The Fall Vineyard

Perhaps there is nothing more gorgeous than the 60 tons of aged manure we apply to the vineyard every October/November. This compost, which had the Biodynamic preparations inserted last October, has been aging under our oaks, in a shady location, for a year. At the point of application, it has a moist, fluffy crumble that sits lightly in your hand--as if it is made of air. It is not dense, hard or stony. Really, it is the most pure and beautiful form of "dirt", or soil, I've ever seen. And the aroma carries none of the manure qualities that were present a year ago: it is now sweet and earthy. It is an amazing part of "life" that is formed, and nothing you buy from the garden shop labeled as "compost" compares.

This year we added dandelion seeds to the compost as it was being broadcast throughout the vineyard. We hope to have them growing wildly throughout the vineyard, to once again aide in regulating the relationship between silica and potassium in the vines. Perhaps we'll be able to have enough dandelion flower heads to pick them, dry them and use them for various teas when needed. We are very happy so far this season, we had an early 4" of rain in October, but Phillip was able to get in the vineyard to chisel to prepare the soil before the rain. We had no
run-off whatsoever throughout the vineyards, the earth was so ready to receive this rain! Then we were able to get into the vineyards again to broadcast the manure...to apply our natural fertilizer (compost) to the earth. As of this typing, the weather forecast for this week is rain/snow and more rain! Needless to say, bring it on El Nino!

Our family took a two week sabbatical to our favorite place of rest after harvest, only to return to another harvest: olives! As we turned into our vineyard, the olive trees lining the road were full of beautiful black olives. We harvested the Picuals and Lechen de Sevillas: the olives themselves are plump and big, nearly double the size of last year's crop. We have yet to harvest the newer trees, especially the Arbequinas--we anticipate a major crop from these prolific trees! They are still ripening, making the change from green to black (FYI, all olives begin green). All said, again this year we did not get enough olives to make olive oil due to the June winds knocking off the flowers before fruit was able to set, but we do have enough to brine. We prick each olive, one-by-one, with a toothpick before submerging them in a saltwater bath. The olives remain in a saltwater brine for up to 4 weeks before we jar them and perserve them in olive oil. For the recipe, shoot us an email!

In our home garden we've set out seed for our lettuces and hard greens (kale and chard) as well as onions, fennel, leeks, carrots, radishes, cilantro and dill. As a novice gardener, I let quite a few things go to seed last year, and this Fall, after our rainfall, all of those lovely seeds have set themselves and I have wild dill and fennel and lettuces growing everywhere, as well as sweet peas and borage. I love it! I love that as I walk through our landscaping and gardens, I see these little leaf forms growing voluntarily, placed there by the wind and pollinators. I check on them all daily, I feel as though they are my special babies. Yes, this year I'll be a bit more diligent when I let my plants go to seed, but I also appreciate so much the cycles life goes through: seed to plant to flower, back to seed in the form of another/new plant--amazing!

Right now, we look out at the vineyards and have the beautiful Autumn display of golds and reds throughout the Grenache and Grenache Blanc blocks. All of the other varietals have shed their leaves for the year. You can see from the photo above the stunning leaves of Grenache in Mark's Vineyard and our lovely, lovely blue Paso Robles sky. This will all change tomorrow, as we have a rainy week ahead, with lows in the 20's. Our citrus and avocado trees have Christmas lights strung on them to protect the leaves against frost. The dogs will be sleeping inside, begging to be let out to run and carry-on with their daily routines. The fires are lit, I think it's time for a glass of red wine...

Our 10 Year Celebration

10 years ago today, this passage was read to us, by our best man, at our wedding:

"Think: What if the sky doesn't fall? What if it's glorious? What if the house is transformed in three years? There will be by then hand-printed labels for the house's olive oil, thin linen curtains pulled across the shutters for siesta, jars of plum jam on the shelves, a long table for feasts under the linden trees, baskets piled by the door for picking tomatoes, arugula, wild fennel, roses and rosemary. And who are we in that strange new life?" Taken from 'Under the Tuscan Sun' by Frances Mayes, pg.20

I must confess, 10 years ago, listening to Paul read this to us I had no clue why he would have chosen this particular passage...

Recently Phillip and I watched our wedding video, and when we watched Paul read this, we both looked at each other in amazement...as this is our life NOW! But who would have thought this 10 years ago? Truly, we had no idea that our lives would be so transformed: permanently moving from Orange County to Templeton, planting our vineyard, producing wine with our own label, making plum jam (which I have made quite a bit this year), having full baskets of produce grown outside our very doors, growing olive trees, rearing animals, having tables full of friends and family feasting and fellowshipping.

And this "strange new life" now consists of having 3 sons, Gelert (24), Morgan (22) and our 3 year old, Bede, who was and is a total surprise and joy!

Amidst our decade, we have suffered the tragic loss of Phillip's brother, Mark. But he lives on with us, through our farming and Phillip's memories of growing up on a farm with him in Wales.

We feel blessed, we are happy and we are together doing what we love! May God heap many, many more decades upon us...

Harvest 2009 Update, Preperation 501 (Horn Silica) and Reflections from a Tractor

There's nothing like driving a crawler on AmByth's steep hillsides to clear the cobwebs. It's great to have the grapes put away for the year, and to be FARMING again. A couple of days ago, we applied BD Prep 501-Horn Silica-combined with dried Horsetail (equisetum) tea to all of the vines, olive & fruit trees and vegetables. Horsetail always gives a little boost to the plant's immune system (acting against fungus) and 501 attracts light into the roots through the leaves for the work to come in the winter--the REAL work in the vines and trees.

A brief pause for thought--working in the winter, everything goes dormant, right? Correct, our vines and fruit trees go dormant (shedding leaves and shutting down for the year, the olives remain their silvery green but they, too, are resting until late Spring), but think about Spring and that BURSTING forth that occurs. All of that energy comes from the roots clamoring out to get some sunshine. In order to do that, they need to prepare and be strong. Applying 501 in the fall aids in this process. Following the 501, we chisel the vineyards--a gentle opening process which encourages the sun's rays to penetrate further and to prepare the ground for the winter rains. In the next couple of days we will be applying the first of 3 BC preps (Barrel Compost). This spray holds all of the BD preparations and has been aged in the ground, maturing and growing billions of enzymes to be transferred to our earth to make the soil a living, breathing entity (in other words, enzymes that will eat, sliver and slide through the soil aiding in the decomposition processes and further aerating the soil).

Now for a harvest recap:

The first surprise was the fact that it was harvest time again! It always feels like it just happened a few months ago (or so it seems) and here we are again...wow!

August 12th was the first pick: a light pick of the Viognier and Tempranillo followed by a complete pick of both a few days later. Incredibly, the Viognier is still fermenting dry nearly 2 months later. It is very close to bone-dry, but still working (on average it takes 10 to 14 days for our grapes to ferment dry). We pressed off the final pick, Counoise, a few days ago. It is settling in stainless before going into the barrel for aging. Yes, our harvest was early and ended very quickly. This seems to have been the trend in Paso Robles this year. There is still Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel hanging out there in the Paso vineyards, but almost everything else has been brought in. And don't forget, we tend to be earlier because we're dry-farmed.

As always, there are disappointments and hurrahs. The disappointment was the relatively light crop: we had an average of a 1/2 ton of fruit per acre. To put that in perspective, our goal is 2 tons per acre. A larger commercial enterprise is somewhere between 5 & 12 tons an acre (thus cheaper wine...among other things). The hurrahs: we managed to get all of the fruit in at the right sugar levels (which converts to alcohol). Or, in the case of Syrah, which was slightly over-ripe, we co-fermented it with some early picked Grenache and Mourvedre (lower sugar levels) to even it all out. All went well with natural primary fermentation and now natural malolactic fermentation happening at its own time, as it should.

The surprise of the Harvest was the Grenache Blanc, we will probably make a single varietal of it! (Which was not initially part of the plan.) We will also make a Viognier blend with Grenache Blanc as a secondary component. We will see how they evolve and make that decision in 6 months or so.

So now Havest 2009 is over...and we're back to caretakers of the elixir.

"In Vino Veritas", no really, "In Vino Veritas"--ingredients: grapes!

2009 Harvest Underway, Sourdough Starter, Biodynamic Spray 501 & Egg Shell Tea, an update on Powdery Mildew

Wow...there is so much to do and so little time: a reference to keeping a blog updated in the midst of harvest!
Here are Phillip's notes from last week: On the 12th of August we did our earliest (in the month) pick ever by going through the Tempranillo and Viognier and hand selecting only ripe bunches, which on average we had 1 to 2 ripe bunches per vine. It felt too early in the season as there where plenty of what seemed to be unripe fruit still hanging. However, the results in the winery showed the fruit we picked was indeed ready with perfect sugar, pH and total acidity levels. Armed with these results and perfect weather over the next few days-ripening the remaining fruit very quickly (as the birds continued to bring to our attention to)-we picked again on the 16th. A terrific crew turned out to help on a perfect Paso morning. The crop load on these two varieties was similar to last year-very light, about 1/2 ton an acre (please let it rain a little more this year!)-so the pick was fast and we were through by 8:30. The grappa didn't stand a chance though, that was finished by 8.

Photo above: just stomped Tempranillo; photo below: 3 day old sourdough culture

Thank you to our annual volunteer and Mary's garden mentor: Swantje! It was her brilliant idea to get a sourdough starter "brewing" using yeast from our grapes. So while Phillip was pressing off the Viognier, Mary and Swantje were busy in the kitchen assembling the "mother". Using Nancy Silverton's Breads of the La Brea Bakery as a guide we started the fermentation with a cluster of just picked Tempranillo grapes. It is a simple recipe to follow, but it takes commitment. As of this writing, Mary is on day 11 of a 15 day starter-feeding the starter 3 times a day to get it ready for baking. It is an interesting process to watch (and smell..."whoo wee, stinky poo" is a common expression here, especially with a 2 year old saying it!). It is actually a miracle, to witness the transformation of something because of yeast. Don't be shy to ask for some starter for yourself...there's plenty!




Sunday, August 23rd we applied Biodynamic Prep 501 (horn silica) on the Mourvedre, Counoise and Roussanne in all 4 vineyards. These grapes are typically late to ripen so the 501 early in the morning acts to add available light intake into the plant and aid the ripening process. We sprayed an egg shell tea on all of the remaining vineyards with fruit. This does the same thing as 501, but in a milder degree. All of these plants will ripen in the near future so they don't need as much encouragement as the Mourvedre, Counoise and Roussanne. We had 6 brave volunteers arrive at 6 a.m. for a 1 hour stirring to aerate the silica before applying it to the vineyards with backpack sprayers by foot.








Photo above: Ian and Bryan stirring in a barrel; photo below: Charissa, Yen, Amiee and Kumiko


As far as the ongoing battle with powdery mildew, in the last month we treated individual plants in the Mourvedre with the mildest solution of Milstop, a potassium based anti-fungal agent approved by Demeter. We didn't want to apply it as a general spray throughout the vineyards, as so many plants seemed to not be affected. The system seems to have worked as the problem appears to be in remission. However, the Grenache Blanc is a different story: it has a heavy crop with no powdery mildew showing on any fruit at all, but with quite a few plants showing it on the canes. We decided to treat all of these plants with the minimum spray required. As we hand sprayed each plant individually, we applied varying quantities depending on its size and possible visible problem. So far this year, we have removed all of the fruit from only 1 Tempranillo plant we thought wasn't good for picking. Our approach is a good start, but next year we're going to apply preventative teas earlier and more frequently to see if we can nip it in the bud (excuse the pun!).




The morning concluded with an incredible breakfast made by Lety, as she puts it, "A Mexican, Mexican breakfast, from Vera Cruz". Unfortunately, some Minute Maid orange juice made it to the table (not quite Mexican, Mexican), but we also shared AmByth harvest wine (a special wine Phillip makes just for our harvest volunteers) and Corona. She served an incredible casserole made with tortillas (that has affectionately been dubbed "Mexican Lasagna" by our middle son, Morgan). It was delicious, and such an incredible conclusion to a morning full of hard work.

For more photos, see AmByth Estate on Facebook--better yet, become a fan!

Veraison--A Phenomenal Time of the Year

We have been seeing veraison throughout the vineyards for over 3 weeks now--the Grenache is always the last to catch up and it is finally changing to red grapes now. Veraison marks the beginning of ripening: the small, tight green grapes begin to soften and change colors (red wine=red grapes), sugars (which convert to alcohol) and volume increase while acidity decreases. We see veraison first in the Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Viognier, then comes along Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache Blance, and Syrah and finally catching up to the rest of the gang are Mourvedre and Grenache. This is the time of year Phillip and Mary look at each other in wonderment, with fairly incredulous expressions such as, "Wow! It's that time of year again? So soon? Can you believe how fast harvest comes 'round every year?, etc. etc. etc.".








And a very unwelcome arrival veraison brings...birds!! If you happen to be in the wine country this time of year, you will observe long rows of vines covered in bright green or black netting, or hear the faint sound of "bird cannons", or see all sorts of owl-eye balloons and silver strings waving in the wind. Vineyard owners go to great lengths to keep the birds from eating the developing sweet little morsels (photo on the left shows an example of the damage that we have in the Tempranillo). We have mylar (silver tape) tied to the fence line and vines. It waves frantically in the wind and discourages birds from landing. We also shoot off flares at sunrise (sorry neighbors!) and sunset to warn/scare the birds away. A vineyard can be decimated in a matter of minutes if a flock lands to eat. We go out at sunrise to warn away the scouts--there are 10 or so scouts that will come to the vineyard, check it out and then report back to their buddies. If we're out in the vineyards, armed and ready when they arrive (shooting, dancing, shouting, whatever it takes!) then those scouts will give a very unfavorable report and we'll be spared for a spell. Another very interesting tidbit: dry-farmed vines tend to ripen earlier because of the stress placed upon them to produce without summer irrigation. **Which causes a heck of alot more work!! Especially if our neighbors are slightly behind us in their ripening, then we're the choice entre for a couple of weeks!



In the past we've experimented with bird cannons and predator bird calls playing in the vineyards, but after observing the birds for a couple of years, we see no advantage to using them. We have also decided not to use bird netting, it would be a logistical nightmare to install over our vines that are spaced 10 x 10 and 12 x 12--plus, is it biodegradable? Or is it just another useless item that will end up in the landfill for decades and decades? (That being said, is mylar biodegradable?...doubtful...if only we lived in a perfect world.)