Rain

After three drought years, quite a few Californians were praying for rain this winter…even city dwellers who haven't seen mud on their nshoes for years. While our call was not necessarily answered directly by the Son of God, at least we were blessed by a modest El Nino.

Seizing the prime time of the 2009 harvest, the skies pelted us on October 13. This rain wasn't exactly the best news for the Primitivo grapes still hanging on their vines in Los Lobos, but nothing in life is free. After a welcome break which allowed us to siphon all our new wines safely into barrels, the rain began in earnest. The moss woke up, the salamanders perked their family instincts, and Aptos Creek started running flush again. In late January, George (naturalist, teacher, and desert wandering companion) and I took advantage of a brief cleft between two blustery fronts to hike out to Five Finger Falls. It's an 18 mile round trip into the inner sanctum of Nisene Marks, punctuated by several hip deep stream crossings and plenty of low friction adventures along the way. As far as we could tell, we were the only visitors of the New Year, and it felt suitably primeval. The gushing, glowing, gurgling, greening, coupled with what must have been an orgy for every species of forest mushroom, augured well for a year that opened with a blue moon. After a wet February and prospects for more rain in March, we're feeling happily saturated.

Grapes can tolerate drought for a year or two, and in fact, a bit of stress tends to make them strut their finest stuff in hopes that some bird will choose them for lunch and drop the seeds somewhere over the hill. But entering the third dry year, even a hardy vine begins to show the strain. The Meadowridge Pinot in Corralitos set a smaller crop than usual in 2009, with small berries and small bunches. This was great news for Pinot lovers who like intensity…but it was also a sign that the vines were crying for help. Happily, help came, over and over again. Sometimes, the first lush year after several years of drought will yield an exuberant cry of relief…with a larger crop than ideal. We'll be interested to see what the Pinot wants to do…which is not to suggest we have any actual control.

Meanwhile, the real Grinch for vineyardists in the last 2 weeks of March and the first 2 weeks of April is not rain…but frost. Vines can be seduced by a few weeks of warm weather to push their first buds of new, crop-bearing shoots…only to get nipped into oblivion. When this happens, the vines will still produce nice leaves, but there won't be much in the way of fruit. Thirty Two is a number that we'll be watching!

2010 is going to be interesting, and for us in our 25 th anniversary year, we are feeling optimistic…an understatement.

Spring is almost here, and after our respectable winter, it's a Green One!

Salamandre celebrates the Equinox with an Invitational Tasting Saturday, March 20

Drop in for a look…you don't need Condor vision…but if you've not been here before, get directions from our website or e-mail us! (The magic lady in your GPS machine is often confused…and as beautiful as backwoods Aptos is, you may not want to spend all afternoon touring.)

PS: Condors apparently don't like salamanders, but we love them….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wells

Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker