RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins!

CellarTracker Main Site

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins!

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [Cellar Talk] >> General Discussion >> RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins!

Page: << < prev 15 16 [17] 18 19 next > >>

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 11/3/2017 8:42:48 AM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: penguinoid

I'm late to this thread, but have been reading through it over the past few days. Thanks for sharing -- it seems to be a great small vineyard, and a very interesting venture. Doing something like this is a daydream of mine too, so its good to read about someone actually managing it.

Thanks pengiunoid! If you need a consultant to help you get going down under, I'm available. Just provide airfare.

Actually, there are a few Washington winemakers I'm aware of who have consulted down there in our "off season" here, and visa versa. The most famous of those is likely John Duval, http://longshadows.com/winemakers/profile.php?name=John+Duval&id=10

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to penguinoid)

Post #: 481

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 11/3/2017 2:49:08 PM

Sourdough

Posts: 1883
Joined: 12/23/2013
From: Austin, Texas
Status: offline

Glad to hear things are going smoothly. And I am sure it feels GREAT to have done it all yourself!

Salud!
Jay

(in reply to penguinoid)

Post #: 482

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 11/3/2017 8:48:28 PM

penguinoid

Posts: 1046
Joined: 1/10/2013
From: Australia via the UK, now in Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: ChrisinSunnyside

quote:

ORIGINAL: penguinoid

I'm late to this thread, but have been reading through it over the past few days. Thanks for sharing -- it seems to be a great small vineyard, and a very interesting venture. Doing something like this is a daydream of mine too, so its good to read about someone actually managing it.

Thanks pengiunoid! If you need a consultant to help you get going down under, I'm available. Just provide airfare.

Thank you for the offer

. Sadly, it's likely to stay a day-dream for a number of reasons, not least the money. Also common sense.

I have lots of fun day-dreaming about what I'd grow and where -- for example, perhaps Chenin blanc would do well in Central Otago, given how much schist they have there? Or perhaps Jura wine grapes would do well in the Adelaide Hills? Or perhaps I could move to France and buy a vineyard in the Loire, perhaps near Savennières? Ironically, France would probably work out cheaper, if I went to the Loire or Languedoc, as land and winery equipment are both quite expensive in Australia. (I am a Francophile, so I would not need much encouragement to move there. The cheeses by themselves are enough.) Actually settling on one place and a few varieties, and making the wine, would be a whole different matter. Ditto actually selling the stuff once it's made.

quote:

ORIGINAL: ChrisinSunnyside

Actually, there are a few Washington winemakers I'm aware of who have consulted down there in our "off season" here, and visa versa. The most famous of those is likely John Duval, http://longshadows.com/winemakers/profile.php?name=John+Duval&id=10

I know quite a few winemakers from Australia who have worked in the US and Europe. I know Brian Croser worked in the US, but I'm not sure if he ever worked in Washington. I know of John Duval, but wasn't aware he'd worked in Washington. One American winemaker I'm aware of in Australia is Bradley Hickeys, who is from NY and owns/runs Brash Higgins in the Mclaren Vale. I don't know of any from Washington, but then I'm really not part of the wine trade here.

_____________________________

Probably not a penguin

https://www.cellartracker.com/user.asp?iUserOverride=167981

https://www.instagram.com/penguinoid/
https://blog.wodewose.org/

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 483

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 2/12/2018 10:59:40 AM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

Almost the three year anniversary of this thread. Last year we were still under 2+ feet of snow on this date, but this year has been more similar to 2015 and 2016 with still some frost, but some green happening already too. We've taken a bit of risk maybe but have started pruning. So far 24 rows done in past 2 weekends, and should finish in a few more days. Everything looks healthy and no signs of any damage from this past mild winter. Knock wood... we should have our biggest and close to full crop this year. I did trim up cuttings of every variety (except Pinot Noir because we're not to those rows yet), dip in a root growth hormone gel, and have potential starts for around 120 or so new plants sitting in water. We'll see if they take, then will fill in the few holes from dead vines in existing rows.

Things we have learned are a) move the sweep wires all the way to the top before they get buried in vines b) tie up horizontal cordons better NOW versus later when the growth and heavy fruit starts pulling them to the ground. c) Chiva is still not trained to pick up and stack the clippings but she loves being out there.

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 484

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 2/12/2018 6:58:16 PM

khmark7

Posts: 11405
Joined: 7/6/2008
From: Chicago suburbs
Status: offline

Nice Chris. Your 2 feet of snow is resting comfortably around the Chicago area. No pruning here, at least for the next week or two.

This is year 3 or 4 for several of my vinifera vines, so if they survived our two weeks of cold temps i might have a good crop. Curious to hear when bud break arrives in Washington.

_____________________________

"a rogue Provence rouge of unknown provenance." author grafstrb

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 485

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 2/13/2018 9:21:55 AM

BRR

Posts: 1839
Joined: 9/1/2009
From: Seattle, WA
Status: offline

We really need it to stay cold for a few more weeks. Having buds starting to show in early-to-mid February is no bueno. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some sustained cold for the farmers in Central and Eastern WA. Nice pictures, Chris!

_____________________________

Cheers!

(in reply to khmark7)

Post #: 486

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 6/4/2018 10:16:42 AM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

FWIW, Photobucket is back. I was browsing this thread this morning, mainly looking to see which clone of Syrah had done well, which one had a lot of frozen vines in winter of 16/17, and I noticed all the photos I had posted here using Photobucket over past 3+ years were visible again.

I added a few new photos (one posted above) and seems like things are back to previous with some free hosting, at least for a while, though I do see they have a number of plans advertised. I may pay a fee to preserve some old photobucket hosted pictures. May not.

In vineyard news, 2018 is moving right along and I feel like we have a better idea of what we are doing, maybe. I mowed everything by rider this weekend and finished a good first round of suckering and tying. Our ground is dry, dry, dry, no measureable rain since April 7, but vineyard irrigation and deep roots are keeping the canopy growth in good shape. A few flowers just starting, and I expect full bloom in next couple of weeks. Still some vines needing replacement, but I am pleased enough with the 1650 or so that are living, and they for sure provide enough work, and a good amount of fruit if past two harvests are an indications, as is. Our June schedule includes a lot of travel, so not sure I'll get time to plant and nurture any new vines anyway.

< Message edited by ChrisinSunnyside -- 6/4/2018 1:50:37 PM >

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to BRR)

Post #: 487

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 6/4/2018 11:03:44 AM

PinotPhile

Posts: 3728
Joined: 3/16/2014
From: Southern CA
Status: offline

Looks quite good, Chris. Best of luck with the Syrah!

PP

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 488

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 6/25/2018 10:46:05 AM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

I haven't looked yet to see if this is already patented, but thinking I should apply if not. I have all the pieces except the belt, top and bottom pulleys. I drew this to see what sizes to buy after measuring the other stuff, and I think this set-up is what I'll try first.

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to PinotPhile)

Post #: 489

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 7/7/2018 7:14:19 PM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

This is cherry season in Yakima. In the past couple of weeks we have purchased around 80 pounds. It turns out that is more cherries than a family of 3 can eat in a week. So we took some next door this morning to our new neighbors. They were not home.

When I turned around, I realized a view of our vineyard that I had never seen before. The excavator cut for their garage/outbuilding provides a perfect real time cross section of our vineyard soil. I have known this dirt well over the past few years; it is wind blown loess and tastes like dirt. Naches Heights was higher in elevation than the highest Missoula Flood which affected the soil geology in most of the Columbia Valley, and the loess is one of the AVA's distinguishing characteristics. The other mostly being the andesite lava flow rocks that form the plateau.

Those are our Pinot Noir vines at the top.

Turning more directly into the hillside, looking east, the loess is laced with small boulders at about 4-5 feet depth, then a uniform 10-15 feet. Not sure what those horizontal bands are; St Helens or other volcanic eruptions perhaps. The one in 1980 dumped about 6 inches of ash on Yakima and I have some still in my attic, though I doubt this profile shows anything from that recent eruption. I am no geologist though so any help appreciated.

We are actually growing grapes too. These are the Riesling that I suspect might turn purple again in about a month.

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 490

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 7/7/2018 7:24:13 PM

mtpisgah

Posts: 3570
Joined: 6/7/2012
From: South Carolina
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: ChrisinSunnyside

I haven't looked yet to see if this is already patented, but thinking I should apply if not. I have all the pieces except the belt, top and bottom pulleys. I drew this to see what sizes to buy after measuring the other stuff, and I think this set-up is what I'll try first.

You need to run a chain from the free hub to the machine rather than using the trainer’s tire interface. It would be more efficient. I meant to tell you that last week but someone kept giving me wine.

_____________________________

Paul

I read books to pass the time until the next bottle of wine.

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 491

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 7/7/2018 7:40:28 PM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: mtpisgah

You need to run a chain from the free hub to the machine rather than using the trainer’s tire interface. It would be more efficient. I meant to tell you that last week but someone kept giving me wine.

I thought about that. A long chain and bike sprocket was actually my original plan, you could even change gears. But I have the pulley and belt for the moment (arrived from Grainger yesterday), partly because I think it will be safer around 5 and 2 year old fingers, and I'll test it soon.

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to mtpisgah)

Post #: 492

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 7/8/2018 1:02:17 PM

PinotPhile

Posts: 3728
Joined: 3/16/2014
From: Southern CA
Status: offline

I am no expert in viticulture, Chris, but that vineyard and the Riesling grapes sure look healthy to me.

Goat Rocks Cheers!

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 493

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - PLANTING Begins! - 7/9/2018 3:26:36 AM

musedir

Posts: 23485
Joined: 2/25/2010
From: At 2534ft in Asheville near Royal Pines
Status: offline

quote:

someone kept giving me wine.

_____________________________

"Fan the sinnking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine." Charles Dickens.

(in reply to mtpisgah)

Post #: 494

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/9/2018 8:09:35 AM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

Ladies and gentlemen, behold the Velocrusher...

It still needs a bit of tweaking, but with 21 gears on the bike and 3 resistance settings on the trainer, this is a 63 speed device.

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 495

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/9/2018 9:09:15 AM

musedir

Posts: 23485
Joined: 2/25/2010
From: At 2534ft in Asheville near Royal Pines
Status: offline

_____________________________

"Fan the sinnking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine." Charles Dickens.

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 496

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/9/2018 3:07:29 PM

PinotPhile

Posts: 3728
Joined: 3/16/2014
From: Southern CA
Status: offline

Wine cardio? Why not?

(in reply to musedir)

Post #: 497

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/9/2018 3:47:33 PM

Sourdough

Posts: 1883
Joined: 12/23/2013
From: Austin, Texas
Status: offline

Now all you need is a Tour de France rider to train on your crusher! But with 63 speeds perhaps it should be known as the Crush-o-Matic: it crushes it dices, it whips, an it froths. It even liquidated skins, seeds, and stems. And for the next ten minutes, order this miracle machine and you will get not only the Crush-o-matic but more...

(in reply to PinotPhile)

Post #: 498

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/9/2018 4:22:06 PM

WineGuyCO

Posts: 3796
Joined: 9/5/2017
From: Living at 7200 ft. in Monument CO
Status: offline

Great thread Chris !!

Rick

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 499

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/9/2018 5:20:36 PM

khmark7

Posts: 11405
Joined: 7/6/2008
From: Chicago suburbs
Status: offline

I like it. Maybe you can reach out to Tom Boonen and see if he is free during crush now that he is retired from riding.

_____________________________

"a rogue Provence rouge of unknown provenance." author grafstrb

(in reply to WineGuyCO)

Post #: 500

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/10/2018 3:42:27 AM

musedir

Posts: 23485
Joined: 2/25/2010
From: At 2534ft in Asheville near Royal Pines
Status: offline

Seems the perfect film for inventor Cary to view as he contemplates his bicycle “victims” for his contraption... Triplets of Belleville

_____________________________

"Fan the sinnking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine." Charles Dickens.

(in reply to khmark7)

Post #: 501

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/26/2018 4:14:41 PM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

I've been asked by my picking crew to predict harvest dates so they can do their work schedules. Oi. But I am not guessing totally blind. I picked third weekend on October, based mostly on our family tradition, but it also usually gets our grapes the hang time they need, and usually safely before frost danger.

It got me to thinking about Growing degree days, so I looked up the data. The WSU Ag Extension operates 176 weather stations statewide, and makes that data publically available. Conveniently for me there is one named Cowiche that is less than a mile as the crow flies from my vineyard. I've mined my data and done the math to learn how to be a farmer since I planted in 2015.

April 1 - July 25

Growing Degree Days .... Inches of Precipitation (to show how dry we really are here)

2015 - 1794.3 .......... 1.21
2016 - 1433.2 .......... 1.24
2017 - 1346.7 .......... 2.4
2018 - 1507.5 .......... 1.11

My local heat units (GDD) track a bit higher than the Naches Heights AVA reported number, but similar. Tells me this year we are tracking well to have ripe fruit by mid October.

< Message edited by ChrisinSunnyside -- 7/26/2018 4:22:44 PM >

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to musedir)

Post #: 502

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/27/2018 9:00:26 AM

Vino Me

Posts: 144
Joined: 3/27/2007
From: Chicago/South Haven, MI
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: ChrisinSunnyside
April 1 - July 25

Growing Degree Days .... Inches of Precipitation (to show how dry we really are here)

2015 - 1794.3 .......... 1.21
2016 - 1433.2 .......... 1.24
2017 - 1346.7 .......... 2.4
2018 - 1507.5 .......... 1.11

Chris, thought you might like to see a comparison to the same info for my vineyard in Southwest Michigan:

Thru 7/27/18

2015 - 1332 .......... 14.78
2016 - 1538 .......... 11.55
2017 - 1504 .......... 15.12
2018 - 1590 .......... 19.17

I think this really puts into perspective how dry you are.

VM

< Message edited by Vino Me -- 7/27/2018 9:01:48 AM >

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 503

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 7/27/2018 11:36:05 AM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

Yep, thanks Vino Me. Interesting too how close our overall average is for GDD. Some warmer or cooler years but very close.

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to Vino Me)

Post #: 504

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 8/7/2018 4:25:21 AM

khmark7

Posts: 11405
Joined: 7/6/2008
From: Chicago suburbs
Status: offline

Bird netting up yet?

_____________________________

"a rogue Provence rouge of unknown provenance." author grafstrb

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 505

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 8/7/2018 12:02:09 PM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: khmark7

Bird netting up yet?

Nope. Last weekend berries still all green and hard. A couple more weeks until veraison by best guess. I have taken a bit of heat/wind stress, Row 1 Sangio facing the wind seems a bit battered especially, but watered a good round over the weekend. Heat is tracking well ahead o 2017, but a bit behind 2016. Expect to pick Gewurz, Pinot and a bit of other reds for a rose late September, Sangio and Syrah pick likely late October.

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to khmark7)

Post #: 506

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 8/7/2018 6:26:52 PM

khmark7

Posts: 11405
Joined: 7/6/2008
From: Chicago suburbs
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: ChrisinSunnyside

quote:

ORIGINAL: khmark7

Bird netting up yet?

Nope. Last weekend berries still all green and hard. A couple more weeks until veraison by best guess. I have taken a bit of heat/wind stress, Row 1 Sangio facing the wind seems a bit battered especially, but watered a good round over the weekend. Heat is tracking well ahead o 2017, but a bit behind 2016. Expect to pick Gewurz, Pinot and a bit of other reds for a rose late September, Sangio and Syrah pick likely late October.

Interesting. My latest ripening vines are now going through veraison and we usually begin the season a week or two behind you. Maybe the heat in your area is delaying maturity? When was veraison last year for you?

VM - Veraison for you?

_____________________________

"a rogue Provence rouge of unknown provenance." author grafstrb

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 507

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 8/14/2018 3:25:07 PM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

My trusty vineyard crew, aka Barbilocks, reported our first look at purple today. I'm away for work on my day job, but nets will go up while I'm away on these rows at least, or this weekend at latest. This is Pinot Noir, which has historically been our first turner. Dates in this thread are close to same as this year. I will look back to confirm.

Smoke not as bad a problem for us (yet) this year compared to last. I'm two hours north in Wenatchee and air quality and visibility is about a half mile due to fires near Lake Chelan. No immediate danger to people, like some areas of CA/OR/CO, but not a good thing nonetheless.

ETA: Veraison dates have been 8/15/15, 7/28/16, 8/10/17, I'm going to say 8/10/18, always Pinot first. I have been gone since 8/5, so this is a best guess for this year based on pictures I saw today.

< Message edited by ChrisinSunnyside -- 8/14/2018 3:35:16 PM >

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to khmark7)

Post #: 508

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 8/15/2018 3:39:30 AM

musedir

Posts: 23485
Joined: 2/25/2010
From: At 2534ft in Asheville near Royal Pines
Status: offline

Looking good Billy Ray.

_____________________________

"Fan the sinnking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine." Charles Dickens.

(in reply to ChrisinCowiche)

Post #: 509

RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - TRELLISSING Begins! - 8/27/2018 9:41:45 AM

ChrisinCowiche

Posts: 7838
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline

It's amazing, but not too surprising, that many of my wine buddies are also bicycle enthusiasts. With help from mtpisgah and JerryL, chain drive with a tensioner (that also happens to be a derailleur) was the trick that provides a smooth, efficient drive system to run the crusher destemmer with bike power.

In other news, the vineyard netting is up with exception of first 7 rows of Sangio, which are about 50% into veraison, everything else is netted and moving along ripening nicely. Our weather has cooled, and even a hint of a bit of rain yesterday, which has should help air quality and firefighters, also should provide a nice smooth ripening curve for next month or so. Our GDD are on track with 2016, so harvest dates are likely September 8 or maybe even sooner for Gewurztraminer (need to pick it before acids start dropping too much) , September 15 for Pinot Noir, and some rose of Syrah and Sangiovese. Mid to late October for Syrah/Viognier and Sangiovese.

My day job project that I've been away since July is finishing up this week, so I'll be home for harvest. I'm excited to use my new toys, the Velocrusher/destemmer, and the Lancmann press for the first times. We have more fruit to process (and wine to make), and these machines should make it much easier.

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to musedir)

Post #: 510