My Vineyard Notes

From 5/26

Woodruff Family Vineyard - Corralitos, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA

Needs suckering, the old Freedom rootstock is prone to throwing suckers. Mid flowering, overall excellent shape. Should yield 8-9 tons of very high quality Pinot Noir.

Llama Vineyard - Bonny Doon, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA

Needs water for 3-4 weeks, drip system has not been on at all and new plants have not had bud break. Turned on water system for owner. Needs a spraying and some suckering. Should yield 800 pounds or so if we net it, vineyard in very good shape.

Arastradero Vineyard - Los Altos Hills, San Francisco Bay AVA

Water needs to go OFF ASAP. Over vigor and throwing laterals from too much water. Needs thinning and a spray of Stylet oil. This was the only vineyard I'm not happy with, I didn't know they had the water on so much. Yields look small, the vines are putting all their energy into growth. Crew needs to spend 4-5 days fixing this vineyard.

Harrison Vineyard - Los Altos Hills, San Francisco Bay AVA

Looks awesome, plants are at wire and have recovered fully from the frost. Need to go out in 3-4 weeks and get the grow tubes off and start training the plants. I'll do this personally so that the it's done right as it's critical for future growth of the plants.

Elandrich Vineyard - Portola Valley, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA

Overall looks good, with good potential yield. Some plants suffering from mites which a sulfur spray will get rid of but no long term damage to the plants or crop. Other plants show 2,4d damage, probably from a weed and feed applied around the vineyard in error. We'll have to watch after that and do some replacements. Bummer, but it happens in suburban vineyards with lots of neighbors and lots of gardeners in the area. Expect we'll get about 1500 pounds of fruit.

Crimsom Vineyard - Morgan Hill, Santa Clara Valley AVA

Vineyard looks great! Much higher yield than expected, in fact we'll have to drop fruit for sure. This looks like it will be the replacement for Uvas Creek we'll need. Very excited to have this come on line a year ahead of schedule, this could become a top site.

Sesson Vineyard - Coyote Valley, Santa Clara Valley AVA

Some frost damage, but most plants re-pushed, others unaffected. Time to mow between the rows. This vineyard looks great. Suspect we'll have very healthy plants here. It's nice to work in these vineyards we've installed rather than rehabs. No problems to correct.

Haut Tubee - San Jose, Santa Clara Valley AVA

Flowering finishing up, which makes sense. The home vineyard is like a little lab for the other vineyards, it's always 2 weeks ahead of the other locations. Clusters look large and loose with larger berries than last year, and a lower chance of bunch rot. Yields look lower, which should help the plants get riper flavors even though the berries are bigger. Things are looking pretty good so far.