Join us on a ranch walk through the seasonsWinter is a profound time to reflect and find beauty in the stillness of the ranch. Each day brings new insights, and as I immerse myself, I see more connections between my past and current journey. Transitioning from a career in the building industry to a new venture as a vintner has been a significant transformation, much like the natural cycles of the vineyard. A pivotal lesson I learned during my thesis critique was if you can’t say something simply, you don’t truly understand it. I strive to carry this forward, distilling the essence of an issue into a few statements, best captured in a simple drawing. My die-hard drawing to communicate the importance of involving building owners and operators early in the planning process was this Building Lifecycle sketch.
Architects may only be involved during the first 5% of a building’s lifecycle, but the decisions made impact the next 50+ years. Building owners and operators are present for 75% of the building’s lifecycle but rarely engage at the outset where design decisions are made that impact the building’s performance, beauty, comfort, and flexibility. Rest, Renewal & Growth
We are now well into the dormancy period when the vines lose their leaves and go into senescence after harvest. Vineyard activities include planting cover crop, applying compost, and pruning at the end of senescence. We completed pruning at the ranch during our sunny January. Justin Leigon, our Viticulturist with Piña Vineyard Management says it best: “Pruning is one of my favorite times of year. It’s when we set the stage for the growing season, making decisions that balance the vines. It’s a perfect blend of art and science, showcasing the skill and dedication of our vineyard crews.”
Those pruning the vineyards are deciding the future vine structure, how air and daylight will flow through it, and how much fruit it will produce. The pruner’s decisions, like the architect’s, will impact the performance of that vine for its full lifecycle. In the cellar, the wine is also in kind of a dormancy period. It is barrel aging, developing complexity, enhancing flavors and softening tannins before it is bottled and brought to the table.
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| Wishing you love and renewal – Deb & Eric (& cellar cat Blanco)
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Robert Reed from Recology shares how food scraps that become finished compost applied to farms improves soil health, helps sequester carbon, increases production, and leads to the production of healthier food (and wine of course).
Every year after harvest, we apply compost from San Francisco’s curbside food scrap collection program. The banana and orange peels, coffee grounds, natural wine corks, etc. from the bay area are turned into this compost at a facility east of SF.
Check out the full article “Compost Crusaders” in the June issue of San Francisco Apartment Association Magazine, pages 20-28. So thankful to have our small lot Wild Harvest Sauvignon Blanc showcased in the article from Cordero Vineyards.
Every year, we have our “mowers” come on site in the Spring. The sheep came two weeks ago along with Luna and Cinder, Livestock Guardian pups that stay with the sheep and protect them from predators. They do a great job, even at 5 months old! Cori and team from Napa Pasture Protein bring them to the ranch then move them around confined zones to eat down the grass before moving to the next section. Several of the ewes were pregnant when they arrived and we have over a dozen lambs now, with several sets of twins!
Cattle from Lauritsen Ranch came on site this week and calves have already been born! Thanks to Kelly and family for bringing their beautiful animals to graze again this year. A trip is needed to Wilson’s Feed & Supply to get alfafa cubes for treats toot sweet!
WineBusiness press release from Napa County on use of compost to support healthy soils in vineyards.
Now, I find myself likening that to the cycles of vines and wine. Simply put, the established vines go from a period of dormancy to renewal with bud break and new shoots, to fruit set, berry development and veraison, to harvest, and then back to dormancy. Along this cycle, our vineyard team is active, assisting the vines and giving them what they need for their best performance.
