It rained most of the night, and it is pouring now. Temperature is just under 50 degrees. It is a good day to stay in by the fire, get some work done, and do some cooking.
Most of the property appears grateful for the moisture, the exception being the circular gravel driveway. All those trips in and around the tree in the middle create indentations, which then become puddles. Given that we need water so badly, seeing those puddles is rather exciting.
Pouring. Pouring more. It is coming from the east, which is a bit unusual. Diamond Mountain is invisible, although it was partially visible earlier this morning.
Good call on the possible winter kill Ed. I wasn’t even thinking about that. From what I understand temps getting down to around 10 above is all it takes?
Yes, but it’s been below zero here. What is worse for vinifera is cycling of cold and mild temperatures, which we often experience, and will this winter. After a few mild days the vines think Spring has arrived, and break dormancy. Then the temperature drops into the teens and the bark splits, which allows infection of the vines.
Norton is the only grape that is well-adapted here (and it works well for skilled growers), but few producers take it seriously.
Mr. Earles - what is your location? I don’t see it posted and so the conversation about temperatures is difficult.
Casey - Plant and bud hardiness are related to the plant age, health, variety, location vs climate, and the Fall season’s steady acclimation to dormancy. Here’s a link to Brock University’s vine hardiness program in Ontario with an example for chardonnay … Bud Hardiness | CCOVI . Given a good acclimation into dormancy I’m comfortable with established plants in my site having minimal bud loss up to -3F and not catastrophic loss until > -5F. Once you start to approach -10F I begin to worry about plant loss. Temperature spikes in the dead of winter(now) above 50F for long durations(~4 to 5 days) I worry that the plants start to wake up only to get hit by another sub 10F event. My biggest worry is really with new plants from planting the previous Spring. The temperature numbers for new plants drop back by about 10 degrees from the established plants. These are generalizations as no 2 plants are exactly the same. Enjoy the warmth.
Sorry–Central Kentucky. This isn’t “west coast”, but sometimes I just can’t resist commenting. There is quite a bit of interest in wine production here, but the local climate is challenging, with cold winters, wild gyrations of early spring weather, and hot, humid, rainy summers. Hard for wine but ideal for Bourbon.
No problem, Edward. Everyone is free to post…
It rained all day and all night, and it is still raining now. I need to get a new rain gauge…I never replaced the one I had that was a combination of gauge and thermometer. One very hot day, out in the vineyard, the gauge broke when it hit 138 degrees! I should at least put an old dog dish out on the deck!
We received 3in of rain the last 36hrs. That takes us to about 17in for the season.
The pond has been very slow to fill this year. Need some good back-to-back storms.
Paul, what’s your average rainfall, and what did you receive in the '16-'17 winter?
Hey Ed
We get around 70in on average. Last winter just over 100in!
Check out what Terra Vox is doing with American and hybrid grapes in Missouri. The Norton was the least interesting of the dozen or so wines I tried. Huge range of weight and expressions.
How ought I to do this? The proprietor’s web site yields little information beyond marketing hype, and Cellar Tracker contains only 4 tasting notes.
Sun’s out! I don’t care what the temperature is as long as the sun is out!
It was a cool, but not cold, morning here in Calistoga. Fog down to the ground, wetting everything. It has now lifted to reveal a beautiful day.
I went out to check the cover crop. 13-14 inches of gorgeous young greens. But size doesn’t matter, other than the strength of the plants to hold the soil when there is a lot of rain. Or to create more good stuff to turn into the soil when the time comes. Ok, maybe size does matter.
It is fairly warm out, around 60 degrees, but we have had a light, steady rain last night and this morning.
Have you “caught up” with your rain total for this time of year?
You know what? I don’t track it at all. I know that it feels like we are having enough significant rain events, interspersed with sunny days, to make it feel like a somewhat “normal” year. I tend to look at the effects, rather than the statistics. Early on this season, my yard plantings were suffering from lack of water. Now the ground has remained at least damp from rain to rain. The cover crop, while it stagnated for a bit, is now big and green and very healthy. Water holding tank remains constantly full, at 3500 gallons, meaning the well is full and can easily supply my needs this time of year. Everything else I will need to roll with. It is when the rainy season is over…March, April, May? that I will get a better “feel” for what I and the vineyard are in for in 2018. Irrigating the vineyard for 6 hours by drip can easily drain that 3500 gallon water tank. It all depends on the reserves underground. It is only mid-January. Anything can happen. But I would like to see it colder, in general.
Posting for Merrill:
Thanks, Andy. I was taken by the contrast this afternoon at dusk when the clouds and fog were dancing over the mountains beyond the vineyard. Each time I looked it had changed from just minutes before. The green, from the recent rain/sun pattern, is striking. All this green is brown dirt in July.
We have not caught up and I’m now starting to worry…well more than my normal worry!