A few months ago, I made a difficult decision – to leave The Donum Estate and work as vineyard manager for Larkmead Vineyards in the upper Napa Valley. Anne has invited me to discuss my reasons for this decision and report on my new job.

I did not make my decision to get a better job, but to make a change. After farming for over a quarter of a century in Carneros, I have accomplished my mission here. I always had a dream to farm in Napa Valley as well. Now preparation and opportunity have come together, and I can learn the differences between Carneros and Napa.

The vineyards are located a few miles south of Calistoga in a narrow portion of the valley between Highway 29 and the … More…

It’s been raining off and on this week. We only have a day or two of pruning left, but we’re not working. The cover crops are so high and wet in the rows that we quickly get soaked to the waist, and that’s miserable.The rainfall has been pretty evenly distributed this winter. Although the soil is pretty saturated, the cover crops have done a good job absorbing excess moisture. We haven’t seen a cover crop of this size in years. The vigorous growth is welcome, because the roots penetrate the soil. When the roots die back, they leave room for oxygen and water to move down deep, and the plants also break down into fertilizer and organic matter in the soil.

The vines look relaxed, in great shape … More…

We had a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend, and a lot to give thanks for. We’ve had only a few days of showers post-harvest, just enough to turn the hills and cover crops in the vineyards a vibrant green in contrast to the few remaining yellow, brown and rust-colored leaves on the vines.

We followed a year of low rainfall with another relatively dry year. Lucky for us, we had neither a hot summer nor a heavy crop in 2007. Next spring, if the soil profile is not refilled naturally, we will irrigate. That’s where our neutron probes are very helpful, helping us to determine the extent of soil moisture and how much we need to add when the ground isn’t saturated.

Still, despite the many advantages of drip irrigation (low, precise and efficient … More…

The beauty of the post-harvest period is that the tempo changes. There’s a feeling that “we made it.” The horses are back in the stable. There is time to reflect on the past season and assess it. What went well? What did not? Was it a timing issue?

But while this is a period when we can relax, it’s also a time of planning and preparation. We want to put the vineyard to sleep in a good way before the rainy weather begins. Since we never know what’s coming for sure, we have to prepare for heavy rains.

We’ve been flagging vines, marking those on which we observed slight, moderate or heavy leaf roll virus (which causes leaves to turn red and curl under). We question what we are seeing. Is it … More…

This is a big week for us, the big payoff for the year. We’ve had great weather and the fruit is beautiful.

The Calera Pinot Noir selection did come around in flavor intensity, and it was worth the wait. It came off yesterday, with sugar in the low 24 degrees Brix (approximate percentage of sugar) range.

We had a little bit of rain yesterday, too minor to do much, a drizzle more like a heavy dew. It may have softened the skins a little, so we’re ready to harvest the Donum block that we were waiting for today. All the Pinot Noir should come off this week, and we’ll probably take in our Chardonnay early next week.

Normally our vineyards ripen and are harvested in order of … More…