Posts Tagged: wine

July smoky wine prediction coming true

Last July, when the summer's most ferocious wildfires near wine country were still smoldering, Wine Spectator magazine suggested the 2008 vintage could be tainted by the smoke.

An article in today's Santa Rosa Press-Democrat seems to confirm that the magazine's early prediction is coming to fruition, at least in Mendocino County.

“Winemakers are saying that they think stuff is smelling funny to them, and they want to know what’s going on,” the Press-Democrat article quoted Glenn McGourty, viticulture advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Mendocino County.

The article said McGourty held a workshop to teach winemakers options for preventing, for example, an unpleasant smoky quality from masking the subtle oak, buttery, vanilla flavor of their best chardonnay.

Michelle Bowen, director of laboratory operations at Vinquiry, said grapes are coming in with an aroma that is "kind of smoked salmony and fishy.”

"The good news is that there seems to be the technology to fix things if something is wrong,” McGourty is quoted in the story. Reporter Kevin McCallum wrote that McGourty was referring to filtration companies that specialize in removing the malodorous compounds.

“Winemakers are wizards at taking problems and turning them into drinkable products," McGourty concluded.

A cluster of merlot winegrapes.

UC advisor says Sonoma winegrapes are looking good

Unusually warm late summer temperatures in Sonoma County have grapes ready for harvest a bit early this year, causing some angst for wineries used to a longer break between the harvest of white and red varieties, according to a story in today's Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

But UC Cooperative Extension viticulture farm advisor Rhonda Smith assured the paper that the 2008 vintage isn't suffering. Smith attributes the warmer harvest season to a lack of fog.

Cooling fog helps keep the acid and sugar levels in the ripening fruit in balance, allowing flavors to develop, she explained to reporter Kevin McCallum. Nevertheless, Smith said the heat hasn't damaged what looks like a beautiful, if small, crop, according to the article.

“The grapes look great,” she is quoted. “For all the heat we’ve had, the vines themselves do not look tired.”

 

 

Speaking of Rhonda Smith, the long-time UC advisor was honored by the 2008 Sonoma County Harvest Fair as a “Friend of Sonoma County Agriculture," according to an article in the Sonoma West Times and News.

“This was totally unexpected. I was honored. It came out of the blue. I was extremely shocked and pleasantly surprised,” Smith is quoted in the article.

Research helps determine fantasy winery costs

A story in the Sacramento Business Journal about a common fantasy in the workaday world - quitting one's job and starting a winery - was informed by UC Cooperative Extension research. And the bottom line is sobering.

The story says it will cost $4.5 million to get the winery going and keep the business running through the first three years. If you want to make your own wine, "plan on spending another several hundred thousand dollars to start a small winery," the story said.

Writer Celia Lamb spoke to UC Davis viticulturalist Jim Wolpert about the cost of building the winery.

“Some people have pole buildings with blown-in insulation,” Wolpert was quoted. “They don’t have any great attempt of having a first-class facility that’s going to be on the cover of some magazine.”

Others spend $300 per square foot on a tasting room, he added.

The majority of numbers presented in the story came from a UC cost-of-production study on vineyard establishment, which put the price tag at about $13,402 per acre for the first three years.

The hypothetical grower used in the study already owns property with surface water rights for irrigation and has a building, equipment, tools, a drip irrigation system and a drainage system worth a total of $689,000.

Winery founder John Giguiere warns in the story, “If you’re not at least 25 years old or don’t have a vast amount of experience in the industry, don’t get involved, because it’s a good way to lose a lot of money."

In the wake of 2008 fires: Tainted wine and lost habitat

Cooler weather in California is helping firefighters begin to get a handle on fires that have raged in the state for weeks. But concerns over the fires' consequences are sure to continue for months. Two articles over the weekend touched on such issues.

The Wine Spectator magazine raised the spector of 2008 vintage wines being imparted with a smoky character due to the fires.

"There are examples of smokiness from forest fires showing up in wines," the story quoted Roger Boulton, a viticulture and enology professor at UC Davis.

The article, by Augustus Weed, said chemicals in the smoke can coat grapes and be absorbed into the grape skins. The density of the smoke, how long it is in contact with the grapes and how far away the vineyards are from the fires, determines how extensive the effect is.

UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Glenn McGourty was also quoted in the story. He said the main concern to vineyards from the fires is a dwindling supply of water.

The writer paraphrased McGourty as saying water will not be an issue for the majority of the Mendocino wine industry, which gets its water from the Russian River. But in dry regions like Anderson Valley and Redwood Valley, water supplies are low and it could become a problem.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune ran a story about the destruction of wildlife habitat by fire. Writer David Sneed reported that Bill Tietje, a UCCE natural resources advisor, said large, fast-moving fires can confuse and overwhelm even birds and fleet-footed animals. 

Tietje noted that the 1994 fire on Highway 41 was so hot and burned so fast that firefighters observed quail flying into the flames and afterwards found the charred remains of deer and mountain lions.

“In the case of catastrophic wildfire,” Tietje was quoted, “animals may be killed directly or must move into adjacent habitat where their chances of making a living are reduced.”

UC helps farmers grow grapes sustainably

The San Francisco Chronicle today ran a lengthy story about the trend in California vineyards toward more sustainable farming practices.

Freelance reporter Deborah Grossman noted that, decades ago, "entomologists at several UC campuses recognized a pending crisis from excessive chemical usage, which increased risks to worker health, pest outbreaks and pesticide resistance." Researchers introduced the concept of Integrated Pest Management in 1959.

Grossman interviewed San Luis Obispo County farmer Mitch Wyss. During the growing season, Grossman reported, Wyss consults a well-worn copy of "Grape Pest Management" by University of California researchers. Wyss counts leafhoppers in his vineyard weekly, purchases lacewings or ladybugs when numbers rise and uses a soft chemical spray only if needed.

The story contained information from a number of farmers and academics, including UC Riverside nematologist Michael McKenry, UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension specialist Kent Daane and UC Davis viticulturist Andy Walker.

McKenry commented on the difficulty of controlling nematodes without pesticides. "The only natural solution is to rotate the land," he is quoted.

Daane spoke about one of grape growers' newest pest challenges, the vine mealy bug. Daane told the reporter that the pest has few natural predators and is present year-round, breeding up to seven times a year.

Walker announced in March, the reporter wrote in the story, that new grape rootstocks are available with resistance to phylloxera and nematodes.

 

 

 

Vine mealy bug.

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