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Agriculture--Growers tell about their crops - Growers Story of a Healdsburg Vineyard
Grape Growers Tell the Story of Their Vineyard
Got Grapes?Growers can make family wine or sell their grapes to home winemakers or wineries. Like us, perhaps you want to do both – make family wine and sell grapes to wineries. Our Clear View Vineyards is in the Russian River Appellation in Healdsburg.Our vineyard was once a prune orchard named Clear View Orchards so our vineyard name has a little history to it.
Buying the Property –In 1993, we bought a 25-acre farm property with about 20 acres of fallow land. Before purchasing the property we met with the Sonoma County Farm Advisor who helped us understand how important having enough water and the right soil was to farming. We named the property Healdsburg Country Gardens.
What to Plant–We contacted nearby Rodney Strong Winery. The wine maker looked at our land and said if we planted Sauvignon Blanc, he would buy it. End of story...we planted sauvignon Blanc. A vineyard management company planted and manages the vineyard. We also planted one and one-half acres of Zinfandel as our family vineyard.
Harvest Time—We sell our Sauvignon Blanc grapes to Rodney Strong Winery in Healdsburg and Ledson Winery in Kenwood. Last year we sold most of our Zinfandel to Selby Winery in Healdsburg and kept a small amount for making family wine. Two tons of grapes makes LOTS of wine.
A Year in the Vineyard—January ~ vines are pruned and trellis systems are repaired.
February ~ wild mustard grows between vine rows.
March ~ "Bud break" occurs—vines are misted with water in case of frost.
April & May ~ tiny leaves and tendrils appear.
June ~ Berries develop and vines leaf out with long sunny days and cool nights.
July & August ~ Grapes grow, sweeten, soften and change color (veraison).
September ~ Harvest time—the winemakesr test often for sugar levels(brix). The winemaker looks for brix, color and "mouth feel" of the juice and decides when to pick. The crop is trucked to the crush pad just two miles away.
October ~ Grapes vines change colors due to shorter days and cooler nights.
November & December ~ Cover crops are planted to nourish soil and control erosion. Vines will soon be pruned and the cycle of growth begins again.
Five best things about owning a vineyard
Are we glad we planted Clear View Vineyards — yes we are!
Walt and Barbara Gruber, Healdsburg, CA