Compost and Nebbiolo

Upon first glance this pile looks pretty much like any old pile of dirt. Hardly thrilling stuff, really.



But if we look closer, and take a sniff, we see that this pile is very dark in color and smells almost sweet. Compost is awesome stuff, teaming with microbial life. Full of organic matter building fungi and bacteria this stuff really rocks in the vineyard. We compost grape skins, seed, stems and mix in some Camel manure, from Camel Hill Vineyard obviously, and let the pile ferment. We monitor the temperature and moisture content, turning the pile and covering it to control these factors.

We are almost finished applying the compost to our vineyards, we applied most to a block of Merlot at Gist Ranch. By adding compost we are addressing nutritional problems, not just their symptoms. We are actively building life and structure into our soil that will benefit the long-term nutritional needs of our vines.



We did add some to our Nebbiolo at the winery, above you can see the small vines and the compost added around the vine.



I've named the 0.25 acre Nebbiolo vineyard, Domenicato. I read that it means forgotten in Italian and that was kind of how I found this vineyard when I arrived here in 2004. Slowly but surely we are replanting dead vines, addressing training issue and now adding some much needed nutrients, in the form of compost, to these struggling vines. The slope the vineyard lies on is quite steep with really thin rocky soil. We are bottling a barrel of our 2006 Neb this week, our first from Domenicato! We have a half bbl from 2007 as well. If we could get one barrel a year out of this tiny plot I'll be thrilled!

Racking

The racking of our 2007 reds is in full swing. Between bottlings (our 2006 Chardonnays go to glass at the end of next week) we are getting to the first round of our aerating rackings (see photos). After pumping the clear wine off the gross lees, we splash the young wine though a rough screen and then on to tank. The screen removes and solids (skins or seeds) and also aerates the wine. This splashing allows some oxygen to interact with the young wine and really helps to build structure and mouthfeel in varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.



Above is some 2007 Camel Hill Cabernet Franc from a newer planting. The special clone we planted seems to be doing phenomenally well as it was our favorite of all the Camel Hill Franc lots (we had 5 before some blending).

We also racked the three lots of Camel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon (2 from older plantings and some new clone 337 on the lower vineyard). These lots all had loads of red fruits, fine tannins and notes of currant and cassis.

Before racking the wines to tank Ryan and I taste each bbl, make some preliminary blends based on quality and style and then pump the wines to tank. Tomorrow the barrels will get washed and I'll run some analysis on the lots. We'll adjust the SO2 and then return the wines to barrel on Thursday. We try and rack our Bordeaux reds 3-4 times a year, using aeration each time in the first year, and then on a cases by case basis during year two of elevage.

Tasting the racked wines in tank gives us an even better idea of the quality of wines we have from 2007: so far things look spectacular!

Budbreak

Our first sign of budbreak is evident in some of our Chardonnay vines. These photos were taken from the top of our Portola Springs Vineyard. I'd guestimate that 30-40% of our Chard in that vineyard is pushing. This is a normal to late break for us. Last year we were out a few weeks earlier. We usually like a later break as it often means bloom occurs later in the year. The later bloom occurs the more likely we miss any rain/poor weather that can and has (see 2005) wiped out our crop.



The buds look like little balls of wool, with shades of pink, white and green. We like to see an even budbreak- both from bud to bud on a single vine and from vine to vine. We have had gorgeous weather lately, but the forecast looks to cool and it looks like we'll get more rain, which is a good thing.

Budbreak is always exciting, it brings back feelings and memories of spring and serves as a gentle reminder that the 2008 wines aren't all that far away. Harvest in 6 months already!

March: bring on the bottling season

Lots been happening around here lately, I'll try to summarize all of the myriad activities going on at Fogarty.

Vineyards: I helped Julio prune our small block of Nebbiolo last week. Our pruning is almost entirely finished, just a small block of Merlot at Gist to finish. The buds are juts beginning to swell. It looks like this year will be a normal to late bud-break, which is good for us, early bud-break usually puts us at more risk of shatter (bad weather during bloom which really limits our crop).

We have decided to prune our canes (we are 100% cane pruned) a little shorter this year, this should limit our crops a little more and minimize some bunching of cluster and shoots. A more "open" canopy is less of a haven for fungus and allows our sprays to be more effective.

Winery: We are bottling our 2007 aromatic whites this week (Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris) as well as our Skyline Chardonnay (100% stainless steel) and a Barbera Rose.

Bottling is always a stressful time, there is a lot going on and getting the wine into the bottle soundly is your last chance make and final changes. Luckily all the wines are looking great and things have been running smoothly (knock on wood)

World of Pinot Noir: This weekend we are participating in the world of Pinot Noir celebration in Shell Beach, CA. I am a panel member at a Seminar on Old Vines/Old Clones vs. New Vines/New Clones on Friday morning and we are pouring at the Saturday Tasting. If you are into Pinot Noir, especially from the Central Coast, this is a must; one of California's great wine events.

We also are thinking ahead to the end of the month when we will bottle our 2006 Chardonnays!