What is your definition of terroir?

Simply put, it’s all of the physical characteristics of a site. That includes soil, climate (including rainfall, wind and fog) and elements of topography like elevation, slope and exposure. Beyond those physical features, of course, your farming philosophy will also come into play.

What makes a potential vineyard site look promising?

Let’s assume you are in a cool climate region like Carneros appropriate for growing Pinot Noir.  When considering bare ground for a vineyard, you need a clear picture in mind of what constitutes a good vineyard, which, of course, derives from your education and experience. You have to know what you want from the site, then read the land to see if you have it.

You’re really looking for uniformity – similar soils and slopes that lend themselves to being worked as a single unit. You might, for example, observe the growth of cover grasses, noting either their natural evenness or lack thereof. You could take soil samples much as a doctor tests a patient for baselines such as height, weight, blood pressure and pulse rate. You may look deeper into the soil profile with a backhoe pit to discover the degree of soil uniformity, clay content, soil depth or the existence of hardpan.

Often your decision about the suitability of a site will relate to water – annual rainfall, water-holding capacity and drainage. If you’re in a low rainfall area, you may not need as much slope for drainage, or you may be fine farming on the flats, but not down in the swales.

Isn’t it true that Burgundian grand cru sites tend to be on slopes?

Yes, but it’s important to keep in mind that Burgundy and California comparisons are often “apples and oranges.” It is true that there, as here, the slopes are literally middle ground, hilltops are generally leaner, lower vigor areas while the ground at the base of slopes is wetter, siltier and thus, more vigorous. That’s a function of gravity, a constant in both regions. However, with drier growing seasons in California, the amount of slope is not as critical for good drainage.

What made you confident that your sites could yield “ultimate Pinot?”

First, I know them intimately. The Donum Estate comprises three vineyards: Donum Ranch (70 acres) and Ferguson Block (20 acres), adjacent to each other on the first hillsides rising off the bay in Carneros, and Nugent Vineyards (11 acres) in the Russian River Valley.

I have worked with Ferguson Block since 1981. I planted Donum Ranch beginning in 1989 and Nugent Vineyards in 1997. I walked the land until I knew how to lay out units with the goal of uniformity. And now having farmed those blocks all these years, I understand the nuances of how the ground responds.

Some feel that how you balance crop levels can adjust for variations in topography, but I prefer what I think is an easier, simpler approach — uniform units. On the other hand, this is commercial farming, so the units can’t be too small. One of our grand cru sites at the Donum Ranch is the 5.5-acre 4-90 block, source of our new vineyard designate called West Slope. To achieve uniformity on this block, for example, we chose to irrigate the top portion differently than the lower half of the slope.

Our rainy season is generally December through February, and we’ve already had quite a bit of rain this year. Sometimes rainfall ceases, and other years we may receive three to five inches or more in March and April. So we adjust and work with the season. In a wet year, we may mow our cover grasses and let them grow out again. In a drought year, we may incorporate them into the soil in every other row.

What are other methods you use to adjust to the season?

My vineyard team and I will touch each vine eight times during the growing season. Those operations are 1) pruning and tying, 2) first suckering, 3) trellis wire moving and shoot positioning, 4) lateral removal, 5) leaf removal, 6) weak shoot thinning, 7) green thinning and harvest.

Given that we have good ground and carefully tended vines, each of those operations is a tweak, a slight adjustment to the vintage. If we have difficult conditions during bloom and set and a resultant poor set and shatter, that will mean our green thinning will be different – maybe we’ll remove second crop.

If we have a wet year, we may make an extra pass to open the canopy more. If we have a heavy fruit set or wings on the clusters, we may have to manage the clusters so there is no fruit on fruit to prevent rot. Normally we start with ten-bud canes and about 28 to 30 clusters, and we end up with 18 to 20.

So do lower yields mean better quality?

In general, both in Burgundy and in California, lower yields equate with greater concentration in the fruit. We want balanced, evenly and completely ripened fruit. That means that clusters from weak shoots should have been suckered or shaded fruit removed, because they won’t provide the same, uniform composition. With better understanding of your site, the season and the wine you want to make, you will make better decisions.

Your title is “winegrower.” Are wines made in the vineyard?

Yes. The best wines are. Farming and winemaking need to be connected. They are part of the same continuum. Great fruit needs less manipulation so that the wine practically makes itself in the cellar with a minimal amount of shepherding.

One reason we consider this an “ultimate Pinot Noir” project is that there is one vision from pruning to bottling. By being totally estate grown from our three sources, we are heavy-handed on the vineyard side and we really do grow the wine. It’s no coincidence that our winemaker, Kenneth Juhasz, spends considerable time in the vineyards to observe, discuss and taste what we are doing.

The other key factor is doing it over time; we learn something more with each vintage.

All right, how do you drive terroir?

Here in California we have unique conditions in that our summers are dry. So water is the gas pedal. We have excellent tools to tell us what the moisture content is in the vine and in the soil. We can use water to trigger growth. We can offset heat spikes with water and cool the stressed vines. And in a cool season, we can back off. We can adjust to what the vintage gives us.

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 Silverado Trail. I can see Mt. St. Helena and the white-washed walls of Sterling Winery on a hilltop as I work. The soil is drier than Carneros and there is less vegetation. I visited Donum last Saturday, and they haven’t disked yet. We are disking in Napa, and the soil is already dry.

Of course, the big difference is that I’m growing Cabernet Sauvignon instead of Pinot Noir. Someone remarked to me that now I’m growing the king of wine grapes. And I told him that I had already farmed the queen. When I started working with Pinot Noir, I thought that if I can do this, I can do everything else. Now I realize how valuable my experience is.

I now farm a bigger vineyard with more people and challenges, but I’m comfortable and I trust my experience. It’s a new and exciting venture, but I’m not nervous. I know what to do.  I spent 16 years farming for Larry Hyde and another decade with Anne Moller-Racke. What’s the main thing of value that I learned from them? Very simply, it’s to take care. Paying attention to detail is the best way to farm. It’s important to be self-critical and to do a good job from my own point of view.

I was talking to the owner of Larkmead about an agreement. I told him, “The vineyard is mine, but you can have the grapes.” We laughed about it, but this is my way. I want to farm like the vineyard is my own.

For me, working at Donum emphasized the importance of building a good team to accomplish what is needed in the vineyard. The team communicates knowledge and experience into action. The newest employee, the lowest guy on the organizational chart, is the most important because he is doing the work.

I’ve been listening to our new president. Obama says that we have to pursue excellence, that nothing is easy, but that yes, we can succeed. If one man can do it, we all can do it. It means I can do it well, too.

Donum will be part of my heart forever. I felt that it was my project, too. I was responsible for my area, and with Anne, Kenneth and the whole team, we created success. I feel I can put a big check mark by Donum and I am ready for the next challenge.

My new job is not better – it’s different. Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, and its sister Bordeaux varieties, are totally different. I have been welcomed by my friends in Napa Valley, and I have a new team. I tell my people, “I will take care of your job, but you must take care of my job.”

Everyone has a task. The other day we were repairing a mower. A drive shaft runs from the power-take-off to a gearbox, and then another shaft comes out and operates the blades. I pointed out to them that if one part of this assembly doesn’t work, nothing else works. So that’s the exciting part of this new project for me – getting everyone to work well together.

The vines look relaxed, in great shape for bud break. They have more energy this year, which makes sense following a smaller crop in 2007. And they need the water. Although they are dormant, a cold, dry winter can prove stressful for vines.

Anne and I were talking yesterday, and I told her that this is my 24th vintage. I know enough, but not everything. My job is interesting because it’s a constant learning experience.

I play a game with myself, like a football coach. I don’t focus on the end of the game. Instead, I try to concentrate on it play by play – a five-yard run here, getting into field goal position there. Yes, I have an idea of what a whole vintage might bring, but right now I’m concentrating totally on pruning, and next week, on tying the canes to trellis wires.

As I look back over 24 years, I realize there are many more people making wine now. Many have gone to school and are good at putting the numbers together. In the old days, people made wine more with intuition and talent, but the results were more vintage dependent because they had fewer tools to work with. Today, I think there may be fewer people with talent in our industry. But those who are both well-educated and talented — they are exceptional. Talent also has a lot to do with passion for your work.

Our job in the vineyard is to create components for great wine – the proper tannins, acid, sugar and fruit flavors and aromas. If it is necessary to manipulate the wines in the winery to make up for deficiencies from the vineyard, the wine will be inferior.

Kenneth is very involved with the vineyard. When he began here as winemaker, he was on the bench. He became a good player, then a team leader, and now he’s helping to coach the team. He is very confident in his decisions. I joked with him never to believe he’s the owner, because in football they may have power, but they may not know all they need to.

I watch Kenneth walk the vineyards. He knows what he needs and what he’s looking for, and he has developed intuition. He gets a lot of information from the grapes, and that’s good for our team.

Kenneth really starts getting involved around veraison (when grapes soften and change color). Then he’s like a chef at the farmer’s market or the fish market – he wants to know everything about his raw material. If a chef has the finest ingredients, he has to do very little, but he has to know exactly what to do. I think that’s the role of the winemaker with outstanding grapes.

My position is to make sure both Anne and Kenneth have all the information from the vineyard that they need. The better the information I provide, the more success we will have. Everything in the vineyard system is connected – fog, humidity, temperature, soil moisture, wind. If you are calm, you see it all. So you take it all in, digest it and present your interpretation. Accurate, honest information leads to trust and that eventually makes good wine. Over the years, Anne and I have learned to speak precisely the same language.

So I need to get my hands and boots dirty, be aware, gather information and stay connected with my team. It’s a discipline, a way you live. Larry Hyde taught me to pay attention. I try to teach guys who are learning to ask themselves, why am I cutting? What will this mean?

When you pay attention, you see so much more. And you become aware of the consequences of your actions. When you are pruning one vine, it hardly seems to matter if you make two cuts or four cuts. But when you prune a thousand vines, that’s two thousand additional cuts.

Recently I replaced my water heater, so I had to solder copper pipe. I had never done that before, and that’s a helpless feeling. When I asked the experts, they told me it was easy – yes, for them! That experience was good for me, because it made me more compassionate with the guys who are still learning. And we’re all still learning.

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 water use, weed suppression), it’s not as if you replenish the whole soil with just two emitters per plant. So there is some flow of moisture away from the artificially replenished areas toward the dry middle of the row. We start taking readings early in the year to assess our situation.

At bloom (flowering) time, we want adequate soil moisture to prevent stress. We also watch the leaf canopy. We want it to be supportable given the season conditions we must respond to.

I hear more and more these days about wells running dry. Fortunately, we don’t irrigate very much. Water needs vary from vineyard site to site, and we have the tools to understand how it varies, so we’re very judicious in water use.

We’re also lucky in Carneros to have secondary treated water (tertiary is high quality potable water) available for irrigation. And the county is working on all the filtration to provide tertiary water in the near future. We realize what a precious resource water is. Part of our sustainable philosophy of farming is to be good stewards of water, too. It’s one way to give thanks.

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 a seasonal phenomenon because of a dry year? Did the long 2006 season cause stress so that we now see red leaves all over? Or is it mealy bugs spreading the virus?

By marking the vines while we can still observe the leaves, we will be able to check their status next year and compare. This is a new challenge for us, and this information will be helpful. The next question is, can we farm to influence this expression of virus? If we thin our crop a little more severely, what difference will it make?

We also think about cover crops and erosion control, and about incorporating gypsum (hydrated calcium sulfate) into the soil. We do petiole (stalk that joins a leaf to a shoot) analyses for nutrient deficiencies at bloom (flowering) and veraison (when berries soften and change color).

Every three to five years, we take soil samples just as we do before planting a vineyard. Carneros soils are often acidic, so we might want to raise the pH (lower the acidity) slightly for better balance by adding gypsum, which also can improve the calcium/magnesium ratio (3:1 is optimal) for better nutrient availability. Gypsum is a good soil conditioner as well and can make heavy clay soils more permeable, allowing water to penetrate and thereby also creating better uptake of nutrients.

This is the time we do our housecleaning, so to speak, like making trellis repairs, for we never know if rain and mud will allow us to get into the vineyard in the spring. Our vineyard crew is not seasonal. They are full-time, and their families live here, so they have work to do year-round as a part of our sustainable approach to farming.

I walked through Ferguson Block this morning, through some rows where we had pulled out some older vines. The mornings are chilly now, even though the days are still quite warm. Where the Dijon Pinot Noir clones were picked early, all the leaves are gone now. October is definitely ending.

I thought back to 2004 when we took in all of our Pinot Noir in less than a week. This year we picked Pinot for a whole month. For the past three years, we have experienced hang time. This year was the real deal. We didn’t just let the fruit hang. The sugars wouldn’t move, yet there was an evolution of tannins and skin ripening without that sugar development. And it’s a good thing because of the big spread we had in flowering.

Bloom began in early May, about a third of the crop, then hit a stand-still and finally finished in late May. This even happened on the same vine and in the same cluster, so you really couldn’t thin for it. So the moderate weather and long hang time gave those later-developing berries a chance to catch up without making the riper berries into raisins.

It’s too early to call this vintage, but Nabor and I tasted the wines about ten days ago and they seemed wonderful. The great thing about not being rushed in the vineyard is that we also weren’t pushed in the winery – there was time and space to make and execute very subtle winemaking decisions. Even the lower yields had a positive side, also allowing more space and more time so that Kenneth could make beautiful, expressive wines. Happy Halloween!

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 site. We expect some blocks to be ready earlier. But this year has been quite unusual because the grapes came in grouped by clones and selections. (Clones are budwood from, and so genetically identical to, a single “mother” vine; field selections are taken from a number of vines and have some genetic variation.)

The Dijon clones were earliest. First they came off of the more gravelly soils of the Blue Farm vineyard around my house, in Carneros but closer to Sonoma. Then the 667 and 777 Dijon clones at Ferguson Block were ready, followed by those at Donum, on heavier clay soils. Finally, both the 115 and 667 Dijons came in from Nugent Vineyard in the Russian River Valley.

Now we’re picking the rest of the heirloom selections – Calera, Chalone, Hanzell, Martini, Roederer and Swan. In this moderate, drawn-out season of ripening, the clones have asserted themselves.

Cold nights are here. The light is different. You can tell be looking at the vines – leaves are yellowing and they look spent. Fall is arriving. It’s time

Someone asked me a good question the other day – how do we determine the size and shape of vineyard blocks?

The short answer is that we try to establish “like units” of ground that can be farmed similarly and efficiently. Of course, there are obvious determinants like topography. But for me, everything starts with the soil. You can always add to the soil, but you can’t take away from it. So the first and best way for me to divide a vineyard site into smaller units is to consider how the soil will impact water use.

Different sub-soils can translate to major site variations. Heavy clay retains water and gravelly soils drain rapidly; they perform much differently. We learn as much as we can about our site before laying out the blocks, but we always learn more subtleties in the process of working with the vineyard.

We use water as a tool, like a gas pedal, and with it we can carefully drive each block, or portions thereof. Fortunately, our irrigation sets are flexible within a dynamic system, so we can always tweak what we’re doing by turning a row on or off within a set.

We observe blocks from many perspectives. We walk through them, look at photos from space, read data from instruments. But there are no absolutes. Each decision always involves many variables.

For example, if our pressure bomb readings measure leaf water potential at 11 and the forecast is for cool weather, we won’t irrigate. And after a cool day or two, the reading may drop to 10. So we’re fine. But if we read 11 on a cool day with a hot day coming, then we irrigate, because the hot weather can easily push the reading to 13 or 14.

I prefer the lighter soil over the heavier clay because it’s easier. I can measure water use to manipulate the vines. I have less control in clay because cover crops can only take away so much water and nutrients, and rainfall varies from winter to winter.

As for terrain, normally I’d say I prefer a slope for water drainage. A slope naturally creates more diversity, even within a row, because the soil and water content varies on the top, middle and bottom. You can achieve more homogeneity on the flats. It depends upon whether you want your chorus to sing one pure, strong note or a more complex harmony.

Incidentally, 4A01 is fairly flat but well-drained whereas 490 lies on a warm western slope.

Ferguson 4A01 block works for us because it has good plant material (old Martini clone on St. George rootstock) and self-limiting vine age (30 years). We understand how to farm it.

Donum 490 vines are younger (17 years) and the thick-skinned Roederer clone needs more heat to ripen, almost like Syrah, so that hillside western exposure is beneficial. The clay soils produce more vegetative growth, so we open up the canopies more. Irrigation becomes a tool only later in the season when the soil finally dries up.

Certainly, terroir consists of the land and its climate. It’s arguable whether plant material choices, farming and even winemaking philosophies are part of terroir, because they can also over-power the potential of the site. As Kenneth says, people tend to “interpret” terroir. And that can bring it forth or erase it.

For me, ideal terroir is balanced. Occasionally, it happens naturally, and that is something very special. Most times even very good sites require some manipulation and trial and error to bring them into balance. The challenge for us is to balance the vineyard without overlaying its individual character, its terroir.

There are several ways to define terroir. The site, or place, consists of the ground and the climate. Let’s include features like elevation and exposure in the general category of soil. Then we include elements such as temperature, rainfall, fog and wind under climate. That’s what nature gives us.

We must deal with the soil’s water-holding capacity, because the ability to provide just enough water when needed is a vital viticultural tool. And the land must be less than abundant, not overly fertile, so that it provides restrictions or limitations on the grapevine’s growth. You can add something that’s missing to soil, but you can’t take away what’s there.

Restricted water or nutrients prevents over-vegetative growth. Limitations create character in the wine. You can taste the vine’s effort, whether its roots must go deep in rocky soils or are restricted by shallow soils.

The grower can add two elements to the equation – plant materials and farming practices. Our job is to learn to choose better plant materials to match the site we’re given, then farm it appropriately from vintage to vintage.

Some say rocky soils give us tannins. Others say dense clays impart structure. They’re probably both right.

We know that nitrogen gives us vigor, phosphorus promotes color, potassium contributes to fruitfulness. And this magical process involving earth, rain and sun transforms flowers into berries into ripe grapes. Then another miraculous transformation produces a liquid which, in turn, transforms the human who consumes it.

In the healthiest of humans, well-conditioned athletes, the goal is “lean and mean.” It’s the same with our vines. We don’t like over-vegetative growth, nor do we want anemic, water-deprived plants that can’t ripen their fruit. As growers we drive that – it’s called balance. And if our approach is finely tuned, we can off-set vintage differences.

So we can’t really change the soil, or the climate. We can choose appropriate plant materials and attune our farming practices to tailor them to the site.

But I’ve come to realize that farming can’t necessarily make a lesser site into a really good one. In cooperative vintages, you can shift them to the better, like a student who flourishes with a good teacher in a given year.

The great sites can perform very well year in and year out. Our main job is properly matching what we plant and do on that site apropos to each vintage.

This isn’t unusual. If your garden doesn’t have full sun, you might want to plant an early ripening tomato that takes 76 days instead of an heirloom that needs 96. Similarly, if your Pinot Noir is planted closer to the coast where there’s a shorter season, you’d plant Dijon clones because they do better in cooler, riskier areas.

The longer we work with a site, the more site specific we become in our farming. That’s exciting – really understanding the components and the dynamics of the system. As an industry, as we sort out our plant materials and hone our farming to individual sites, quality will soar. Why are some growers successful repeatedly? Because they have good sites and know them well.

You can create wines from one place that seem like they are from any place.
Usually in warm vintages, very ripe grapes are the biggest culprit. For example, the 2003 Burgundies all taste very much the same.

To capture terroir, that has to be your goal. Often, at 26 degrees Brix and above, you will lose it. By cranking up the sugars and ripeness, you can negate the effects both of vintage and terroir.

Yes, I think soil is the major contributor to terroir (although terrain and climate play large roles as well), but I don’t think anyone knows exactly what the soil provides.

Are northern Burgundies mineral laden? Yes. But is it because of the limestone or the high acid and low pH? Do earthy, mushroom characters come from the soil? Certainly different characters come from different soils, but we don’t really know why.

Some say heavier clay soils make bigger Pinots. Others argue that lighter soils make bigger Pinots because they create less canopy, exposing fruit to sunlight.. Most winemakers would agree that soil is very important. But often when we see a vineyard before tasting wines made from it, we are surprised by those wines.

Other times you have just a sense, a memory triggered. You can’t define it, but you know it. Even when I’m right, I’m not sure why. I do taste more black fruit and structure from the clay soils of Nuit St. Georges, and red fruit, mineral and austerity in wines from limestone vineyards. But why remains a mystery.

While great Burgundies may come from the middle of the hillside, producers like Claude Dugat treats all his vineyards like grand cru sites. And he makes stunning village wines. I think he demonstrates that with excellent vineyard management, you can move sites up a quality notch, say from a B- to an A-.
But probably no more than that.

You could look at terroir as potential, and at vineyard management as the ability to extract what nature gives you. How many absolutes are there in life, anyway? Pi?