Windy Oaks Estate vineyard uses a VSP bilateral cordon system, with three double foliage wires. This system provides maximum light and air flow for the grapes during their all-important growing season, from March through August. We personally work on and/or closely supervise the training, pruning, summer maintenance, and harvesting of the grapes. The ultimate goal of the work that goes on in the vineyard is expression of terroir through healthy grapes that have had substantial exposure to light and air, with maximum hang time to ensure optimum flavor and complexity.
The growing of premium grapes is a constant struggle between ensuring healthy growth, yet not so lush that the leaves and unwelcome growth overshadow the grapes. This struggle is what defines many of the activities carried out during the year. The following seasonal outline highlights the Windy Oaks Estate vineyard activities.
Winter/Early Spring
Pruning typically begins in January and lasts through February. Good pruning is critical to the vines, as this is what determines the spur position to ensure proper growth and spacing of the shoots for that year. Bud break usually appears in early March. Removal of sucker plants (those growths below the cordon wire) starts at this time and continues throughout the growing season. This is important as it ensures that this unwanted growth does not detract from the growth of the spurs above the cordon wire.
Late Spring/Summer Sunshine and fog: sunny daytime temperatures in the low 70s, and at night the coastal fog rolls in and the temp is usually in the low 50s. In most years, there will be very little or no rain from now until November.
In April and May, the vigorously growing spurs are monitored to ensure that only two shoots extend from each spur. This process ensures that the growing grape vines will have maximum exposure to light and air. To prevent mildew during this all-important growing season, spraying of liquid sulfur is done every two weeks or so. This is a low impact product applied with a specialized venturi sprayer.
When the cordon spurs reach about 18 inches, we begin to tuck them in the appropriate wires. During this time, we usually hire a crew of workers to come in and dig out the most aggressive weeds.
By late July, the canopy is fully extended up the wires and leaf-thinning begins. A group of trained workers goes through the entire vineyard and pulls leaves in strategic places. Again, the purpose of this is to ensure maximum exposure to light and air.
In mid-August, near veraison, the vines are netted. Although it is an arduous and expensive process, and it covers the vines at their prettiest time of the year, netting is crucial to protect the maturing grapes from birds. The nets are left on until harvest.
Autumn
Beginning in mid-September, we start to sample the sugar content (brix) of the grapes. From this time until harvest, the brix is taken nearly every day to ensure that the grapes are picked at the maximum ripeness. Much attention is paid to the physiological ripeness of the grapes, particularly seeds and stems.
Depending on autumn warmth, harvest occurs at any time between early and late October. Typically, the Chardonnay grapes are the earliest to ripen, and they are picked and processed in one day. The busiest time by far though is the harvest of the Pinot Noir. Several crews are hired, and harvest is accomplished in one, long exhausting day. Our Web page, In the Burgundy Tradition, describes what happens to the grapes once they have been picked.
By late July, the canopy is fully extended up the wires and leaf-thinning begins. A group of trained workers goes through the entire vineyard and pulls leaves in strategic places. Again, the purpose of this is to ensure maximum exposure to light and air.