By Robert Morus

    “Hot enough for ya?”

    Finally, the endlessly long stretch of blazing July heat has passed.  Often people ask
    me about how our vines do during a snowy winter.  But this summer’s long period
    of temperatures reaching into the high 90’s and low 100’s smothered me with
    another blanket of concern.  Grapes love hot weather—the grower attempts to
    balance heat stress and fruit load with the ability of younger plants to draw moisture
    from the soil.  If you have visited the Estate, you probably noticed the black drip
     irrigation lines hanging below each row of vines.  While we haven’t irrigated our
    older vines for perhaps ten years, the vines under three years get a regular gulp of
    water.  This season’s long hot spell had me direct Irineo to “run a set” of water on
     the five year old vines. The combination of heat and wind made our Crest Block of
    Pinot Noir look prematurely tired, but a timely sip from the trough was just what the
    doctor ordered and greatly appreciated by the vines.

    The workers can struggle with the heat more than the vines.  Each morning at 5am, I hear my foreman Irineo’s truck come up the
    gravel road.  We have been employing five workers full time ever since the shoots were six inches tall. For a while now, the day
    has begun at 5am and ends at 1pm.  We prefer walking the steep rows when it’s cooler.  Each vine needs a human touch about 12
    times a season, and that doesn’t count tractor work.  The occasional spraying of the vines often occurs in the middle of night to
    avoid wind.  This season Heather called Irineo at 7am one morning for some winery work, not realizing he had just gone to bed at
    5am following all night spray duty. That was an extremely long day!

    Over time, vines run their roots very deep; fingers stretching down to 25 feet are not uncommon.  The deeper the root depth,
    the greater the mineral or soil characteristics the wines express.  In the winery, we keep each block separate so we can taste and
    select barrels for our tiers of wines.  Not only do we segregate the blocks and clones, but Rich also tracks “free run” from “press
    juice,” and of course the barrel source and its age.  Tasting, judging, reflecting and experimenting go on all year.  Presently, we are
    reviewing all the Estate wines in terms of their cooperage—meaning which barrels do we love verses merely like?  Tasting 25 wines
    beginning at 10am may be tough, but someone has to do it.  Besides, the winery is air conditioned.

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Field Report
Vineyard News, Vol 9, August 2009
Bob Morus                Irineo Magana