As I sit here in October I’m reflecting on the year and trying to determine additional changes to make for 2014. I have been tracking milestones in the vineyard to determine if I can predict the harvest date early in the year…and it looks like with 2 years worth of data I can (so far).

Year                                       2013             2012           Difference

Bub Break                                3/5               3/20            -15
Veraison                                  7/8               7/21            -13
Harvest                                   9/11              9/23            -12
Brix Adjustment                      23.5              23.0            -3
Brix Adjusted Harvest                                                    -15
Growing Degree Days            2000            1786           -14

Wow…back in March I could have predicted the harvest date in September!  Better yet…if I track Growing Degree Days throughout the year it will let me get an idea of the harvest date early…all this is assuming no big heat spikes!

One last item….back in April last year I predicted 2.75 tons of grapes  based on a simple formula of pounds per grape and we came in at 2.61.  Not bad….for 2014 I’m going out on a limb and predicting 4.2 tons.

2012 was the perfect growing season…a lot of rain in the winter, a warm spring and not to warm during the summer and fall.

2013 was a little more challenging but I think our fruit is actually better this year than last year.  We had almost no rain from the beginning of the year.  This caused bud break to be 3 weeks early.  Then in June we had 2″ of rain and a very hot 5 days following.  Mildew pressure was high.  And then…was very cool in July and early August returning to normal temperatures the end of August and early September.  This allowed the flavor to catch up to the early ripening.  An then…a heat wave just before harvest on September 7-9.  Havrest was still early on Sept 11th, but the fruit was very flavorful and retained a good amount of acid.  Unlike 2012 where everything went smooth, this year you had to fight but ended up with great fruit.

For the first time I really saw the benefit of our 42 degree from N/S row orientation.  The end of June/beginning of July it was very hot here in Sebastopol, >90 degrees for a week.  Very unusual for this early in the summer and it set records in several of the cities around us.

A lot of my friends with vineyards experienced sunburned grapes but we didn’t.  Why…around 1pm when the sun is directly overhead, our grapes are positioned so the sun shines down the row and not across.  (the above picture shows shade at 11am) So very little sun is shining directly on the grapes.  My friends rows are N/S so they get sun on the grapes when it is the strongest…and they get sunburned.

I guess that extra 25% cost was worth it!

PS  Later in the year if the temperature of the grapes gets above 95-100 degrees, the enzymes start to “cook” and you will lose flavor.  Another reason for the row orientation.  Let’s hope we get a very warm but not hot rest of the summer.

I just received my CCOF Certification!  Only 3% of the grape growers in Sonoma County are certified organic, so I’m joining an elite group.  In addition, Turtle Vines is probably one of the southern most vineyards in the Russian River Valley, which makes it much more difficult due to our propensity of fog.

In short, what did it take:
– Growing organically for 3 years
– Keeping accurate records of the fertilizers and sprays used
– Filling out a 30 page application
– Getting audited
– Paying $900 in first year fees and about $400 thereafter
– Registering with the California Department of Food and Agriculture

Would I do it again…for sure. Healthier for me, the soil and the grapes.
Has it been a challenge…yes. Probably sprayed twice as often at a much higher cost per spray, and your options if things go wrong are much smaller
What did I learn…You have to plan more in advance and perform more research on how to solve issues. I think this is good farming and better for my brain.

Lastly, for all of my high tech friends…was this as tough as ISO 9000/14000?  I don’t think the paperwork or audits to be Certified Organic are difficult, but you have to live being organic every day.