This fall was our first real harvest! We collected approximately half a ton of Sauvignon Blanc and almost 2 tons of Pinot Noir. The Sauvignon Blanc will be ready to sell in January. The Pinot Noir will have to age until next fall.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Harvest 2015
It has been a long time since the last vineyard update post! We took a break to focus on building our house on the vineyard. It is done now, so it is time to get back into the groove of posting regular updates.
This fall was our first real harvest! We collected approximately half a ton of Sauvignon Blanc and almost 2 tons of Pinot Noir. The Sauvignon Blanc will be ready to sell in January. The Pinot Noir will have to age until next fall.
This fall was our first real harvest! We collected approximately half a ton of Sauvignon Blanc and almost 2 tons of Pinot Noir. The Sauvignon Blanc will be ready to sell in January. The Pinot Noir will have to age until next fall.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Post Pounding in the fog
There are several areas that had yet to have the posts put in for the trellis. Most of these areas have no plants yet, either. In preparation for plants that will someday be planted, we wanted to finish installing the metal posts that will later hold the trellis wire.
The task of post pounding is very tedious. Each post is meticulously placed and the pounded in with a very heavy post pounder. This tough job does not make for good pictures, but the eerie look of the vineyard on the day we worked on the posts does make for a couple of pretty pictures. It is not uncommon for the property to be cloaked in a dense fog. It is quite pretty to see.
The task of post pounding is very tedious. Each post is meticulously placed and the pounded in with a very heavy post pounder. This tough job does not make for good pictures, but the eerie look of the vineyard on the day we worked on the posts does make for a couple of pretty pictures. It is not uncommon for the property to be cloaked in a dense fog. It is quite pretty to see.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Wine making process - step 1
Now that we have grapes, we need to figure out how to make wine. We had a small harvest, so we did all of the work by hand. Luckily, we were able to recruit my mom to help us.
The first step was to de-stem all of the grapes that we picked. We may have eaten a few of the grapes during this process...and they were delicious!
After a couple of hours of effort, we had all of our grapes cleaned up and ready to press. As you can see, we collected two 9x13 pans and one 8x8 pan of Sauvignon Blanc, and one large bowl of Pinot Noir.
We pressed the SB using a variety of standard kitchen items. We put the grapes in a mesh bag and smashed them with a potato masher and bowls of various size. We collected the juice in a 5 gallon buck. To ensure we got it all, we put the grapes in a strainer and put a bowl on top with a weight in it and let it sit overnight. The juice is separated from the skins and seeds in this case.
The Pinot Noir was easier to process because the juice and the skins stay together. We did press the grapes a bit before letting it sit. The juice will darken as a result of sitting on the skins. This is what makes red wines red. The juice will also pick up more of the flavors from the skins.
After we collected the juice, we let both types sit for some time. At this point in the process we had about a gallon of SB and a little bit over one bottle of PN. There are several more steps in the process before we have finished, bottled wine. Check the blog over the next few weeks for more.
The first step was to de-stem all of the grapes that we picked. We may have eaten a few of the grapes during this process...and they were delicious!
After a couple of hours of effort, we had all of our grapes cleaned up and ready to press. As you can see, we collected two 9x13 pans and one 8x8 pan of Sauvignon Blanc, and one large bowl of Pinot Noir.
We pressed the SB using a variety of standard kitchen items. We put the grapes in a mesh bag and smashed them with a potato masher and bowls of various size. We collected the juice in a 5 gallon buck. To ensure we got it all, we put the grapes in a strainer and put a bowl on top with a weight in it and let it sit overnight. The juice is separated from the skins and seeds in this case.
The Pinot Noir was easier to process because the juice and the skins stay together. We did press the grapes a bit before letting it sit. The juice will darken as a result of sitting on the skins. This is what makes red wines red. The juice will also pick up more of the flavors from the skins.
After we collected the juice, we let both types sit for some time. At this point in the process we had about a gallon of SB and a little bit over one bottle of PN. There are several more steps in the process before we have finished, bottled wine. Check the blog over the next few weeks for more.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Harvest 2014
The first harvest for Old Wagon Road Vineyards was September 16, 2014!
We were not expecting a very large harvest since the vines were only planted in Spring 2013. Typically, the vines take 3-5 years to produce viable fruit. We were hoping to get enough grapes to play with at home. Luckily, we did!
We had been watching the grapes and the weather for the last week or so. The grapes were getting very sweet which means that it is almost time to harvest. A few days prior to picking the grapes, Chris checked the brix and found a range of 23.25-26. Brix is the sugar content. This is a pretty good range for our grapes.
Chris, Jensen, and I spent a couple of hours on the property walking the aisles to pick our grapes. Most of the Pinot Noir plants had little or no fruit. Occasionally, we found one that had several clusters. The Sauvignon Blanc was a bit more vigorous and the plants had more grapes, but still only a small crop. Next year we anticipate getting a much larger crop from all vines planed in 2013.
Our little boy, Jensen, was out to help. He was our quality control. Fortunately, the grapes were at just the right height for him.
In the end, we filled about 6 inches in the bottom of our bin. We took the grapes home and started the wine making process. Check back soon for the blogs about our first experience making wine.
We were not expecting a very large harvest since the vines were only planted in Spring 2013. Typically, the vines take 3-5 years to produce viable fruit. We were hoping to get enough grapes to play with at home. Luckily, we did!
We had been watching the grapes and the weather for the last week or so. The grapes were getting very sweet which means that it is almost time to harvest. A few days prior to picking the grapes, Chris checked the brix and found a range of 23.25-26. Brix is the sugar content. This is a pretty good range for our grapes.
Chris, Jensen, and I spent a couple of hours on the property walking the aisles to pick our grapes. Most of the Pinot Noir plants had little or no fruit. Occasionally, we found one that had several clusters. The Sauvignon Blanc was a bit more vigorous and the plants had more grapes, but still only a small crop. Next year we anticipate getting a much larger crop from all vines planed in 2013.
 |
| Pinot Noir |
 |
| Chris picking Pinot Noir grapes |
 |
| Pinot Noir |
 |
| Jensen picking a grape to try |
 |
| Hmmm...not sure he liked that very much |
In the end, we filled about 6 inches in the bottom of our bin. We took the grapes home and started the wine making process. Check back soon for the blogs about our first experience making wine.
 |
| Pinot Noir crop |
 |
| Sauvignon Blanc crop (covering Pinot Noir crop) |
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
A hint of color!
This is an exciting time of year. The summer sun is beating down on the vines and they love it. The formerly very small grapes are growing and changing color!
Chris recently did another run with the tiller to clean up the weeds in the rows. They look great now! The two pictures below are the newly planted area with Pinot Noir.
Here is a picture of the lonely Dolcetto rows. We will be filling in an acre with Dolcetto eventually.
The final picture is some of the original Pinot Noir that was planted in 2013. Nearly all of the vines are ready to be trunked this year.
 |
| Look closely at the center of the cluster and you will see a purple grape! |
Here is a picture of the lonely Dolcetto rows. We will be filling in an acre with Dolcetto eventually.
The final picture is some of the original Pinot Noir that was planted in 2013. Nearly all of the vines are ready to be trunked this year.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Summer maintenance
Summer is a very busy time in the vineyard. The vines that were trunked last year are growing grapes and large canopies. The newer vines are progressing well; nearly all of the vines planted prior to this year will be trunked at the end of this season. Chris has spent many hours roaming the aisles to ensure all of the plants are tied up and trained.
There are a few other summer tasks that we are not doing this year because our vines are young. Normally, the leaves near the grapes would be pulled off to expose the fruit to more sunlight. Also, some of the fruit could be dropped to encourage the remaining fruit to ripen. This is called crop thinning. We will do these activities next year when we plan to get our first viable crop.
Here are a few recent photos.
There are a few other summer tasks that we are not doing this year because our vines are young. Normally, the leaves near the grapes would be pulled off to expose the fruit to more sunlight. Also, some of the fruit could be dropped to encourage the remaining fruit to ripen. This is called crop thinning. We will do these activities next year when we plan to get our first viable crop.
Here are a few recent photos.
 |
| Trunked vine |
 |
| Grapes on a Pinot Noir vine |
 |
| Trunked vine |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)