Blogs

April, 2019

Toccata - A Little Bit of Dust from the Dirtman

We are just completing our yearly task of pruning the vines. One of the grapes that we prune nearly last is Nebbiolo. It loves to come out early so by pruning late, we delay budbreak by a couple of weeks to hopefully carry it past the frost season.

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March, 2019

From the Ground Up

This year’s high amount of rain has been great for the vineyard. It helps cleanse the soils and gives us reserve water for irrigation.

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February, 2019

Toccata - A Little Bit of Dust from the Dirtman

Well, that rain I talked about in your last newsletter showed up! In a short period of time, we are at over 11 inches of rain for the season, or 156% of the year to date average.

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January, 2019

From the Ground Up
The weather has been great. Grapes have been slow to ripen. Crop size is normal in some varieties and to the heavy side in other varieties.
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December, 2018

Toccata - A Little Bit of Dust from the Dirtman

This year’s large vintage is exceptionally high in quality. The weather was kind to us throughout the entire harvest period. We started late and we finished late.

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November, 2018

From the Ground Up
The weather has been great. Grapes have been slow to ripen. Crop size is normal in some varieties and to the heavy side in other varieties.
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October, 2018

Toccata - A Little Bit of Dust from the Dirtman

Harvest is in full swing. We have picked about 1/3 of the crop and we are running late calendar-wise. 

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September, 2018

From the Ground Up
Harvest has begun, a little on the late side, thanks mostly to Mother Nature.
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August, 2018

Toccata - A Little Bit of Dust from the Dirtman

The grape crop is behind in our area and all over the state, around 15-25 days behind schedule. A very cool spring can be blamed. Our recent weather has been on the warmer side but not enough to catch up. Our Italian grapes are progressing well. 

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Dirtman Louis Lucas - a photo

July, 2018

From the Ground Up
Today we are experiencing the first truly hot day of the year. At Valley View, it peaked at 106°F for a few minutes To me, the vines are a little behind schedule although, with warmer weather, we might catch up. Right now, we are expecting harvest to be late August to the first of September.
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The Valley View Vineyard scene

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