NewsEl Nino-Doom and Gloom in the Vineyard
El Nino is affecting the vineyards of California right now! This is the time of year in the annual cycle of the grapevine that grapegrowers call "bloom."
Grapevines, at least the genus and species which produce the fine vinifera wines, are hermaphroditic. In other words the plant contains both the female and male parts. These grapevines are, therefore, self-pollinating.
Bloom is when the tiny flowers occur which will eventually be the clusters of fruit which the growers will harvest in the fall.
And growers are really concerned. As pioneer grower Louis Lucas told me when I ran into him at the Chevron station in Los Alamos last week, "We may not have a bloom this year. It's too cold and too wet." In a nutshell, that pretty much sums up what all the growers are up against.
Another factor which can adversely affect bloom is wind, and we've had a lot of that too.
So growers are really sweating out this weather right now, as El Nino and Mother Nature show us who's boss!
It was not caused by El Nino in 1995, but you may recall what disastrously poor yields growers got in that vintage--again the result of poor "set" during bloom due to cold, wet, windy conditions.
As an interesting footnote,it was pioneer grower Louis Lucas, by the way, who owned Tepusquet Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley with his brother George, and Al Gagnon. Their vineyard produced the legendary 1975 vintage ZD Chardonnay and the 1976 vintage Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, which along with the hallmark 1976 Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir, made by the other grapegrowing pioneer of Santa Barbara County, Richard Sanford, that really started to put Santa Barbara County wines on the map in a grand fashion!
Events
Welcome to the Rhone Zone!
If you revel in the varietals of the Rhone Valley of France, and are an afficiando of the wines of local Rhone Rangers, Bob Lindquist of Qupe, John Alban of Alban Vineyards, Craig Jaffurs of Jaffurs Wine Cellars and Andrew Murray of Andrew Murray Vineyards, just to name a few of our top-flight Rhone varietal producers in the area, you won't want to miss out on 6th annual "Raisin' Rhones" celebration scheduled for June 19-21 at the California Mid-State Fair Grounds in Paso Robles.
There are a number of different ticket packages available ranging from individual afternoon tasting passes to deluxe three day packages.
Looking over the list of participating wineries, I'm noting more and more participating from Rhone producers from the Old World, including Chateau de Beaucastel which owns the exciting new Paso Robles vineyard, winery and nursery property called Tablas Hills, Chateau Routas from Provence, whose winemaker is local winemaker Bob Lindquist of Qupe, Guigal, Paul Jaboulet Aine, and Domaine Tempier from Bandol, just to name a few. This event is becoming to Rhone wines and Rhone-style wines and Rhone-inspired wines, what the International Pinot Noir Celebration held every summer in McMinneville, Oregon is to the wines of Burgundy and the noble Burgundian grape varietal, pinot noir!
For more information on "Raisin' Rhones" call (805) 239-1205 or e-mail MrViognier@aol.com
Bob Senn writes The Independent's monthly wine column, "Grapevine," lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
