This week in the vineyard saw some challenges, some rebirth, some rainfall, some progress, and as always in April, some cold temperatures and some sips of Reposada tequila to keep me sane.
Last week was quiet enough to share an original draft of a rejected LA Times article, and this week I will again share another draft.. You may notice that the article is a little long than what was printed, and contains plenty of extra commentary and wordiness that was deftly edited out by my friends at the Times. The El Nino has been reluctant to die down, and the period of wet weather has been extended into the normally dry month of April.
How does the wetter weather impact the vintage? Rainfall is always better for plants than ground water from irrigation. Rainwater is pure generally and free from the salts that accumulate in groundwater. While rainwater leaches salts out of the root zone of a grapevine, groundwater applied through a drip system or any other method actually adds salts to the soil profile.
We did some quick and dirty math a few years ago that turned up a fairly surprising result. So, as you can see, rainfall is a wonderful water source for the vines and trees, it washes salts into the depths of the earth where they belong, and it helps us save energy.
But of course there are a few things that late and heavy rainfall can do to slow down the farming of wine grapes.
