Does size matter?

Does size matter? What kind of silly question is that? Of course, size matters.

That's why when K Squared Vineyards had to decide what size the spacing should be between each row during our vineyard development, we took the decision very seriously.

The space between each one of the rows is a crucial part of vineyard management. If the width between the rows is too far, then you've wasted precious property that could yield something besides weeds. If the width between the rows is too narrow, then the vines are not able to grab all that precious sunlight and the grape yield may suffer. It has to be JUST right, like Goldilocks.

So before we made our decision we took a walk about. We walked hither and yon with a tape measure, measuring the distance between already established vineyards. We measured our neighbors vineyard, and they offered us a glass a wine so that was good. We measured our east of the peach orchard neighbor's vineyard and they offered us a glass of wine, and that was good. We measured one of the largest vineyards in the area and was chased off, and that was bad. The conclusion was that 9' was the magic number.

Now before I continue on, if any of you reading this is a farmer, then you can just stop reading from now on because you know what I'm gonna say but if you're not, then this may be of some casual interest for you. Farmers (and I am one) are notorious for rural legend. What starts out as a swag, within 15 years becomes a scientific fact.

Kenny and I have seen 100s of vineyards all over the world and depending on the area, they all build vineyards differently. Most times when we ask why use wood posts over steel posts for example, there's no real good answer. Why is the spacing 9' between rows we asked as opposed to 6', there was no strong definitive answer. So we consulted an expert.

Horst Caspari of the Colorado State University Extension in Grand Junction (http://www.colostate.edu/programs/wcrc/pubs/viticulture/viticulturehome.html)
is the leading expert on vinticultural practices in our area, so we paid him a visit. He was very excited that we were planting Malbec. When we asked him about the spacing issue, he said he thought there was no reason we couldn't plant them as close as 5 feet. That seemed a little close, but it would really improve the grape yield that's for sure. Not for certain on going almost half of 9', we went to a real working expert.

Jim has been a vineyard manager for years. He used to work for Grand River Vineyards at the winery where we both worked, and now he is an independent consultant. Not by his own choice I would imagine. The winery sold all the vineyard at an auction two years ago and he had nothing to manage for them anymore. It was a shame. Anyway, he IS the expert we needed. That first year Jim was an invaluable resource for us and we couldn't have done it without him. Well, we could of but not nearly so well that's for sure.

Jim gave us a great answer. Why not space the rows 8' apart? It sounded logical. Far enough apart so an industrial tractor could still get through but close enough so you could get more rows in, meaning more yield.

And so that's what we did. By making the rows only 8' as opposed to 9', we were able to put in 5 more rows. That was a great idea. He and Kenny were the ones that put in the 116 posts with the tractor driven hydraulic post hole digger. Took them 4 days.

The funny part is when it came time for tilling up the soil between the rows, we hired Jim because he has a big commercial tractor that can do that work in a jiff. During a break, I walk up to him to chat. The first thing he does is complain about how god damned close those rows are. I just howled in laughter and retorted, "Well Jim it was you that suggested we space 'em this close!" Then he started laughing too.

Imbibe and Enjoy!