Frost and Death

The time has come once again. The grape growing season has drawn to a close. I find it fascinating that just one frost makes the lush, hardy, green grape leaves shrivel into brown aged ones.

One day the leaves are hardy and healthy. Frost steals in overnight. The leaves are all brown and shriveled.

It is just one example of how delicate

life is on this planet. It is best never to take things for granted. I'll bid adieu, leaving you with this poem by the famous Robert Frost.

Desert Places

Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast

In a field I looked into going past,

And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,

But a few weeds and stubble showing last.

The woods around it have it- it is theirs.

All animals are smothered in their lairs.

I am too absent-spirited to count;

The loneliness includes me unawares.

And lonely as it is, that loneliness

Will be more lonely ere it will be less-

A blanker whiteness of benighted snow

With no expression, nothing to express.

They cannot scare me with their empty spaces

Between stars - on stars where no human race is.

I have it in me so much nearer home

To scare myself with my own desert places.

Remember enjoy and imbibe!

Winterizing the Vineyard

Glass Tasting.

Yep. Glass Tasting. If you've ever been with me at a decent to high end restaurant, you know that I always ask the server for a red wine glass. I don't do it for the snob factor, because believe it or not, it actually makes a difference.

About 10 years ago, Kenny, our friends ,Bob and Cindy, and I went to a wine class weekend in the Hyatt at Beaver Creek. It was great. The first class we went to was glass tasting. At first, I thought I misread the agenda. Don't they mean wine tasting? No glass tasting. It was being sponsored and led by Riedel, the makers of expensive wine glasses. Aha! I get it. We have to sit through this spiel so they can get a few suckers to buy their wares. Right. I'm so on to them......so I thought.

We sit in front of a water glass, a mug, a Riedel white wine glass, and a Riedel red wine glass. They do their little routine about how the shape of the glass is the key to how the wine tastes, and blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah, right, right.....let's get on with the drinking. It's almost 1030 in the morning.

(For emphasis, another friend Cindy illustrates the feelings I felt when drinking wine at the class)

Finally we get to the important part. We are told to pour white wine into the mug. I pour it into the mug, take a sip and think "this is okay wine". Then they tell us to pour the wine into the Riedel white wine glass and take another drink. I drink from the glass and think "wow"! Is that the same wine? I can't believe it. I repeat the mug drink "Hmm, okay". I sip from the Riedel glass "wow"! Okay, okay. It's a fluke. A glass can't make a difference, can it?

In order to really prove their point that the type of glass is important to enjoying the "real" taste of the wine, they bring us new Riedel glasses and tell us to pour our white wine in the red wine glass. Now taste the white wine now. It's just a little better than the mug. Short finish, one flavor. We do the same with the red wine and pour it in the white wine glass. Eh. Whatever with this wine.And then we repeat the whole process.

White wine, white wine glass. Red wine, red wine glass. Heavenly.

After everyone in the room is thoroughly impressed, they tell us why it is so.


The bowl of the glass allows the oxygen to mix with the wine, so a larger bowl works well with the red wine because it lets the tannins and oak flavors release. A white wine glass does not have a big bowl because it doesn't have tannins or oak. The design of the lip of the glass is also important. It positions where your tongue first touches the wine and positions the wine on various places of the tongue. As you can see from the picture, we have four different major tastes - sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

If the lip is thick, the wine will go more towards the back of your mouth were the bitter area is located. A thin lip will allow the wine to enter the center of your tongue where there is a mix of sweet and salty, giving the drinker a pleasant experience. Then the shape of the glass near the lip is important. A rounder glass will give the drinker more time on the tongue. More time on the tongue allows for all the complex flavors of a red wine to come forward. A straighter line at the lip of the glass will "throw" the wine on to the front of your tongue. So even a pinot grigio may seem sweetish.

With all that, we bought some glasses! Who could not buy with all that cool new information?

Right now I'm drinking a red table wine, J. Moreau & Fils, from France for only $6.45. I'm drinking out of a stemless, pseudo-Riedel glass with a medium size bowl with an average line near the lip. Perfect for the type of wine.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Yum.......Wine......Our Wine

Here's where we are in the whole wine making process. We picked the grapes, we destemed the grapes, we killed the wild yeast, we added tame yeast, we mushed must (grapes with skins) for 10 days, we racked the must into the glass containers. There it stayed in our winery (aka ground floor closet) for three weeks and a day.

Thus, it is time to rack again (move the filtered wine to another container). In order to see if it is worth it, I open the little glass container first. Because for the past three weeks, the yeast is sitting there. The yeast has been eating sugar, making alcohol and pooping out carbon dioxide. And we have a vapor lock on the top of the container because the juice reacting with the oxygen in the air is not good for the wine making process. The vapor lock allows CO2 to get out and air to not get in.

Thus, I have not been able to smell the wine or taste the wine. For all I know, it could have been sitting there making vinegar as we speak. So I cautiously take the vapor lock off the 3 gallon carboy. I put my nose to the neck. Hmm, it smells good. I pour myself a glass. Hey alright, not bad for only a month old. Tangy (too tangy), berry, and a hint of tannins. If I am desparate I can pour myself a full glass right now. I've had lots worse from wineries that say their wine is done. Ours is not done. So it can only get better.

No vinegar, so we move on. We take the inital 5 gallon glass container and put the auto-siphoning tube about 3/4 of the way into the bottle. This is so we can avoid sucking up the lees. The lees are the dead yeast that lay on the bottom of the container. You can see them in the photo. They are the lighter color in the container on the right. Pinkee color. The beautiful red juice moves from that 5 gallon container to another container just like it, sans lees. But this time there is no room for air. The juice is filled all the way to the top. The vapor lock is put back on and more sitting continues. Next it will sit in the winery for 2 1/2 more months. And I haven't figured out exactly why as far as chemistry goes, but one book says 2 months, the other says 3. So in the middle it is. 2 1/2 months will be around in the midst of the holiday season. Perfect. I think I'll celebrate with a glass of wine.

The 2008 Gascon malbec is one of my favorites. When you take a first sip of this wine, you don't have to brace yourself. It's smooth. It's berry. It's fruity with a hint of tangy. Just like I like my malbec. I can only hope our wine tastes that yummy.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Fluorescent Orange Alien

So now the wine is sitting in the winery (closet) becoming......wine. No work required for that.....now. Thus, it's time to pay attention to the ever changing vineyard. Geez, it's like a kid.

Thus, I'm walking on the south side of the vineyard and I see a bright, fluorescent orange. Shoot, you can't miss it. Oh-h-h-h-h no. It truly is fluorescent orange, super bright orange. It's weird. It's unnatural. It looks like that 70s silly string in the can, remember? You spray it on people, but it doesn't stick. It's just like that. Super- duper orange.

And even more unnatural is its super hero action of starting from a small, unobtrusive bunch white buds into a spider-webby big pile of choking death in a mere couple of hours. It wraps around the vine like a python, killing whatever it touches.

This spurs me to action, not so superhero, unfortunately. And thus, the job of the day begins. I walk up and down the rows with shovel in hand attacking the orange alien creatures. You have to dig down to get to the roots, otherwise they'll pop up again. Like the aliens. Fortunately, the roots are shallow.

I thought I'd look it up on the internet what this alien creature is for kicks, and I can't find any information about it. Anybody know? Everytime I search for fluorescent orange climbing vine, the internet comes up with something having to do with marijuana. Marijuana? I hope not. Otherwise I'm digging up my cash cow. Geez, who needs grapes? We got pot. Producing alcohol and drugs?! Alright.

While pondering what the heck this superhero vine creature is I'm drinking 2008 Santa Rita 120 Carmenere, $6.99. Carmanere is my favorite wine from Chile. It's always super cheap and never disappointing. Dark red and lucious, with great legs. It has strong tannins, but the fruitiness is so also strong. Thus, they compliment each other. Yum

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Okay I got it.....for now

Once again I was clueless as to what to do for the next step in the game of wine making. The Ye Olde Winemaker said wait three weeks, then rack again. Well, okay but why? Your tired, just give it a rest or what?

Then came the ah-ha moment. It came when I was watching the small carboy's vapor lock dribble sterilized water into the grape juice. I saw that dribble leak into the red juice with panic.....again. That water may kill the yeast in the juice. It will kill the yeast.

And then I took a good look. Wait a minute. The yeast is already done. How do I know? The vapor lock top on the top of the container wasn't floating. And on the other two they were. That means that all the CO2 that the yeast was producing is gone.

Thus, those little yeasties are no longer of this world. Okay, okay I get it. When the vapor lock top is flat on the plug then the yeast is done doing its thing. Yeah!

Time to celebrate with a nice Valpolicella 2007 by Zenato. I'm a big Valpolicella fan anyway and this is a big wine. The blend of smoothness of berries and chocolate with a hint of tannins is a perfect wine with the raviolis I'm having tonight.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Racking Wine

Measuring the specific gravity of the juice last Saturday showed that it was time to rack. Yeah! Wouldn't you think that would be the perfect pick up line? Hey baby, you want to come back to my place and rack? Who could resist.....once they figure out you're not some kind of weirdo masochist that is.

Ye Old Winemaker said that once the juice got down to 1.0 that it's time to rack. So the SG went from 1.3 down to 1.0 in just 3 days, and that seemed fast. But the juice was in the pfvs for 6 days which is normal so it's all good.

The kitchen (see mess above) was the perfect winery to perform racking, as you can see. This involved the primary fermenting vessels, secondary fermenting vessels, trash cans, trash bags, grape juice, grape juice and more grape juice. The only thing that didn't get covered in grape juice was the ceiling, thank goodness.

The saving grace in this whole event was the auto-siphon device to move the juice to the carboy. The first transfer I didn't figure out that I should raise the 40 pound pfv at least a couple inches above the other vessel. But after I got a nasty blister on my thumb, I figured I need height. And the cat stand, see to the left, was the perfect height. Now the crazy, I almost spilled it, event of raising 40 pounds up to that height was something to see. Grape juice, grape juice, and more grape juice. On the floor, on the walls, and on everything else. This new height worked perfectly. No more infinite up and down. The juice went from the bottom of the pfv smoothly to the next level....the secondary fermenting vessel.

I realized that there was a good amount of juice still left in the pfv so I took matters into my own hands. I raised the pfv up again, and squished grapes in the can while the juice ran slowly into the bowl. This "extra " juice was dumped into the subsidiary A/B buckets. Waste not, want not I always say. And anyway we only have 13 gallons of wine. Definitely no waste. More juice everywhere...counters, cabinets, and walls. More fun.

Now the beautiful juice is in the glass containers, secondary fermenting vessels, bubbling away. On it's way to being wine.

I think we'll celebrate with a unique wine......Mokelumne Glen Vineyards 2006 Lodi Dornfelder, Zinfandel. It did exactly what I love about wine. When it was first opened, it smelled like wine you wouldn't want to drink willingly. Then give it a couple of hours and it became tasty. Now today, a day later, it tasted like the best Zin in the world. Life is like an open bottle of wine. It changes, becomes complex, smooths out, and hopefully getting better with time.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

It's Time to Make Wine!

We've harvested and now the berries are in the primary fermenting vessels (pfv's) (aka trash cans). We have about 20 gallons of juice in our winery (aka kitchen corner). You have to add yeast to the juice to get things going. So we bought already mixed yeast, Merlot yeast, so that we'd get the best fermenting results. The yeast was put in the day after we sterilized the grapes.

The grapes have to be punched with a puncher (aka manual dry wall mud mixer) twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Here I am punching the way-full pfv. The grapes float to the top. So in order to "mix" up the liquor and break the skins of any non-bruised grapes, I push them with the mixer back down to the bottom.

Initially, when we put in the yeast nothing happened. Oh no, this sucks....but the the next day EVERYTHING happened. The yeast started doing its thing big time. So much so that it oozed over the pfv rim in the middle of the night. In the morning there's grapes oozing down the sides of the pfvs like some over carbonated soda cup. Which I guess technically it is. I took the two extra food grade 3 gallon buckets we had and put the extras in those two. Now we have four pfv's. I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna do....either keep it as two batches or four. It all depends on how much I can get in the 5 gallon carboy for the next fermenting step.

With the help of the Ye Olde Winemaker I was able to figure out what tests need to happen to move on. We did an initial acid test and the test went great. .65% acid. Perfect. No adjustment necessary. Next I took specific gravity (sg) measurements every other day. The initial test measured around 1.1 give or take. When the sg gets to 1.0, it's time to move on. Shoot! This is so easy! Why didn't they say so. Yesterday all the buckets measured 1.0. It's now time to rack the wine.

We talked to a local household winemaker yesterday, asking him what he thought. And he said we should keep it in the pfv for at least two weeks to get the color. As you can see from our pfv above, the color is just perfect. The color of burgundy. Yum. So this week I rack the juice to the secondary fermenting vessels (sfv's). Stay tuned.

Yesterday was Winefest. Always a good time and I had a marvelous Malbec. Grand River Vineyards served a 2009 Malbed that was perfect. Light tannins. Tangy, but not too much. And easy to drink. It's a little pricey, as all Colorado wines are when you compare it to California prices. A good local wine. Try this.

Remember Imbibe and Enjoy!

It's Time to Harvest!

It's finally time. The grapes are at 25 Brix and tasting yummy. We are harvesting tomorrow. At a bright and early 10ish. It'll maybe last for one hour. Two hours, tops if we drink while we cut. Hey, it's noon somewhere!

Even at this late stage in the game of making wine, we're not quite sure as to what to do. After cutting off the grapes and sticking them in the bucket around your neck, it's still a little foggy.

We bought a wine kit from the Wine/Beer Making Shoppe in downtown Grand Junction and the guy was really helpful. Too helpful, really. After about 10 minutes of the most minute detail of everything you have to do to make wine, I went into this glossy-eyed, blank stare of a phase. I just couldn't keep up. Geez, I should brought a notepad and took notes. So I looked like I was paying attention. And he finished with "Ok, so now you know everything I know. Have fun." Meanwhile, I don't know squat.

We get a book with this kit. I'm one of those dorky people who likes to read the book first before jumping into most things. So I devoured the book one day when I'm voluntarily trapped on a flight from Grand Junction to my next work gig. I read through the whole thing. Not too bad, it's small. But after all that, I still don't know stuff.

Like what do we measure to go to the next step after we've put the grapes in the trash cans (I mean primary fermenting vessel(PFV))? How do we know when to take out the juice from the PFV and move it (I mean rack it) to the secondary fermenting vessel (aka. car boy)? Same thing on the SFV wrt to measuring stuff. Ok, now when do we bottle?

I'm sure it'll all become clear when I start really doing it, but for now I'm somewhere way out in the middle between a winemaker and a grape picker. Hopefully, I'll make it to winemaker before I need to do something serious. I do not want vinegar.

But for now I think I'll drink a glass of 2008 Dancing Bull Zinfandel, winemaker's reserve, for only $6.99. A little much for drinking alone, but it has a strong jammy flavor that makes it nice to drink without food. No problem.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Refrac.....what!

I was told that we need a refractometer even if we weren't going to make wine. Now that we're making wine we REALLY need this thing. This thing measures brix.

I give a blank stare. Right. Sure. Brix. Uh-huh.

So I leave the winery and find myself a computer to google all these things that I must know.

Brix. "Symbol Bx is a unit representative of the sugar content of an aqueous solution. One degree Brix corresponds to 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution and thus represents the strength of the solution as a percentage by weight." Hmm. Okay. Hmm. Bottom line, it is the measurement of sugar in the grape.

Ok. Now we're getting somewhere. What's the Brix supposed to be for Malbec? More google. Well, some say 22. Some 25. Some 26. After reviewing about a dozen of totally unacademic articles, blogs, and chat room responses, I think between 25 and 26 should work.

The refractometer measures the Brix of the grape. When the measurement is at that magic number of 25 or 26 (whatever), we should pick. Okay, now that makes sense....sort of.

I order one of those refractometers (see above) from our neighbor who owns a hydroponic supply store in town. Funny, a number of those stores sprang up after using medical marijuana became legal. Hmmm. That aside. Finally, the expensive, needed device comes to our doorstep.

It comes in this official looking case which I guess makes it worth the 100 bucks alone. The refractometer allows us to measure those Brix with just 2 or 3 drops. What's not to love? The directions say I should go out in the vineyard and pick a representative sample and mix them together.

I pick out 4 precious grapes from four rows and squish them together in a cereal bowl. Maybe I should of squished them right on the glass because getting any drops out of the bowl is pretty impossible. Thus, I take my handy, mostly clean right index finger and dip it in the bowl. I bring my saturated finger to the refractometer glass and spread it around. This does not look scientific. I close the plastic cover on top, bring the refractometer up to the light to see....something. Nothing. Nothing.

I now review the one page of directions that came with the case. Seems alright. I do it again. Nothing. Bummer, I'm starting to run out of precious grape juice. Then I notice something different on the actual refractometer versus the picture. There is a dark , peel off cover on the clear plastic cover. For protection I guess.

Okay, now I do it again. I put my eye to the eye piece and hallelujah, I see something! What do I see, it's all blurry. I focus the lens and see the bluish half on top and clear on the bottom. Yeah! What's it say? 21.5 Cool. We have time.

How much time? I have no idea. I'll check it again next week.

Meanwhile, I think I'll indulge in Sterling's 2008 Vintner's Collection Meritage. It's a yummy blend of cab sav, merlot, cab franc, petit verdot, and malbec. And quite a bargain at only $7.99. Go get yourself some.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Ye Olde Winemaker

So after netting last week, we got a full look at how many grapes we are going to have this year.


To get a feel for how many grapes we think we're going to harvest, listen in as I mimic our phone conversation with our potential buyer....

Buyer: Hey, I'm really excited to have your Colorado Malbec to bottle this year. When should I bring over the half ton crates? Do you think five will be enough? I scheduled the semi to come the evening you harvest to bring them back over to the Front Range right away. How's that sound?

Seller (Us): Well, we think one crate should hold everything pretty well and I'd cancel the semi if I was you. Your crazy uncle's beat up pickup truck should be able to haul the grapes back to the winery just fine.

Buyer: Huh?

Seller: Yeah. We were a little optimitic on the output this year. We're thinking we're looking at about between 100 to 200 pounds of grapes.

Buyer: (click and dial tone)

That really didn't happen, but it's what I imagine could happen. But by the way, we really ARE only going to have about that 150 pounds of grapes.

So what do we do? What do we do? Because we don't have anything else to do, we decided to go into the wine making business. Well, not really a business because that production is only going to produce about 48 bottles of wine, but the wine making hobby all the same.

We bought our own "all you need" wine kit (see pic above) from a friendly fellow at the beer and wine making store. And it looks like we can intially ferment it in the kitchen. And let it sit and age in the closet downstairs.

We got a fermenting bin (aka trash can), 2 car boys for final fermenting, and all the stuff that goes with it. Including a book telling us step by step what to do. That's good since we have no IDEA what to do.

Now we need to save 48 wine bottles so we can reuse them for our wine. We should have that in about 4 weeks or so.

Have you tried the 2007 Bolla Pinto Grigio? Nice, crisp, fruity but not too fruity, lemony and grassy. Just right. I highly recommend it.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

The Birds!!!!!

Ack!!!! Ok, ok, ok, I totally need to vent here so bear with me. After weeks of cutting, mowing, pruning, training, repeat, repeat, repeat, the vines are happily producing the final product we put our blood, sweat, and tears into for the past three years.

Our grapes, for whatever reason decide to ripen early. We were the only game in town with purple grapes. And THAT was the problem. Is the problem.

Well, there's another problem too. What you ask? We have a freakin' neighborhood bird "sanctuary" in the yards just south of the vineyard. Lots of big, leafy trees surrounded by always full bird feeders and bird baths. Sounds like heaven if you're a bird, doesn't it? With that kind of nirvana, why the h#ll are they pouncing down on these grapes?!

Because they taste SO-O-O-O good. Like little sugar candies. All of our final product going up in smoke, or in those little birds' stomachs. We had to do something quick.

Thus, we had an emergency netting event on Sunday. Never having netted before, it was quite an experience let me tell you. We borrowed pieces of netting from our neighbors who have the perfect vineyard. This amount of netting available was just right for us because we only have one row that is fully in bloom anyway. The others are a vine here, a couple of vines there. So piecemeal was perfect.

Laurel & Hardy (aka Kris & Kenny) grabbed those nets and made our way to the grape producing beauties. How hard can this be? I see old ladies doing it, what's the big deal? Well let me tell you, with this netting, you just think about it getting tangled and it's off to the races.
Here's how it went.....we untangled everything in the yard. And made piles of short, medium, and long lengths. Then we took those 3 bundles in three separate trips out to the grapes that needed the nets. We surmise we need a short net, for example, and pull a neatly folded net from the......hey wait a minute all the short nets are back in one tangled mess. Same for medium and for long.

Still determined, I take one side and Kenny takes another and we begin the journey of re-untangling the nets. Ahh, ok let's put it on the vine. I on one side throws the net over the 8' trellis wires, and in the process the net tangles with the leaves and branches. Kenny is taller than me so he begins to untangle the net from the branches, ripping the netting in the process.

This defeats the purpose of putting on nets because the birds can now fly through the holes in the nets. Not to worry, we clip, or use clothes pins (handy for laundry too) to close the gaping holes. After a couple more we don't rip the nets, but we still can't look at those nets funny without them tangling. Even when one of us would hand over the net, it would tangle. Imagine a Laurel & Hardy comic routine for sure.

Tenacious we are and the nets are on! The birds are still loitering about at the bird baths trying to think up ways to get under that netting. Thus, things are all right with the ways of a vineyard.

Ok now that the grapes are under control....for now, it's time for some 2005 Bin 70 Lindman's Chardonnay Riesling. Chardonnay Riesling? Yep, that's right. I got it at World Market for $5.99, so I felt gutsy with the blend.

It's nose is unique with the distinct aroma of honey. The flavor has the weight of a Chard with the tanginess of a Sav Blanc. It is very similar to a Viognier which is one of my favorite whites. I don't normally EVER want to drink sweet wines. I wouldn't call this sweet, but there's that honey essence throughout your palate. Not overpowering though. In a good way. Try it if you find it, shoot especially for the price. You don't like it, use it to thin a white sauce.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Premature Veraison

Veraison. The time has come. No, no, this is not a subsidiary to the cell phone giant, it's a phase of a grape. Why they just don't call it "the grapes are ripening now" is beyond me. It's all part of the secret club. The secret grape growing club. Shhh.

Veraison is a viticulture term meaning the "onset of ripening". It is originally French but has been adopted into English use. The official definition of veraison is "change of color" of the grape berries. Veraison represents the transition from berry growth to berry ripening, and many changes in berry development occur at veraison.

The berry ripening signals that its sugar concentration is increasing. In addition, malic acid degrades and there is an increase of tartaric acid. This acidity will decrease the pH and help in aiding the degradation of chlorophyll.

That said, the only problem is that our grapes seem to be ahead of the curve. Until a couple of days ago, everyone else's red grape were green.

Being a head of the class is not good in this case. It means our grapes will mature too early, and the tartaric acid will not have enough time to degradate from the vine. Meaning the grapes will be very tart.

Sitting back drinking Malbec from a nice open-mouthed Ridel wine glass staring at the vines, I realize there is absolutely nothing we can do. I think we'll just watch them be over achievers and turn that beautiful dark purple color I love so much.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

My Kingdom for a Contract

Ok the initial pruning of the vines is complete. Yeah! I'm praying all that doesn't have to be done again. It would be the fourth year in a row. Geez. Give it a rest will ya?

The grapes (the photo is not our grapes, I just want to imagine it'll be our grapes someday) are growing and ripening as I write. Yeah!

We won't have a huge crop, but a crop none the less. And it gets even better.

When we went to the Colorado Mountain Winefest last year we tasted the wines and the wines that we liked we talked to the winery about buying our grapes. We figured that if we didn't like what they were doing to the current finished product, why would we want them to ruin our grapes too. Thus, we came up with about 4 wineries that we liked and they liked that we were growing Malbec. We really liked one winery in Denver because besides making good wine, they have a good marketing program. Key to selling more wine, and thus they need more grapes. Aha!

So we have this winery that want to buy our grapes. Whatever we can give them. That makes me way nervous......in a good way. What if something happens?

Maybe we'll have nothing after the birds pick everything off the vines. Maybe we'll have rot with "all" the rain and "cool" weather we've been having here. (Yes, you midwest people would be WAY jealous of the past couple of days) I'm having nightmares about being late to put the nets on the vines. I dream I get out there and they've picked away everything, even the leaves. (I definitely need a better sleep dream coordinator.)

But all that aside, I imagine we'll have something. Thus, we need something more than a firm handshake and a hardy pat on the back. We need a contract. I figured our local vintner and vintnerculturist organization would have a library of buying and selling contracts for every flavor under the sun. But no.

So off to the internet I search. There's contracts....kinda. There's no real template but then there's no actual grower's contract either. The information somewhat tells you what to do, but suggests this is only an example, not one that should be used in any legal environment. Now that lingo was written by a lawyer if ever I read one. Thus, it'll be an ask around process. Partially putting together what info I did gleam from the internet with the trials and tribulations from others in the same boat.

I think I need a drink. And this 2007 Blackstone Merlot from California is just the ticket. Priced at only $9.99, you can't go wrong. Drinking it along side a plate of lasagna (yum) or by itself, the wine can stand up to both challenges. It's hint of oak and light tannins are just right, and it's finish is smooth. It's spicy with a taste of berry but not jammy. We definitely need to buy another bottle.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Poodle Shearing

Poodle shearing you ask?

Why yes, that's what it looks like when pruning the vines.

The vines are all bushy, green, large, and unruly like you see here. Bad vine!

The weeds are everywhere. Four o'clocks (no longer the pretty, petite flower of my yesteryear) are racing to see if they can choke out the vine and get its share of the bamboo pole to the top. The grasses are a foot high trying to bury the vine.

When I'm done pruning the vine, they are merrily prancing before me like a newly shaven poodle. Kinda scrawny, skinny, and definitely a little embarassed. This photo to the left definitely tells the story.

When I see those scrawny, newly shaven poodles I think "Oh, you poor things. Who did that to you?" Who started that tradition of shaved poodles with bows and nail polish? Seems like a French renaissance thing to me, doesn't it to you?

Well it's the same primping with the vines, sans bows and polish. The vines when they're newly pruned are free of all big leaves down below the fruit wire. The area around the base of the vine is free of big weeds and any other invasive flora beside vine. The trunks are tied around the bamboo support stick to ensure they "want" to grow up to the sky. Just like a newly shaved poodle, don't ya think?

Have you tried the 2008 A to Z Pinot Gris from Willamette, Oregon? Yum. You can't go wrong with a white from Oregon grown the Willamette valley. This white wine is lemony and fresh with hints of fruits. It feels like summer. Perfect with caprese. Give it a try.

Remember imbibe and enjoy.

This Weekend's Eco-tourism a Great Success!

Everyone that attended the eco-tourism had a great time! There was sunshine, and cool breeze. No fingers were missing and all backs were strong as boards. Our resident dogs, Elsie and Marley, were keeping cool in the shade of the vines. They were making sure that everyone was having a good time.

At the crack of dawn, lattes, croissants, and fresh fruit was ready for the enthusiastic crew. With ties, wires, and pruning shears in hand, the tourists ventured out into the vineyard to commune with nature while NPR was playing in the background, giving the listeners Click-n-Clack, What'd Ya Know, and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Kenny, one of the founders of K Squared Eco-tourism, is shown here really getting into the pruning vibe. He's making sure that the vines are properly attached to the fruit wire, the bottom wire. You can see he's making sure the bamboo pole that the vines use for support is perpendicular to the wire.

Later that morning, after a refreshing shower and a jump in the hot tub, we asked Kenny how he enjoyed his first eco-tourism adventure.

Kris: "Kenny, so how'd it go this morning? Did you have a great time?"

Kenny: "Kris, I loved the French style breakfast, and my machiatto was out of this world! Delicious. The attention to detail was first rate."

Kris: "When you got out in the vineyard, did you feel at home? Like you knew what you were suppose to do?"

Kenny: "Ya know, Kris, K Squared Eco-tourism did a really fine job prepping us on what to expect and what to do once we got out there. When I finally reached my first grapevine, I already felt like an old hand."

Kris: "That's great. What do you feel was the best part of the eco-tourism morning?"

Kenny: "I felt like being one with nature, feeling the sun and the breeze, and really being a part of the event was all really good. It's hard to pick just one."

Kris: "How did you like the peach-infused Goulart Torrentes 09 white wine served chilled when you returned to the main house?"

Kenny: "Wow! That was really a surprise. The wine was peachy, grassy, with a hint of flowers and citrus. A nice wine from start to finish. Delicious."

Kris: "Well, that's all for now folks. Come join us for our next eco-tourism weekend at harvest time."

Remember imbibe and enjoy.

Ecotourism, my patutti!

We are now looking at more work, I mean fun,with final training up the vines. It's tedious, detailed and.....fun. As Kenny's email invitation shown below will attest.

Well, that all depends on your idea of fun. I can't think of anything I'd rather do at dawn then don some bug protection, pull my hair back under a hat, put on my pruning backpack (complete with vine ties, vine wire holders, and pruning shears)and perform endless deep knee bends in the vineyard.

And besides, look at how enticing the marketing director of K Squared Vineyards made his request.....

"Hello All,

Yes, that’s right—we are offering the opportunity of the summer! The weekend of July 24th-25th we are offering a FREE Eco-Tourism Vacation at K-Squared Vineyards in beautiful Palisade Colorado! Should you choose to accept this unbelievable offer your vacation will start on Saturday morning with FREE coffee or tea before heading out to the vineyard very early before it gets too hot! Our main goal of this FANTASTIC Eco-experience is to prune and re-train the vines which were lost (80%) to the extreme freeze of this past winter. When it gets too hot to work in the field we’ll break for the day and either go float on the river, ride on the Mesa or take a nap! The evening will include a dazzling BBQ feast, dancing and of course plenty of wine (and or beer)! For those that didn’t get enough of the Eco-experience on Saturday, we’ll repeat the process on Sunday!

We hope to see you here! It’s sure to be an unbelievable experience!! Please RSVP for choice free accommodations!"

Operators are standing by to take your reservation now!

Remember imbibe and enjoy!

Spicy Watering

Nothing like the sun in the middle of July to fry everything under the sun. In Colorado, the humidity is low so the nights are cool, but 110 in the sun during the middle of the day is still hot and way unpleasant. But it’s a dry heat. Thus, you’re being baked in a pizza oven as opposed to be braised in the pressure-cooker humidity of the Midwest. Neither feels good. Ergo…..

Ahh……cool, crisp water. It’s time to water the vineyard again. Time to provide the vines a needed reprieve from the elements.

The cool water from the grand Colorado River diverts into our 6 inch pipe and flows through the dozens of 3” holes down the furrowed creases positioned about a foot away from each vine. As the water oozes from the furrow into the light brown, sandy, clay dirt, the soil’s color transforms from harsh, desert tan to a rich milk chocolate brown. The saturated dirt feels cooler…literally. When it’s completely soaked into the top soil and reaches the vines, I can physically see the vines get happy.

I imagine the satiated vines must feel the same way I did when I made the 9-mile hike down into the Grand Canyon in July a couple of years ago. I started at the top of the south side of the canyon and it was hot (low 90s), and by the time I reached the bottom of the canyon, it was super hot, oven hot, oh my god hot. Way over 110. Luckily, there’s water and lots of it, the Colorado River, flowing through the bottom of the canyon. Exhausted, dehydrated, and overheated, I took off my hiking boots and lowered my bare feet into the river.

The initial feeling of my hot, sweaty skin surrounded by the immersion of my feet into the cool, caressing water was orgasmic. The coolness immediately sent chills up my spine. My feet felt pain, then a tingly, prickly sensation. Followed by goose bumps all over my body. Expressed by an uncontrollable “Aahhhhh” spilling out of my mouth while my head tipped back and my eyes closed uncontrollably. Finalized with an endless smile. (You know what I’m talking about.) I happily fell back against the rock and contently stared up at the desert blue sky.

Well, shoot no wonder those vines are happy.

Remember imbibe and enjoy.

Nous Sont Fini

....for now. For now the field is mowed, the weeds are whacked, and the vines are happily growing tall. The vines are intermingled amid the 2nd and 3rd wires, a very happy sight for sure.

For now we can spend our weekends doing something else besides vineyard work, sunup to sundown.

For now the vines don't need to be watered, sprayed or pruned. They don't need to be fertilized, aerated or taped.

At this very moment, they remind me of little children all snug in their beds. Their faces have that angelic look that makes you fall in love with them all over again. The vines all big and leafy, some with green grapes thinking about turning purple, are the true gifts given to us by mother nature. Heavenly.

So tonight.....we celebrate. We crack open a very yummy bottle. A must have in every drinking person's cellar. Tonight we open a bottle of Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric, 2006 vintage. Rubric is 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 8% Petite Verdot, 8% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Franc,

6% Petite Sirah, and 2% Tannat. Whoo, what a mix! By the way, I have no idea what Tannat. Could use some help here. :)

It's a $20 bottle of wine, steep in my book of always finding the cheapest good wine. But boy it is good! I mean like take the first sip and say "ummm." good. It's smooth. No tastebud adjustments required. You know when you drink some wines, your first response is "whew! that is tang-g-g-y. I'll get used to it." None of that.

Here's what they say about their wine: "Aromas of black cherry, blackberry jam, cassis, cigar box (really? please), and coffee with a hint of toasted spice. This stunning blend carries layered flavors of ripe , jammy black fruit (that I can actually taste, that's it. No cigar box or coffee) This is a concentration wine with a rich mouthfeel and silky texture. Fine, supple tannins provide a lingering finish perfect for pairing with braised short ribs, herb-coated lamb, or dark chocolate souffle.

Alright now I'm getting hungry. This should be perfect with the pork chops we're having tonight. For tonight and this weekend we celebrate the vines at their finest.

Remember imbibe and enjoy.

The Zen of Mowing

Ah, the zen of mowing. There's just something about it. After wandering through 3 feet of random weeds, there's something so fulfilling about the neatness of a lawn in the vineyard.

Not that it is the green-ness of grass by any means. I mean, take a look at the photo, but it's now orderly and my worry about the vines being completely taken over is at bay for now. There is such a satisfaction in having a task completed.

Yet it's more than that. When I'm sitting on the tractor being jiggled to death by the mower on the back end, smelling diesel exhaust, and feeling the heat of the engine, it feels like life. Slowly moving down the rows, the mower spinning away at high rpms just inches away from the vine feels god-like. To take life or to give it.

Travelling down each row, skilled at moving the tractor-mower as one without harm to the vines is cathartic, like knitting, except with something that would happily run you down and chop you into bits if you didn't pay attention.

My mind starts to wander when I get to the 10th vine only to be jolted back again into reality realizing I'm too close to the next vine. "Move it or it'll be toast!" my mind shouts out. With this kind of scenario one is required to be present.

Present in every part of the action. Is the tractor running okay? Is it almost out of gas? Is the mower linkage loosening up due to the vibration? Is the mower too low, too high? Should I stay in the row crease or should I move closer to the vine to really cut down those close weeds? All this rolls around in my mind the entire time I'm mowing. No room to think of anything else.

Zen. See I told ya.

Remember enjoy and imbibe.

The Trunks are Outta Here!

The first step in re-training the vines is complete! Last year's dead wood is a thing of the past. Now on to bringing up the new growth back to the first wire.



You gotta take the successes where you can get them.



One of the things I noticed this year compare to last year is this year the vines look a lot hardier. They look like they've established themselves and are ready for business. At least that's what I'm hoping anyway.



The old trunks and branches get mowed up by the tractor to become mulch in the field. That should help keep the nitrogen high for the vines to absorb.



I was drinking wine with my next door neighbor last night and asked him if their vineyard was this much work at the beginning. Over a supersize bottle of Beringer Pinto Grigio he assured me that what is happening is completly normal. Who needs a shrink?



Remember enjoy and imbibe.

Farm Hands

Day after day our hands dig in the soil, the vines and the weeds. Pulling out the unwanted, pushing around the nourished, and pampering the blessed. Our hands are showing the toil of our work.

Tried wearing gloves, but the barrier between vine and skin is as if it is a vast desert of leather that can never be crossed. Ergo, the hands are naked. Exposed without shield to the elements of nature.

After working with hundreds of plants, our hands our permanently stained the color of green and dyed that of black dirt. Our fingernails look as if we just finished up a long hard day at the mechanic's shop. The blisters that are upon even deeper blisters, no longer hurt at the surface because the rawness is so deep.

Thorns from thistles and small pieces of wood from dead grape vine trunks embed themselves into our flesh, but the skin needs not to react to the intrusion. The tips of our fingers are so calloused that they have no more wrinkles. And the rest of our hands have now have more wrinkles than can be counted. Our fingernails our non-existent, smoothed down with the sandpaper of life in the vineyard.

We soak our hands nightly in vaseline, and attempt to suppress our pain with wine and pain killer. But the throbbing soreness still interupts our dreamless sleep.

The life of a worker in a vineyard. Even more of a reason to relish the flavors of the grape.

Remember enjoy and imbibe.

The 80/20 Rule

The grapes leaves arrive but not quite as planned. Last year, Kenny was quite optimistic with regard to the maturity of the plants. So I reluctantly tied up the vines last year as if they will be strong and fruitful from now on.

Now fast forward to the present, as you can from the photo, some of the vines were not as optimistic as the owner. What we're seeing is the 80/20 rule.

Twenty percent of the vines are growing nicely from the branches on the fruit load wire (bottom wire to the non-vintered). Beautiful shoots are nicely placed with loads of grape blossoms obediently beginning to hang down to make that lucious fruit. But they are not sprawled out all over the vineyard. Just in strategic locations. The location of the growth is somewhat telling. It's by the house and the garage and by the neighbor's trees.

Hmm......what gives? Maybe the vines were saved by the "heat" of the structures. Or maybe not. Maybe it's that those vines are closer to the water source and there's underground leakage. Or maybe the planets have aligned to send protective energy across just those sections. Who knows?

That leaves 80% growing up from the ground. Yes, I said the ground. Many of you may remember from last season, and the driving reason why I started a blog about life as a vinter was that I was so frustrated with the "training" of the vines from the ground.

The work is back breaking and slow and hot and whine, whine, whine. Geez, enough already. Poor you! Get over it! So moving on....

Well, we get to do it again for 80% of the vines. But this time there's more to the fun. First, we'll have to cut the old branches and trunks too for that matter, some 2"in diameter entangled in the wire. And more disentangling them from the new vines and disposing of them somewhere. Bonfire party here we come!

Only then do we get to retrain all the new vines back up to the fruit load wire....again. Resculpting the main vine to drive cordon shoots up to the second and third wire (called the canopy wires). Cordons are just shoots from that vine that is on that lowest wire.

It looks like not much harvest of grapes for wine this year. I think this might be a good time to try our hand at making our own wine. What'd ya think?

Thank goodness there is plenty of wine from mature, happy vines from all over the world happily chilling in our wine cooler. Waiting for me to just drink. Ahh....

Remember enjoy and imbibe.

Can't Get Away from the Farm

Yesterday was so marvelous! It started with searching for the right picnic food at the farmer's market at the Bastille area. The vendors were hawking everything from electronics to rose bushes. We picked up some cheese (goat and cow), spectacular sausage, cherries, tomatoes, avocado and of course, bread.

We met our friends at the Champs d'Elysses with picnic blanket in hand. They came with two bottles of wine. We were set. Cheese, sausage, tomatoes, bread....yum. The white peaches were the best.

Then it was off to the farm in the street. They brought hundreds of plants from the country to the city so the people who can't get out to see farms can see here. It was a surreal event seeing grape vines with the Arc d'Triomphe in the background. Pines, wheat, sunflowers, and hops. All kinds of plants grown here.

Then there was the products made by the farmers. There was turrade. A concoction of cheese, truffles, and mashed potatoes....wow. Champagne, wine, beer, oysters and mustard. All different kinds of mustard. I bought a jar of dijon mustard with green peppercorns for 3 euros. What a bargain!

The crowds were staggering. There's a great picture in the NY Times that shows the event and the crowds. Great crowds. But the crowds were pleasant. Happy to be enjoying the event. And so were we.

Today we are off to eat some croissants and an expresso. Then we're off to the Munch art exhibit. He's the artist who did the work "The Scream". And for lunch bread, cheese and a lovely glass of the Cote du Rhone.

Remember enjoy and imbibe.

Paris in the Springtime

When first arriving in Paris, the weather was everything I expected. Gray, drizzle, cold. And then ouila! The weather is amazing. Days of blue sky in the high 60s. Perfect. Each day has been better than the other. Manifique!

Last night we went to a souffle restaurant. Started with a cheese souffle for an entree (appetizer), moved to a fish souffle for the plat (main course) and then finished with a chocolate souffle. Wow! The two other souffle eating folks ate asparagus and herb souffles. Sharing all round. We need one of these restaurants in Palisade. The souffles served in white, scalloped bowls were light and fluffy. Beautifully prepared. Yum.

Did all the tourist stuff so far. I never tire of the eiffel tower, the Louvre, musee d'Orsay or Notre Dame. There were thousands of tourist all enjoying the view with me. French buildings as far as the eye can see. Yesterday it was off to Versailles. I've been there before but never made it to Marie Atoinette's estate. The main palace is decadent with gold, mirrors, crystal and fabric for as far as the eye can see. They say each room has been remodeled at least ten times. But at her estate, it is pastoral. Vineyards, stables, an unconstructed pond. Two story brick houses with thatch roofs. Very calming. They say she wanted to live the life of a peasant. Of course, without the threat of starvation and hours of back breaking work.

Today Kenny comes and that will start the next leg of my trip. I hope to dive into more souffle-like restaurants, outdoor cafes, and cheap wine. Last night we had a 2008 Sancerre - Reserve that was quite quaffable

And remember....enjoy and imbibe.

Ah, Paris

I just got into Paris this morning and the weather is everything springtime in Paris claims to be. A pale sun, longinglyg basks the pale skin of the Parisian people. The breeze is cool with a tease of warmth. Yellow roses in public gardens and red geraniums in window sill pots ostentiously display their finery throughout the city. Raghu's apartment is in the 8th arrondisement. The 138 sq ft apartment is on the top floor. The 6th floor and no elevator. Whoa. The main window faces a courtyard where horses once were tethered. When I look out the window, it is unknown to me what decade, let alone what century I'm observing. I look out at hundreds of chimneys. Copper, Terra cotta, sheet metal, and clay. New and ancient. All different shapes and sizes for as far as the eye can see. All ceremoniously surrounding the nearby black roofed cupola with two glorious windows, and oxidized copper gutters. The filagre below the dome is fringed with leaves, grapes, and flowers. There is a large blank tan stucco wall just begging for a mural or at least the hand of some industrious graffitti artist. A marvelous setting for a grand wine tasting adventure.

Remember enjoy and imbibe.

Ahh....water.

It's officially growing season! The Colorado river is flowing through the veins of the Vinelands. The land is turning from a brown, desolate landscape to a vibrant spring green. The vines are thirsty. Time to water.

But before watering, we need to mow, weedwhack, and hand weed. It's always something. Thank goodness that weed killing chemical I talked about earlier did the trick. Instead of the weeds fighting with the budding vines, their brown fronds are protecting the buds from the cold of night. Nice. All except for two rows. Who knows why I missed those rows? Doing goofy stuff like that makes me think of the movie line from "When Harry Met Sally", "I want what she's having?" Must be some good sh*!. Geez.

Mowing is pretty straight forward except I've got to be careful not to fall into the water creases. I fall into the creases on either side of the grape and I get sucked into the hole making the tractor push into the precious vine. I can get close, but not too close. When that happens, my adrenaline shoots up and I'm in panic mode. Save the vine! Save the vine!

Now I'm weedwhacking those two rows I missed for..... whatever reason. Still don't know. Then manually weeding 95 plants because if I get too close with the weedwhacker, I accidentally chop off three years of my life, the vine. I did give one vine an early demise. Breaks my heart. Okay, now on to the easy part.

Watering. Kenny and I move each of the 25' aluminum pipes in place. I hold them in place for the proper water gate location while Kenny pushes the pipe into the upstream pipe. Then we go open the irrigation gate off of the Colorado river, open our irrigation gate, and adjust the water level in our water vault. Next we walk the first three sections of pipe and open those gates. Giving the vines the life giving liquor needed for everyone's happiness. Then I go back up to the vault and adjust the level ....close gates....open gates...adjust the level.....again. Over and over. Meanwhile keeping an eye on the rows, making sure the water in one crease isn't being deverted to an adjacent row. From the standpoint of exercise, its great.

Walk, walk, walk. Bend, bend, bend. I can hear my personal trainer (if I had one) now "Walk the row, back and forth. Come on, put some heart into it. Now bend down and up, down and up. Really bend! Open those gates, close those gates. Hup to it! Put some effort into it." All this exercise for free.

Now half the vineyard is watered. The vine buds are literally popping open as the water reaches them. They are so happy. The air smells of water soaking into the earth. It's smells like life. Somehow comforting and hopeful.

I believe Spanish Sangria is what calls tonight. Tastes good and it's good for you too. Ole.

Remember enjoy and imbibe.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it sn.....oh no!

Yesterday the weather was beautiful. A little windy, but to be expected this time of year. For the past two weeks or so, the weather's been hovering around 70 during the day and 40s at night. Perfect. The vines are starting to bud out. Exciting.

Today is not so perfect. We woke up a layer of melting snow. Snow! Not good. It's snowing, sleeting right now. I think sleet is worse because not only does it freeze the bud, it blugeons it to death from the heavens.

The snow is never any good this time of year but the cold temperature makes it worse. The snow keeps the air relatively warm but if it stops and night comes (and it always comes), we'll have a freeze on our hands. Then we'll wake up to limp, mushy, lifeless buds. And we'll have to start all over.

The orchards folks do have those windmills in their fields just for such an event. Maybe they'll get them going next door to us and we'll benefit from them heating the air with the fans. This one in the photo automatically starts so we may hear it tonight. It always startles me. The sound of the blades through the air sounds like the opening scene from Apocalypse Now.

We'll see. Patience is a virtue? Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Keep repeating.

I think this calls for something a little stronger. A nice 20-year Taylor Fladgate tawny port is just what the doctor ordered and of course pieces of Lindt dark chocolate. Yum.

Remember.....imbibe and enjoy.

No Thruway

The constant "beep, beep, beep" has been the familiar sound this week on the vineyard homestead. Bulldozers, backhoes, and big hydraulic excavators are disrupting our relatively idyllic vineyard lifestyle.

Apparently, there's a problem. Our road is closed. There's nothing wrong with our road. Our road, 38 3/8 Road, is a potholed, dusty gravel farm road. The potholes are fine. It keeps the locals from driving more than 25 mph in the front of the house. The dust is bearable. Ask me again in August. And the gravel hasn't broken my windshield yet. Except for the goofy address, all's good. The address by the way is how many miles we are from the Utah border. Some may celebrate, some may dread. So anyway...

About three months ago, our neighbor with the young peach orchard was having some problem with flooding. We had a similar problem with flooding when we first moved here six years ago. It seems flooding would be the norm.

Legend has it that before the vineyards, this area was initially a swamp. We believe this to be so because the Colorado river is just a couple of stone's throws away from us. Starting in 1905, the Palisade Irrigation District (PID) started constructing large dirt-walled irrigation canals above the area to water Orchard Mesa. And that lent itself to a lot of water seepage. So the land was way cheap (pretty much unliveable) until a smart fella started building subterranean water channels in the area. The water would then runoff into the underground channels as opposed to stagnating at ground level. This idea really caught on and now the entire Vineland area has underground piping that moves the ground water back to the Colorado river.

Well that infrastructure was built a long time ago. And now it's time to replace it again. We've been told that basically the Palisade Drainage District (PDD) is broke and can't do anything to fix the leaking, corroded, crushed underground piping. That the affected landowner has to pay. Crazy, huh? That's because landowners in the area are only required to pay $5 per acre per year. That must of been the rate turning FDR's administraction. It doesn't seem like they've EVER raised their prices. Thus, each landowner takes on the staggering cost of repairing a broken system that will affect everyone downstream and upstream as well.

Thus, at 38 3/8 Rd we have a f*!+ing mess. Mess aside, it is amazing to think there's this huge spiderweb-like subterranean piping system under our feet that keeps us afloat. I just hope OUR subterranean piping system doesn't go the same way as this fiasco. That flooding we had six years ago was in the center of the vineyard.

Well, the excavators have gone home and the beeping has stopped. Time for a delicious local Grande River Vineyards Syrah. Not too spicy, heavier than a Merlot, but not quite a Cab Sav. You can drink this wine with or without food, but I bet this is going to go really well with the pork loin Kenny's making.

Remember.....imbibe and enjoy.