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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 3/27/2015 12:28:42 AM   
Rich64N

 

Posts: 261
Joined: 2/13/2012
From: Tacoma and Pasco WA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the FB add Chris. About 2 years ago I got my nursery catalog from Raintree Nursery (Morton WA - on US-12 over White Pass) and they had mature wine grape plants from WSU Ext Mt Vernon that were their tests. Um, all sold out (start-up vineyard bought all). I was just looking for a few wet climate whites. BTW, I see WA-410 (Chinook Pass) is opening in a couple of weeks, like 2 months early. Good you have water rights. 2015 in WA may be brutal for those that do not have water (we could have an early freeze that destroys everyone too).

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 3/27/2015 7:15:15 PM   
khmark7

 

Posts: 11412
Joined: 7/6/2008
From: Chicago suburbs
Status: offline 		Where are you buying your vines from Chris? I have a friend in Santa Barbara interesting in purchasing a few vines, so I am doing some research for her.

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 3/27/2015 7:40:11 PM   
ChrisinCowiche

 

Posts: 7845
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline 		Most of eastern WA, including me, get vines from Inland Desert Nursery, Benton City.

I got unwaitlisted for Syrah. Also replaced the Mourvèdre with Syrah. Now up to 700 Syrah vines. Around a half acre will be Syrah so I'm happy!

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 3/28/2015 4:17:47 AM   
khmark7

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ChrisinSunnyside

Most of eastern WA, including me, get vines from Inland Desert Nursery, Benton City.

I got unwaitlisted for Syrah. Also replaced the Mourvèdre with Syrah. Now up to 700 Syrah vines. Around a half acre will be Syrah so I'm happy!


Are you going to experiment with any more southern Rhone varieties? Why not try all 13 CdP varieties? If it was me I would even try Pinotage, as I think it would grow well in your area.

I don't plant anything new until about 3 more weeks.

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 9:43:01 AM   
ChrisinCowiche

 

Posts: 7845
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline 		Well, we've been busy. I'll do a few posts to spread out some pictures and commentary. It is becoming more obvious to me every day that I'm a novice at this farming stuff, but with patience and help of others we're getting there. Saturday we picked up our vines at Inland Desert Nursery in Benton City. This is a very impressive operation that generates tens of thousands of wine grape nursery stock every season. Our small order still got good attention and care.

First picture of the Head Goat posing in front of id logo. My logoed tie-dye shirt generated lots of comments on facebook. My (young pretty) sister, Ruth is the artist and she does custom work. She did this for me for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I think she's sold more GR apparel now than we've sold wine. Check her out at Up and Dyed on facebook and Etsy... https://www.facebook.com/upanddyed?fref=ts



Vines at Inland Desert that aren't mine but give an idea of the scale of their operation. The green plants go in later in the season to replace any dead vines. Bins (big wooden boxes) of vines hold probably a thousand or so bare rooted vines buried in mulch to keep them moist. Large customers have them delivered in bins.





My small order got packed into boxes, 300 vines per box, 12 bundles of 25. Plastic bags inside the boxes. We staged inside our "winery" room that some may recognize. The 2013 vintage boxes are stacked behind the new vines.





< Message edited by ChrisinSunnyside -- 4/21/2015 10:55:17 AM >

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 9:58:08 AM   
ChrisinCowiche

 

Posts: 7845
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline 		The rest of Saturday and Sunday I spent about 12 hours learning how to drive a small Bobcat skid steer. I backfilled the irrigation trench, only breaking one pipe, and didn't turn over or kill myself or anyone else. I did move some rocks, but didn't take any pictures. My respect for equipment operators grew by leaps and bounds.

Monday morning the crew arrived early to start planting. O'dark thirty.



This is a bundle of the bare root vines. Moist but not wet, each bundle is tagged and easy to identify.



Here is the crew digging holes for planting. My trenches were not straight enough so most of the work ended up being redone by hand. The crew is a dozen people. I think 8 men and 4 women. Most have worked for Phil and Abraham for a while.



Here is the brain trust of Phil and Abraham talking under their breath about the stupid goat farmer.



The bundles of vines get soaked in a biocide to prevent mold immediately prior to planting.


Antonia's job was to get the vines soaked, trimmed, and separated for planting. She also kept track of varietals per row, etc...


< Message edited by ChrisinSunnyside -- 4/21/2015 10:21:33 AM >

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 10:04:21 AM   
BigJPWineMan

 

Posts: 33
Joined: 4/6/2015
From: Seattle, WA
Status: offline 		Bringing back memories, Chris.... :)

An exciting time! Keep up the good work. It might seem like a struggle at times (coming up), but in a few years, you'll look over your vineyard and say to yourself, 'I did that.'

With a little help, of course. ;)

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 10:13:28 AM   
ChrisinCowiche

 

Posts: 7845
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline 		We started at the top of hill with Pinot Noir. 300 plants filled 7 rows. Here is a PN plant in the hole before being packed in.



After planting, a drip line is installed and immediately turned on to get water on the plant as soon as possible. We are in a desert after all.



Chiva the perro spent most of the day inside since she's a non-discretionary digger, but she did come out for a photo op during break time.



We ended up with 2 different Syrah Clones and I know what's where due to these tags.




Freelon commented earlier about the lack of rocks. Well there were some out there and this one, removed during trenching, got moved to side to become a water stand. I'll move it the rest of the way out of the vineyard some day.



The Drip irrigation tube has a precisely sized hole every 2 feet. The plants are 4 feet apart. One drip is aligned exactly over plant, another in between. Very efficient focused use of water.



The drip valves are not straight (my work) but they all work as well as the filter installed (also not straight, my work) at top of hill. We seem to have plenty of water pressure, 5 HP well pump can keep up with this hill and we can still take a shower inside.



Panorama near the end of Day One of planting. About half the hill got planted Monday. More to come...




< Message edited by ChrisinSunnyside -- 4/21/2015 10:32:52 AM >

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 10:24:01 AM   
recotte

 

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Joined: 1/19/2011
Status: offline 		Great pictures, Chris. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride.

All that work you guys did is making me thirsty....


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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 10:26:23 AM   
Sourdough

 

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Joined: 12/23/2013
From: Austin, Texas
Status: offline 		Bravo! We will celebrate tonight in your honor!

Yea!

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 10:36:41 AM   
musedir

 

Posts: 23486
Joined: 2/25/2010
From: At 2534ft in Asheville near Royal Pines
Status: offline 		I think a Goat Rocks might serve as the first pour today! Hurry up and bottle that Riesling!

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 10:42:45 AM   
Old Doug

 

Posts: 8279
Joined: 5/12/2011
From: Atlanta, Georgia, US
Status: offline 		Chris, it is great to see all the excellent pictures. And that is one cool shirt.

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 3:56:20 PM   
mcsac67

 

Posts: 376
Joined: 8/22/2012
From: Minneapolis, MN
Status: offline 		Awesome photos!

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Post #: 103
RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 4:58:57 PM   
ChrisinCowiche

 

Posts: 7845
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline 		Day two got every plant in the ground. I was off by a row at the top, 7 rows of Pinot instead of 8, so we ended up with 43 total rows. I may buy another 50 plants to fill in. May call it good. Tomorrow landscape fabric, bamboo stakes and vine shelters. Then we wait 3 years to harvest a crop. Oh a few other tasks, but the heavy lifting for 2015 will be done.

Landscape view looking up the hill this time. Plenty of rocks at the top rim from this shot. Still no goats.



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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 5:19:21 PM   
skifree

 

Posts: 3406
Joined: 3/14/2010
From: SE King County, Washington
Status: offline 		Congratulations Chris! Seems like you had a very satisfying two days.

I also appreciate the picture of the rock. And you look good in tie dye.

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 5:30:51 PM   
champagneinhand

 

Posts: 10281
Joined: 5/30/2011
From: Upstate New York, California born.
Status: offline 		Looks great. I think when digging holes for vines, that my yard looks a bit like a pet cemetery just opening for business. I get so many rocks I bought an 8' pry bar that looks like a giant nail. When I get back from Tejas, I will be digging 11 holes for Riesling vines. It's cooled of here for a bit but no signs of a late frost but we might see snow flurries on Thursday. Looks warm up there in the Yak/Natchez area.

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 6:17:47 PM   
skifree

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: champagneinhand

Looks great. I think when digging holes for vines, that my yard looks a bit like a pet cemetery just opening for business. ]I get so many rocks I bought an 8' pry bar that looks like a giant nail. When I get back from Tejas, I will be digging 11 holes for Riesling vines. It's cooled of here for a bit but no signs of a late frost but we might see snow flurries on Thursday. Looks warm up there in the Yak/Natchez area.


Have the same. Any hole in native soil on my property requires that tool.

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Post #: 107
RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 6:33:45 PM   
khmark7

 

Posts: 11412
Joined: 7/6/2008
From: Chicago suburbs
Status: offline 		Looks great CiS. The hillside looks very uniform, so everything should be on a nice schedule in a few years. I would swear I have 5 micro climates just in my city lot....

Just wait till all those babies start growing. It's like you will have 700 little needy children. In some ways this is the easy part.

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 7:05:47 PM   
atlantean

 

Posts: 85
Joined: 12/21/2012
From: Seattle, WA now San Tan Valley
Status: offline 		Chris

Congrats on a job well done. Look forward to hearing about the rest of the process as we wait.

Lee

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 8:03:25 PM   
Stirling

 

Posts: 2288
Joined: 1/12/2007
From: Vancouver, BC
Status: offline 		Congratulations Chris on a job very well done! I can't wait to try your first vintage whenever it gets released!

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/21/2015 8:23:00 PM   
mwest

 

Posts: 430
Joined: 9/25/2010
From: The North
Status: offline 		Love to see the progress Chris! A little worried that you might be providing too much inspiration. Thanks for getting me going on the wine racks.
Cheers,
Matt

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/22/2015 1:11:11 AM   
stephori

 

Posts: 228
Joined: 12/2/2007
From: Saint-Denis France
Status: offline 		Hello Chris,

Congratulations for this project.
Almost five years ago, I've bought shares of the Clos des Fées (a very small %)
Some pictures of the planting activities here
http://www.closdesfees.com/blogs/2015/04/11/le-temps-long-ou-la-plantation-pour-dautres/
http://www.closdesfees.com/blogs/2012/07/07/2026/

Have a good day !

< Message edited by stephori -- 4/22/2015 1:28:04 AM >

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/22/2015 4:07:10 AM   
khmark7

 

Posts: 11412
Joined: 7/6/2008
From: Chicago suburbs
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: stephori

Hello Chris,

Congratulations for this project.
Almost five years ago, I've bought shares of the Clos des Fées (a very small %)
Some pictures of the planting activities here
http://www.closdesfees.com/blogs/2015/04/11/le-temps-long-ou-la-plantation-pour-dautres/
http://www.closdesfees.com/blogs/2012/07/07/2026/

Have a good day !


Where in France is this? Appears in the south, no? Which grapes?


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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/22/2015 4:38:20 AM   
BenNoir

 

Posts: 921
Joined: 7/9/2014
From: Snoqualmie River Valley, WA
Status: offline 		Great pictures Chris, thanks for sharing.
Quite a life adventure.

ben

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/22/2015 8:20:11 AM   
dsGris

 

Posts: 4712
Joined: 8/31/2009
From: Portland, OR
Status: offline 		Just goes to show that farming is a lot of work for a lot of people that produces food and drink enjoyed by many.

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/22/2015 8:35:14 AM   
mye

 

Posts: 2317
Joined: 3/26/2009
From: Bellevue, WA
Status: offline 		This is just awesome Chris... amazing..

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/23/2015 3:27:48 AM   
stephori

 

Posts: 228
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From: Saint-Denis France
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: khmark7

Where in France is this? Appears in the south, no? Which grapes?



The domain is close to Rivesaltes (not so far from Barcelona).
Grapes are Cabernet, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Tempranillo...
Clos des Fées is listed on cellartracker https://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?table=Pivot&Pivot1=Color&fInStock=0&iUserOverride=0&szSearch=clos+des+f%E9es&Pivot2=Wine
They are imported in lots of countries including the US, Sorcières RED may be a good start for a try.
Domain website is here: http://www.closdesfees.com/


< Message edited by stephori -- 4/23/2015 3:30:07 AM >

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/23/2015 4:31:16 AM   
mclancy10006

 

Posts: 4502
Joined: 3/19/2007
From: Cape Cod, MA & Bellevue, WA
Status: offline 		Chris,
Good to see the progress you are making. Now just 3 more years of hard work to see how it turns out!

Mark

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/23/2015 4:41:27 AM   
khmark7

 

Posts: 11412
Joined: 7/6/2008
From: Chicago suburbs
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: ChrisinSunnyside

Day two got every plant in the ground. I was off by a row at the top, 7 rows of Pinot instead of 8, so we ended up with 43 total rows. I may buy another 50 plants to fill in. May call it good. Tomorrow landscape fabric, bamboo stakes and vine shelters. Then we wait 3 years to harvest a crop. Oh a few other tasks, but the heavy lifting for 2015 will be done.

Landscape view looking up the hill this time. Plenty of rocks at the top rim from this shot. Still no goats.




You can always extend the vineyard upward. Maybe add some terraces and make your own La La wines from the steepest part

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RE: Goat Rocks Vineyard - It Begins! - 4/23/2015 1:35:17 PM   
ChrisinCowiche

 

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quote:

You can always extend the vineyard upward. Maybe add some terraces and make your own La La wines from the steepest part
That is the plan for expansion (maybe). The upper part that I own goes to about the base of the nob in the middle, and this photo is deceiving because it levels out some just beyond current vineyard, so there is more land there than you can see. I'm estimating another ~2.5 acres is farmable.

The steepest section even after possible expansion is on the right side of this block where these is some wetter soil in the photo above. Those 6-8 rows sit on a slope that I probably will have to farm (spray, weed, etc...) by hand because I don't think a small tractor could work those rows. My Bobcat skills were really tested there on Sunday. That is also the section that has the most rocks.

Here is an aerial photo that shows this block as well as possible future vineyard. Yes, I have this scaled into an AutoCAD drawing. The base map I downloaded from our county website that also has topo contours. So I know my elevations at top of current vineyard is ~1790 feet, ~1720 at bottom. Upper block would go to about 1825 feet. Some of my neighbors in Naches Heights are a bit higher, but these are some of the highest wine grape vineyards in the state of Washington. Most are between 1000-1500 feet.



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