Stellwagen Vineyard Update

The jewel in the rough added to the Bedrock Wine Co. portfolio this “off-season” is Stellwagen Vineyard.  In a previous blog posting, I noted the many challenges facing us in rehabilitating this 100+ year old, organic, dry-farmed, Sonoma Valley vineyard.  Namely, the vineyard needed some serious reinvigoration, a reduction in spur positions to focus vigor, along with greater cultivation and cover-crop use.

Though we started farming the vineyard too late to plant a cover crop, we have been able to reduce the number of spur positions, cross-cultivate, spray stylet-oil for mildew, and sucker early to focus what vigor is there into the desired canes and clusters.  So far the results have been good.  We have greater cane length already than was in the vineyard last year, though this is also a function of late-rains this year.  Though the crop looks light, the better canopy should ensure greater ripening along with better cluster protection.  In addition, we have hand-hoed the weeds from the base of every vine to limit water competition from unwanted weeds.  I look forward with great anticipation to the first fruit from this vineyard this fall!

Below is a picture of the vineyard from this morning: