Category Archives: Wine Growing

Old Math – How to calculate Harvest 2013

Last February I estimated that the 2012 harvest would be 1300 pounds…and we had 1190 pounds with the raccoons getting the other 100 pounds. So…pretty close. How did I get so lucky? Originally I had planned for 3 pounds/vine in my farming plan and I had 2900 vines that were OK and in the first harvest you get 10-20% of the final number (I used 15%) so I got 1305…rounded down to 1300 pounds.

What about this year? Using the same formula I have 3100 vines (of 3130 total) and in the second year you get 50-60% so I should get 5115 pounds.

Now, it you really want to get precise, you would actually measure the number of buds per vine (looks like 7 right now), multiply by 1.5 grape clusters/shoot (typical for Pinot noir), multiply by 80 grams/grape cluster with 3100 vines…and you get 5736 pounds.

Finally, and most importantly, how many bottles with that produce? Well…there are 2.378 gal/case and we started last year with 1190 pounds and got 102 gallons…then you average the top crop estimates and we might get 5425 pounds which will give us 195 cases (minus what the raccoons will get).

For all those math inclined…try the calculation at home to double check me. Sort of reminds me of an algebra question in the 8th grade with Mrs Nancy Wheeler.

One last thing on the subject. 2012 was a great growing year without any heat spikes, fantastic fruit set, no frost events and a great harvest season. I’m guessing we won’t be as lucky this year, so perhaps 150-175 cases. If it really is that big (and I’ll know in July), I’ll have to sell some fruit this year as that is to much for me to make given my current equipment.

Later in the year I will have a “Harvest Total Estimate” contest, and the winner will win a bottle of wine.

Freez’in Season in Russian River Valley

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From bud break until April 15th we all hold our collective breath here in Russian River Valley hoping that we won’t have a hard freeze that will damage our small shoots. That would be very sad. With not much rain since December 2012, the warm 2013 spring like weather and my decision to prune early, our first bud break was 3 weeks earlier than last year. This time next week most of my vines will have small shoots that hold our crop for the fall. If I get a hard freeze, it will be a very small crop…hope for warm nights!

Pictured above was this mornings fog covering Turtle Vines. So romantic and a welcome sight. If you don’t know, if the sky is clear then it will be cold…but if we have fog it does not normally drop below 40 degrees.

Last night we went to San Francisco to see our Nephew’s showing of portraits at the Lexington Bar. He had a great turn-out and we were very happy to see Cody and Andrea. In addition, Joey took the picture below of the Golden Gate Bridge as the fog was rolling in the bay. If you have never been there to see it, quite amazing!

Bud Break – March 5, 2013

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Good News…Bad News. The good news is that all of the vines here at Turtle Vines are pruned, tied to the fruiting wires and looking very good. The bad news is that I have bud break already. Why is this bad? Well, normally bud break is not until later in the month when the chance of a hard frost is gone. If most of the vineyard starts to bud, it will be a very stressful month of March as I don’t have frost protection. The good news is that my growing season will be longer and it will help me later in the year for an early fruit set and then harvest.

Why did this happen? It is a combination of two things. First, I elected to prune early this year. When you prune early then the canes left get all the plants energy and will bud early. Also, we have had very little rain in 2013 and the sun has been out so the vines think it is spring.

First Bottles of Turtlevines

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Just a short post…when I sulfured and added the Xoakers last week, I ended up with 2 half bottles of 2012 Turtle Vines Pinot noir, and a little to taste for the winemaker. You will notice the beautiful color and I hope you can see the glass corks on top. It tastes great, but of course I’m a little prejudice. Can’t wait until it ages more and the oak flavor is incorporated.

Soil Sampling

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Ever since we planted our two clones of Pinot noir, Pommard and 667, they have grown at different rates. The Pommard is wonderful but the 667 is weak. I have heard from many growers that the 667 is just slower to take hold, yields a little less than the Pommard but makes great wine. I want to make sure it is not the soil, so I took 10 samples in the vineyard and sent them off to A & L labs. Will get results next week. Don’t know what I’m actually hoping for…

2012 Work Hours

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January 2 – 3 hours pruning and 6 hours hired pruning
January 3 – 3 hours pruning
January 7 – 3 hours pruning – Done 58 hours total without counting chipping
January 9 – 1 hour tying
January 10 – 2 hours tying
January 22 – 7 hours hired tying
January 23 – 2 hours tying
January 29 – 3 hours soil sampling/piping and 7 hours hired tying
January 30 – 1 hour gopher/weed
January 31 – 2.5 gopher/tying
February 1 – 1.5 hours tying
February 2 – 1 hour gopher/tying
February 3 – 1 hours gopher/tying
February 4 – 8 hours hired weeding/wine/irrigation + 6 hours weeding/gophers/wine

24 hours tying total vs 20 hours in plan
58 hours pruning vs 80 hours planned

Next big project – disbudding

Gopher Count

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Gophers started showing a few days ago (late January)…so time for a little trapping and hawk feeding. Have to get them now through end of March as they have babies in the spring.

January 30 – 1
January 31 – 2
February 1 – 0
Feb 2 – 0 (one was injured)
Feb 3 – 0
Feb 5 – 0
Feb 6 – 1
Vacation
Feb 18 – 1 (Only 1 spot left at this time)
March 15 – 1 small one…they must have mated in February…bad!
March 25 – 4 – new record, with 4 traps
March 27 – 1…1Q – 11
April 1 – 1
April 8 – 1
April 16 – 3
A little vacation from gophering
May 3 – 1 (very big in section 1)
May 31 – 1 drowned in the pool, yes it really happened

Tying up next years crop !!!

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Last year I tied up the trunks of the vines to the rebar and had a few plants that I could leave canes. Most of them were very short and they did not need tying to the wire. THIS YEAR is much different. Probably 70% of the vines will end up with canes (arms that are grown back each year) so instead of only 4 buds per vines I will probably average at least 12 buds on healthier plants to a maximum of 16 buds. So…what does that mean. I’m hoping for 3-4 times as much tonnage, so instead of 1300 pounds, I’ll have 2 to 2.5 tons…eventually 5 tons in two more years.

Just a reminder…last year in February I guessed 1400 lbs. and missed by 100 lbs., so I’m hoping this guess is a good one…of course the growing season in 2012 was the best in years!!!

The pictures below show a close-up of a good vine (on left) that is tied to the wire and a vine that did not grow enough (on right) that is still a stick and only tied to the rebar. The one of the left will produce 3 lbs. and on the right only about 0.5 lbs.

Watering Improvements for 2013

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Why am I moving the hoses? Well…when I put the irrigation hoses in I put the drips about 6” uphill from the vines with the connection hoses vertical. Now, I want to move them in-between the vines so that the roots will seek out water. Secondly, I needed to put in rebar next to the hose to make sure it does not stick out in the row when I mow…this the black ties. Lastly, at the end of the rows I used long black ties to secure the end of the hose to the endposts. This will keep the hose from drooping during the year and give it that finished look.

These little items are perfect winter projects, and they will make my life much easier next year.

Fall Pruning

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Most folks prune in the winter months of January/February. Mainly it is because if you prune in the fall the vines will bud earlier in the spring, and if they do and you get a hard freeze then you will lose most of your crop. Here in Sebastopol, I have not seen hard frosts the end of March to mid-April. So, I am going to begin pruning now as it will take me at least 80 hours this year to prune and probably 120 hours in future years. This will spread out my work thoughout the year, without the mad rush in February/March/April. Hopefully I’m right about the frost timing.

November 10 – 1 hour
November 12 – 4.5 hours and 4.5 hours hired
November 13 – 5.5 hours and 5.75 hours hired (1050 vines completed)
November 23 – 4 hours hired fixing drip lines
November 24 – 2 hours hired fixing drip lines
November 26 – 5.5 hours hired and 4 hours pruning
December 11 – 3 hours pruning
December 28 – 3 hours hired pruning
December 29 – 4 hours hired weeding
December 31 – 6.5 hours hired pruning
January 2 – 6 hours hired and 3 hours pruning
January 3 – 3 hours pruning
January 7 – 3 hours pruning … Done!

Total – 58.25 hours vs 2013 plan of 80 hours…off to a good start, better than plan!