One of the key parts of sustainable farming is growing cover crops. Cover crops promote beneficial insect flight within the vineyards in early spring, allow us to incorporate high biomass organic material naturally back into the soils, regulate the growth of specific grapevines to enhance vine-to-vine uniformity, limit berry size to further concentrate flavors and [...]
Posts Tagged ‘viticulture’
Cover crops video: what we grow and why
by Brent on May 20, 2010 in From the Vineyards
Budbreak video: a look at the start of our season
by Brent on April 19, 2010 in From the Vineyards
The 2010 growing season officially began in late March when our Merlot vineyard blocks on the Estate experienced budbreak. Protecting these newborn plants from morning frost keeps our vineyard team on alert through mid-May. The Sonoma County Winegrape Commission created a great video about the life of a vine, beginning with pruning. Here’s an advance [...]
A week of rain: good news for Sonoma County vines, fish and residents
by Dana on January 21, 2010 in From the Land
Blue Heron at Jordan Estate’s lower lake Over the last six days, our region has been blanketed with rain. Because the grapevines are currently dormant — and Sonoma County has experienced drought for four consecutive years — we welcome this heavy winter rainfall. While we’re pleased by these last series of storms, we continue [...]
Winter in the vineyards: double-pruning
by Dana on January 14, 2010 in From the Vineyards
While grapevines are dormant during winter, they still require a great deal of care. Pruning is the first step in nurturing these plants for the following season, and this critical work is completed during January, February and March. Our Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot vines are cordon trained, and we leave only a two-bud spur per vine to grow grapes [...]
Recycling and Chardonnay winemaking
by Ronald on January 13, 2010 in From the Cellar
One of the vital steps to crafting a great Chardonnay involves lees, residual yeast cells that remain in contact with the wine during fermentation and aging. The lees help give Chardonnay its round mouthfeel and mild tannins. When fermentation and aging are complete, we rack our Chardonnay from the lees, leaving the yeast cells as a by-product. In keeping [...]
Video: our 2005 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
by Rob on January 11, 2010 in From the Cellar
In this blog and on our YouTube channel, we’ll be posting videos each year where I discuss the latest releases of our Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Russian River Valley Chardonnay. Our 2006 Cabernet and 2008 Chardonnay will release in April 2010, so please check back for our video release tasting notes. Until then, we’ve [...]
