Sharing everything that is going on at Marita's Vineyard with our extended family.
Every Journey Starts With a Small Step - Pruning
There is an old saying that goes, "Every journey starts with a small step." This saying holds true in most areas of life, and wine grape growing is certainly not an exception. To produce the quality of fruit that goes into making an exceptional wine, the journey of a growing season starts with the small, but important, step of pruning the vines. Great wines start in the vineyard, and some of the key decisions that affect the fruit that goes into a wine take place around pruning.
Why Do We Prune Grape Vines?
Pruning is a vital element in controlling the growth of the vines. To get great fruit, we have to ensure that the vines produce fruit in the right quantities that the vine can support. A properly pruned vine will direct more energy from the roots into the fruit, which leads to stronger vines and grapes that are more balanced and of higher quality. The pruning process is a delicate one; trimming too much or not enough from the vines can have negative effects on both the quantity and quality of the fruit that is produced. We are fortunate enough to have two of the most skilled and experienced vineyard managers in Napa Valley working with our vines. Bulmaro and Manuel Montes have both been working in the vineyards for over 30 years, which has given them the experience to know exactly how much pruning to apply to the vines. The two brothers are the only ones who touch the vines at MARITA'S VINEYARD, so we know we will always get the best possible growth from our vines.
The Pruning Process
The first element that is involved in pruning is timing. We want to make sure that the vines are dormant, and we also have to be careful that the weather is right. We have to have good weather when we prune, as pruning in wet weather can result in the vines getting infected with a fungus. By choosing the right time to prune the vines, we are able to protect them from the conditions that can lead to infection.
There are different pruning practices that are used in vineyards around the world; MARITA'S VINEYARD uses a technique known as "cane pruning." We choose to prune our vines back to leave one cane and one spur on each side of the vine. The spurs contain the buds that will produce the next season’s shoots. Bulmaro and Manuel will then assess each vine to determine how vigorous they are. The vigor of the vine will determine how many buds that we leave on each vine, and each bud will produce two grape clusters. After pruning, the canes are then tied to the wire trellis so that they will not break under the weight of the grape clusters. It will take about 12 to 16 weeks for the buds to bloom.
Every Journey...
Pruning is the first step in the journey that is a new vintage. As we look forward to spring, it is exciting to look out over the freshly pruned vineyard and visualize how those vines will look in a matter of a few short months. The work that we do now will help to ensure that we get the most out of our vines, and that 2011 will be another great vintage of our MARITA'S VINEYARD wine.
Mar 3, 2011 at 11:26 AM
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Be the first to comment on this post2010 Harvest Report - Part 2
Our last post focused on everything that took place during the 2010 harvest season prior to the start of fermentation. Today we are going to take a look at where the process goes from there. Up to this point the work of making a great wine has all taken place in the vineyard, but now the process begins of taking the beautiful fruit that the vineyard has produced and turning it into a superb wine.
After the grapes had gone through the hand-selection process that we wrote about in our last post, they were then delivered to a temperature-controlled fermenting tank, where they will spend the next two to three weeks. The fermentation process uses yeast to convert the sugar from the grapes into alcohol. During this time, the juice and the skins and seeds are still together, and we frequently do pump-overs until fermentation is complete. Pump-overs are a form of what is known as “cap management”. The idea is that you take the juice that settles in the bottom of the tank, and then you pump it over the top of the cap that is formed by the grape skins. The goal of this cap management is to get more extraction of color, flavor, and tannins from the grapes. In short, the wine starts to develop its structure through this process.
During fermentation, we are constantly testing the wine to determine the optimal point to begin pressing the grapes. Last week it was determined that the wine had reached that point, so we drained the fermentation tanks and the grapes were finally pressed. The grapes are initially pressed with lower pressure for what is known as the “free run”. During the first pressing we get the clearest, easily pressed liquids. We follow this with a pressing with higher pressure being applied.
So far, we are very pleased with the juice that we have gotten from the pressings. The 2010 juice is showing extremely promising structure and color.
After the pressing, we took the juice and moved it into new 60-gallon French oak barrels to begin malolactic fermentation. This process will take some of the more tart tasting malic acid and convert it to lactic acid. This will help to create a richer mouthfeel to our wine, and will enhance the body of the wine and help integrate the flavors. Now we just have to wait. The wine will spend the next 18-20 months in the oak barrels before, before finally being transferred to bottles.
We look forward to giving our members the opportunity to taste these wines in barrels after their first racking. This is something that many world-renowned wineries, especially in France, do to sell “futures” on their wines. This is always a fun opportunity to give our extended family a first glimpse of how the wines are developing.
It is inspiring to have the 2010 wines in the barrels, and we are very excited about the wines thus far. Despite its challenges, it looks like 2010 will produce high quality wine, thanks to the great work that was done in the vineyard. Years that present the kind of difficult conditions that this year has are really an opportunity for great winegrowers to shine, and it requires very seasoned viticulturists such as our own Bulmaro and Manuel Montes with a combined experience of more than 80 years in vineyard management to nurse the vines. Thanks to the wonderful team that was involved in every portion of this vintage, we look forward to raising a wonderful glass of 2010 MARITA’S VINEYARD Cabernet Sauvignon in a few years.
2010 Harvest Report - Part 1
Here is a little more detail about this year's harvest, as well as an update on where things stand now on our path to the 2010 vintage. We had so many great harvest photos that we wanted to share with you this year, that we have decided to break this report up into a couple of posts, and include several of the pictures in each post. This is a major part of the winemaking process, and we thought that it would be fun to share it with you.
The 2010 Vintage
As we mentioned in our previous harvest post, the 2010 vintage has presented Napa Valley wineries with some unique challenges. This year was somewhat of an anomaly from a climate standpoint, with the Summer temperatures being uncharacteristically cool, followed by an unusually hot autumn that produced temperatures that got into the 100s on some days. Although these conditions tend to make those of us in the winemaking business somewhat nervous, they also will play a part in making 2010 a unique vintage. Part of what makes wine such a fascinating product is the variation that you find from one vintage to the next, and although time will tell the full story, it is already clear that the 2010 vintage will have a unique character.
This year we harvested on October 21st, starting at about 7:00 in the morning, and finishing by around noon. As is the case every year, we had a great crew that worked very hard harvesting our grapes by hand. We choose to harvest all of our grapes by hand to ensure that our fruit is of the highest quality when it goes to be crushed, and we have an experienced crew that ensures that we get the very best from our vineyard.
Destemming
Once all of the grapes had been brought in, they were immediately taken to the crushing facility to be destemmed. Destemming is a very important phase of making a Cabernet Sauvignon that has the desired structure and character for MARITA'S VINEYARD. Stems can sometimes lead to vegetal flavors and bitter tannins, depending on their ripeness, and the structure of the wines that we produce would be affected by including too much stem content.
Hand Selection
After destemming, our grapes go through a hand-selection process to remove any undesirable elements that were collected during harvest, including raisins, any leftover stems, leaves, etc. When we finish this part of the process, we are left with only what we want to have go into the fermentation tanks. It is very important to us that we produce the highest quality wine possible, and being meticulous with selecting what makes it into the tanks is part of this process.
Each step in the winemaking process is important, but the interesting thing about this time of year is the amount of work that takes place within a short period of time. All of the steps that are described in this post happen within a single day, and yet they represent such an important part of making a great wine. In our next post we will take a look at the fermentation process and barreling.
Recipes From the Marita’s Vineyard Kitchen - Beef with Mushrooms (Fricandó)
For those of you who haven’t experienced one of our private tastings at MARITA’S VINEYARD, they are a family affair, complete with a relaxing meal and friendly conversation. The meals are prepared at our Ranchito by Pilar, who enthusiastically shares her love of Spanish-influenced great food and wine with our guests. Authentic tapas are commonplace in our tastings. We will be sharing some of the recipes that Pilar has prepared for our tastings on this blog, and today we are starting with a fantastic Beef with Mushrooms recipe, the American version of the Catalan Fricandó, that pairs incredibly well with our Cabernet Sauvignon. Bon Appétit.
Ingredients (serves 4-6 people):
2 lbs. of beef cut into medium-sized pieces (skirt steak is recommended)
1 large chopped onion
3 large diced tomatoes
1 chopped carrot
1 lb. Shiitake mushrooms
1 glass of red wine
2 cups of beef broth
1 handful of walnuts finely ground
Olive oil
Canola oil
White flower
Salt
Sugar
Pepper
Herbes de Provence
Directions:
Lightly coat beef with white flower and season with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan on medium heat, cover the bottom of a large pan with half olive oil and half canola oil, then lightly fry the meat. After the beef has turned golden in color, remove to a tray and place the heat on low. In the same oil, fry the onion and carrot, and finally the tomatoes. Add salt, a little bit of sugar, the herbs and the wine. Let it cook for about 10 minutes. Grind this mixture.and place back in the pan together with the meat and broth and let it simmer at low heat for 2-3 hours until the beef is tender.
Fifteen minutes before the cooking is done, add the nuts, and finally the Shiitake mushrooms (previously sliced and fried), and wait… the result will be splendid!
And if you have any questions, Pilar is always just an e-mail away.
All the Hard Work Pays Off: Harvesting Grapes
Every year a lot of hard work is invested in the vineyard. Although it may seem like a cliché, great wine really does start in the vineyard. Our vineyards are lovingly tended by Bulmaro and Manuel Montes, who work tirelessly to make the necessary adjustments to promote a healthy and beautiful vineyard that will achieve the quality that we demand for our wines. We recently harvested the 2010 crop of Cabernet Sauvignon, which was the culmination of the year’s work in the vineyards. We thought this would be a great time to talk a little about what goes on at harvest.
When do we harvest grapes?
Every year presents a unique situation for wineries. From one year to the next you will see harvest take place at different times. Napa Valley wineries generally harvest between August and October. The 2010 harvest has been late across the valley, as cold temperatures throughout the season lead to grapes ripening much later than usual. Here in our home of Coombsville, we typically harvest even later than you will see in other parts of the Napa Valley.
Generally white grapes are harvested first, followed by the red varieties. Here at MARITA’S VINEYARD we grow Cabernet Sauvignon, which is among the last varieties to be harvested. Our harvest took place on October 21st.
How do we decide when to harvest?
There are a number of factors that are taken into account to determine when to harvest grapes. Although different wineries will use different methods to make their decision, the harvest time is based on the ripeness of the grape. The ripeness is measured by the levels of sugar, acid, and tannin found in the grapes, and individual winemakers may have different target levels for these measurements. Sometimes weather is also a factor, as you will sometimes see harvest planned around forecasted weather, such as upcoming rains or a heat spike.
How are grapes harvested?
You will see a lot of variation in harvest methods for different wineries as well. Grapes can be harvested either mechanically or manually.
The method that MARITA’S VINEYARD employs is manual harvesting. This allows us to be extremely selective with the fruit that makes it into our wines, as well as preserving the grapes to ensure that they are intact when they make it to the crushing stage. After the initial harvest is completed, we also sort the fruit to remove any foreign material, such as leaves and sticks, and to further ensure that only the highest quality grapes make it into the wine.
We have a wonderful crew of people involved in our harvest, many of whom have been working harvest with us since our first vintage. Harvest involves a lot of hard work, but it is also a fun time, and we enjoy working together to accomplish the job. Our harvest is completed in one day, and we always enjoy some great food to celebrate the completion of our work.
When it’s all said and done
The creation of a fine wine really does start with the work in the vineyard. The management of the vineyard throughout the season determines the quality of the wine, but harvest is one of the most important times in the creation of a premium wine. If harvest is not handled correctly, much of the hard work during the season can be wasted effort. This is why we are so thankful for the wonderful people that we have working with us during harvest. Without them it would be impossible to create wines of the quality that we want to bring to you.
Our Home of Coombsville
Many people might not be familiar with MARITA’S VINEYARD’s home of Coombsville, but it is an area that is becoming quite well known for producing high quality wines. We are a part of a wonderful community of wineries from the area, and are excited about the efforts to create a Coombsville American Viticultural Area, or AVA. We wanted to take the time to tell you a little more about our home.
Coombsville’s History
Coombsville has a long history as a location for grape and wine production. Named after Napa founder Nathan Coombs, the boundaries for the area were first seen on parcel maps that were filed in 1883 by Frank and Nathan F. Coombs, descendants of the Napa founder. The area was situated just east of the city of Napa, running from the Napa River to the eastern rim of Napa Valley in the Vaca Range.
Vineyards were originally planted in Coombsville by William Woodward, possibly earlier than 1870. Woodward had a cellar and distillery and produced brandy and sherry. The site was eventually sold to the Hagen brothers and renamed Cedar Knoll. Cedar Knoll became a premier winery, even winning a silver medal for one of their wines and for their brandy at the 1889 Paris Exposition. Palmaz Vineyards is now located on the property that used to be the Cedar Knoll winery.
Despite the rich history that Coombsville has for winemaking, very little quality wine was produced in the area in the years following the repeal of Prohibition. The region was dominated for some years by prune orchards. In the last 40 years the area has begun to establish a reputation for producing fine wines.
The Coombsville Climate and Soils
The proximity of Coombsville to the San Francisco Bay leads to a very temperate climate. The temperatures are moderated during the cold winter months and during frost season. This leads to earlier budbreak and a slightly later harvest, meaning that our growing season is somewhat longer than other areas of the Napa Valley.
The geology and soils are primarily comprised of volcanic “rhyolitic tuff”. Rock and gravel, and volcanic ash deposits are all present in the soils of the area, as well as alluvial deposits.
With weather patters that are similar to those in Bordeaux, there are many different varieties that excel in Coombsville. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir both thrive in the lower swales and small valleys while Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet dominate the hillsides.
The Coombsville Wine Community
The wineries of Coombsville for a tightly knit group, and love to work together. Each winery in the area is small and family owned, which increases the feeling of community that you see when you visit. We are all very excited to increase the exposure of the area, and to grow the reputation of Coombsville wines. Most of the wineries in the area offer tastings by appointment only, so make sure and call ahead. We would love to host you at the winery and tell you more about the Coombsville area. We have information about our tastings on the website, and you can contact us here for more information as well.
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