss ordering some addition vines. Linda and Janelle were very informative and friendly, as usual.

Linda gave us a quick overview of the grafting process.  In order to grow the preferred wine grapes, the vines must be grafted to root stock that are native to America.  Vines not native to America are susceptible to disease, and the native root stocks are not.  Grafting will combine the desired bud wood with a root stock.  A device is used to cut each plant into a puzzle piece shape and then attach them.  Once the grafting is complete, the connection area is covered in wax and the new vine is stored in peat moss in a warm humid room.

On our trip to the area in January, we stopped by the nursery and put in our first order. We had a chance to see some of the vines during that visit, but I did not get any pictures. I rectified that mistake on this trip. Here are a few picture of our vines.

Chardonnay:

Sauvignon Blanc:

April Trip - Part 1

It is spring in the Willamette Valley!  We spent last weekend in the area to meet with consultants and to spend some time on the lot.  We drove up on Thursday and stayed until Sunday.  Yet again, we had a lot to do.

Thursday night we arrived in time to have dinner at the Dundee Bistro.  This is a great little restaurant in the heart of wine country.  It has an extensive wine list from local wineries.  Our waiter was very knowledgeable on the selections and was able to give us some great info.  We chatted with him about our land and our plans to grow grapes.  He had some good ideas on unique grapes that might do well with consumers.

One of menu options was dolcetto.  This is one of the grape varieties that we have on order to plant in spring of next year.  The dolcetto was grown locally in the Willamette Valley.  Chris had a glass and was impressed with it.  It is very encouraging to find dolcetto that was grown in the area and that tastes so good.

Lagrein is another type of grape we have ordered for spring 2013.  There was one bottle of lagrein available at the Bistro.  Chris had enjoyed this particular wine on a prior trip.  It certainly encouraged him to search for lagrein that we could plan in our vineyard.

Friday was a very busy day and our first chance to see the work that had been done on the lot.  We had an appointment at 8am to meet the guys from A-1 and a pole-barn contractor.  We are planning to build a 24'x24' pole barn near the well site.  This barn will have a water tank and will provide a shelter for the equipment we have yet to buy.  Unfortunately, the area we want to use is not flat, so we will need A-1 to make a pad for the barn.  After a lengthy discussion, we settled on the placement.  The area has been very wet, but as soon as it dries out, A-1 will begin clearing the pad.

After visiting the well site, we headed up to see the progress on the 2 areas we are having A-1 clear.  We had seen pictures, but it looked like so much more land than I expected!  All of the trees are down and piled up along the road.  There is still a lot of debris on the hillsides, including the stumps, that will have to be removed up.  Here are a couple of pictures of the slope on the north side of the property.  There are approximately 5 acres of plantable land in this area.

There is a large area near the home site that will also be cleared for planting.  This is probably about an acre of land.

The final area that we have a contract to clear is the home site.  It looked fantastic and I'm sure it will be perfect for a house.  There are great views in every direction.  We do not have the house plan figured out yet, but the back will probably face the views below.  The front of the house would overlook the 5 acre block shown in the first 2 pictures.

We talked with Larry and Mike about the work covered in our contract.  We decided to change it a bit to get a few more acres cleared for planting.  With the changes, we will have around 8 acres available for planting.  Chris keeps adding more vines to our orders, so we will need the extra space!

We spent some time exploring the lot with Larry and Mike before heading off to the nursery.  I will post more about our trip in the next few days.

Larry from A-1 Logging

April trip

We are planning another trip to Oregon in early April.  We are anxious to get up there and see the progress that A-1 has made to clear the land. 

As usual, we have several goals for the weekend:
- Meet with A-1 Logging to review the land clearing progress and discuss options for the road
- Meet with vineyard managers: We are looking for a new vineyard manager.  We had planned to work with Simon, but this fell through.  Now we need to start our search again.  It is important that we have someone selected by this summer because there are a few things to happen to prepare for planting in spring 2013.
- Meet with Eco-fab regarding a shed to house the water tank and equipment

Aside from the land development, we have been thinking about names for our label.  This is a big decision that will stick with us for years to come.  We decided on Old Wagon Road Vineyard for the vineyard name since our property is at the end of Old Wagon Road - easy pick.  The label name is a bit harder.  So far, Wagon Ridge is the leading options.  We have also considered Coastal Vale and Rivet Ridge.  We are open to suggestions if you have any ideas.

I will post another update after our trip.  We have a longer trip planned in May, as well. 

More Land Clearing

Mike emailed us a couple more pictures of the land clearing.  They cleared the area covered in younger douglas fir trees.  This area is on the north side of the house site and the dirt road.  It looks pretty big now that it is cleared!

A-1 has done all that they can for now.  We must wait for the land to try out before finishing the clearing.

Chris and I hope to go up again in the next few weeks to see the progress.  We will definitely be up there in May for a week with Chris' parents.  By then, the clearing might be done.

House Removal

As part of the land clearing work, A-1 has agreed to remove the existing modular home that is on the property. To simplify the process, the burnable material was stripped out of the house and burnt on-site.  The remaining pieces were hauled away.  Here are some pictures from the cleanup...