Author Archives: Doug Williams

Bud Break 2015 – Pray for Rain and a Cool Summer

As everyone knows farmers worry a lot about the weather…so here goes mine. California is in its 4th year of drought. Last year we finished with a little over half the normal rainfall and this rainy season is almost over and we are in the same shape as last year…unless we get a lot of rain in March and April.

What does that mean for us here in Russian River Valley? Well, last year bud break was March 11th with an early harvest of September 2nd. We had bud break February 25th this year, 2 weeks ahead of last year!

Why this is bad:
– The sooner bud break, the more chance of a heavy frost damages the shoots and ruins the crop. Normally we worry until 4/15.
– If all the other milestones are early, we will harvest mid-August. With an early harvest the grapes will not mature correctly leading to poorer phenolics.
– The chance of rain ruining fruit set is greater.

But what can you do but enjoy the nice weather and hope for a cool summer.

When in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil…sample the wines (and rum)!

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We just returned from a lovely vacation in South America. We began our travels in Buenos Aires, Argentina and caught an Azamara Cruise ship to Uruguay and then ended up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!

So…if you are in Buenos Aires you have got to do three things…eat beef, drink the wine and bring $USD (or $Euros). Why the last one…the official exchange rate is 8.5 pesos to the dollar but you can find everyone wanting $USD for 10 to 14 pesos to the dollar. La Cabrera (steak) was wonderful, but a little touristy. We took a tour of the city one day and our tour guide stopped at a local lunch place that had great wine, steak and empanada’s. By the way, the best restaurant experience we had was in a Seafood Restaurant, Crizia in the Palermo Soho district. This is the Viognier we had that was recommended by the sommelier.

We next went to Uruguay and visited Varela Zarranz. It is the 4th largest winery in Uruguay, but comparatively speaking, not so large. Similar to a mid sized winery in Sonoma. The picture at the beginning of the post is from their cellar. We are standing in front of a 2,500 gal oak barrel that was made in 1903 and is still in use! The one surprise was a grape variety we had never tried, tannat. This is a very tanic grape that is normally mixed with cab or merlot. We elected to taste and then purchase some to bring home. My guess is we will need to age it several years and then it will be a lovely wine.

Next was brazil…They are not know for wine, so we had to sample their beers and rum! The pictures below are from a Cachaca distillery in Paraty. It was interesting to see the equipment and process in different countries. I found it interesting that the flavors and oak aging were similar to Tequila, in that you oak age to drink on the rocks and leave it plain to put in drinks.

For those of you thinking of traveling to South America…get on a plane, spend time with locals and drink the local beverages!!!

Vineyard and Winemaking Improvements for 2015

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A few weeks ago we drove 2 hours north to Mendocino, along the California coast. Occasionally you have to get away to allow you to think what is good and what needs to be improved in your life and in this case Turtle Vines vineyard and winery.

Hard to believe, but we started on this adventure when we purchased our house in 2008. In that time we prepared the land, planted 3130 pinot noir vines (enough for 5-6 tons of fruit), made 3 vintages of wine, acquired organic certification, found a buyer for grapes and were permitted to sell wine! Wow…what a ride so far. But every year you have to see what works and what doesn’t and make improvements…so here goes.

Winery

– Let Pinot Noir ferment with wild yeast, if needed, then introduce assmenhausen yeast.
– Find a distributor/restaurant for wine and develop a bigger following. This could include wine-on-tap.
– Acquire the .organic name when it is available.
– Keep Merlot separate and pick later than Pinot.
– Obtain a professional review for marketing…perhaps Prince of Pinot.
– Determine optimal amount of wine to make
– Blend 2014 Pinot for optimal taste of 3 possible wines
– Become profitable.

Vineyard
– Add another 1/2 pound epson salt per vine to decrease potassium. It has come down from 2100ppm to 1200ppm but needs to be around 500ppm.
– Add Boron to spray prior to bloom. Only spray seaweed once at bloom otherwise it will increase pH of grapes later in the season. Add sulfur to spray rotation for cost and spider mites.
* Stylet oil/Boron prior to bloom
* Serenade/seaweed at bloom
* Alternate serenate/stylet oil/bicarbonate/sulfur the rest of the season
* Boron in the fall
– Dry farm as much as possible, especially the Pommard
– Hire out bigger jobs, especially shoot straightening/thinning in May to create airflow and prevent mildew. In addition…pruning and harvest.
– Fill out paperwork to become “Sustainable” in addition to being certified Organic.
– Drop more fruit for short canes
– Become profitable.

2014 Winemaking – What a year!

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What a year 2014 was for grapes.

– We picked 1.2 tons (75 cases worth) of Pinot Noir for our Turtle Vines label. We are keeping the Pommard and 667 Clones seperate until bottling. We may end of with 3 different kinds depending on how they age…one of each and then a blend. We will know more in July when we taste/blend and bottle.
– We sold almost 2.6 tons of Pinot Noir to Horse and Plow Winery.
– We received a case of 2013 Pinot Noir from Horse and Plow from Turtle Vines Grapes.
– We picked 9 cases worth of Sauvignon Blanc and will bottle in April.
– We picked 4 cases worth of Merlot and will bottle in July.

Lastly, I took a 6 week winemaking class from Vinquiry which will help with my winemaking in 2015.

Vineyard Designate

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We just received a case of “The Gardener” 2013 Pinot Noir made from Turtle Vines grapes.

We sell excess grapes to Chris Condos and Suzanne Hagins, of Horse and Plow, and they make a Vineyard Designate wine. This is a big honor in the wine business. We like working with them, because as far as I know they only buy organic grapes. This agrees with our principles!

We can’t wait until we open this bottle and compare it to our very own “Turtle Vines” 2013 Pinot Noir! Of course, support Turtle Vines Winery first, but consider getting a bottle from “The Gardener” with our grapes as a second choice.

Gardener back label

Turtle Vines Kitchen Towel

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Looking for a Turtle Vines gift item? I have a limited number of these beauties available for purchase on my website or you can get them directly from Terrior by the Sea, a lovely company that contacted us a few months ago to add our logo to her Winery series of kitchen towels.

This multipurpose eco-friendly flour sack kitchen towel is made of cotton specially grown in India. It has a beautiful, natural, soft feel with a pre-washed, vintage look. Flour sack is definitely a one-of-a-kind deal being that it is extremely durable, super absorbent and lint-free. It is also iron-free and can be used for cleaning up spills or simply just dusting around the house. The dimensions are 17.5” x 27.5”. The fabric has been washed and pre-shrunk, which minimizes the amount of shrinkage and fading that could occur with home-washes.

Merry Christmas from Turtle Vines!

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Merry Christmas to all!!!

I’m toasting to all of you for a wonderful holiday season! What am I drinking? Just did a barrel sample of our 2014 Pinot Noir, and it is wonderful. Nice deep color and I think a little more complex than in previous years…will have to see what it tastes like in the spring. It gets racked Monday/Tuesday, sulfured and then I will leave it alone for 5-6 months…except for a little cold treatment in January.

We had a bottle of the 2013 Pinot Noir at Thanksgiving and I think it will be ready for release in a few months.

19 Million White Clover Seeds for Nitrogen !

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Here at Turtle Vines we are trying to minimize tiling of the soil. However, it is essential that you replenish the nitrogen that is taken from the soil from the shoots and grapes each year. It is that time of year where you need cover Clover is a legume which fixes nitrogen in the soil. It provides small white “puff” flowers, which attracts bees. White clovers will tolerate most soil conditions, but thrives in moist conditions. Plant in full sun or partial shade. Sow seed in the fall in mild climates or in the spring.

“A good stand of a perennial legume like white clover often produces 100 to 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year,” says Don Ball, extension agronomist with Auburn University. “Annual legumes, on the other hand, usually produce about 50 to 150 pounds of nitrogen per acre.”

The 2- to 3-pound per acre seeding rate of white clover appears low for a simple reason — seeds are tiny! On average there are more than 750,000 white clover seeds per pound.

White Clover (pH 6.2-7.5). There are many cultivars of white clover grouped by size. The shortest cultivar is Wild West. Intermediate height cultivars includes Dutch White, New Zealand White, and Louisiana S-1. These cultivars are more heat tolerant and flower earlier than the tallest white clover cultivars such as Ladino and Alsike Clover. White clovers are very vigorous! They require moisture for establishment and to maintain good growth, prefer cooler growing temperatures, and germinate best at soil temperatures of 40-50o F. White clovers are the best choices for areas that receive heavy foot traffic. White clover stores 45% of the nitrogen it gives back to the soil in its roots. This is more than any other legume and is important to consider in managing white clover for nitrogen addition. Mowing the top growth of white clover will not give you a fast boost of nitrogen, but white clover is a great recycler of nitrogen.

2014 Sauvignon Blanc/Merlot Status

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This was a very good year for different wines at Turtle Vines. Not only are we going to have 3 different Pinot’s (see previous post), but we ended up with 21 gallons of Sauvignon Blanc and 9 gallons of Merlot. The Merlot is from rogue plants in the Pinot vineyard.

The Pinot is now put to bed in our outdoor wine room as it has finished malolactic fermentation. However, since we picked the Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot in October, and it takes 4-6 weeks to finish ML, I moved them into the house until Thanksgiving. At that time, I’ll rack, adjust the pH/TA, remove the oak from the Merlot, and sulfur them.

One last note…we tasted the Merlot and think it will turn out great…so good in fact that I may not graft them out of the Pinot vineyard, but live with the hassle while we farm.

2014 Pinot Noir – Time to sleep?

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This time of year the vineyard is losing its leaves, the wine has finished primary fermentation and you get a small break to catch your breath and find out if your wine is ready to age. What does that mean? Well, first you have to see if the malolactic fermentation is complete. Then determine the acid profile (pH/TA). Get an alcohol content to pay taxes to the Feds. Finally, taste the wine and see if the oak has incorporated into the wine and you are ready to rack, sulfur and put the wine to sleep until spring.

We are sending off samples this week and will find out our status and make adjustments if necessary. We did a taste taste last night and it is so interesting that the Pommard and 667 clones are so distinct in taste. We think some of it is due to the clonal differences, some from the fact that the Pommard was riper with more raisin’ed berries, and some that the Pommard looked to start fermentation prior to our inoculation with Assmanhausen yeast. The best news is both taste great at this point in time and we will find out in 9 months which is better for the 2015 vintage! I’m guessing for 2014 we will make three Pinot’s…Pommard, 667 and a Reserve wine that is a blend of the two clones. We are really looking forward to our blending party in August!

I moved the wine into our new temperature controlled wine room anticipating the ML had finished.

Wine room temperature/humidity.

Garage temperature.