Les Blog

Looking west from the lower, still-to-be-planted part of Westrey’s Oracle Vineyard

Just a little after 6am, Whit and I unlocked the Flexcar truck, stowed tarps and tie-downs in the back, and headed east through foggy, deserted streets. The chill was penetrating, but in that autumnal way that betrays a certain lack of conviction: soon enough, it would dissolve into a warm, Indian summer day.

A few miles past Hood River, the sun began to slice through the mist and dispel it back up into the hills, lifting a cascade of blue-monochrome buttes into view down the Gorge. By the time we crossed the Columbia and pointed north, the sun had cleared the way for a perfect grape run into the Yakima valley.

The grower had already picked a few thousand pounds for us and another guy who arrived just moments later. My spot test with the refractometer, trying to pick a random assortment of berries, pegged the sugar somewhere between 23 and 27 - pretty ripe at the upper register, maybe just shy of ripe at the bottom. Any harvest short of Château d’Yquem’s berry-by-berry picking regimen will have this kind of variation: you just hope the spread is relatively tight and the average is where you want to be. So if this really netted us 25 brix, we wouldn’t complain.
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This just in from the grower: Cabernet Sauvignon this Saturday.

He didn’t sound incredibly enthusiastic about it, though. It’s been more or less as rainy and cool has it has been here, in the Willamette Valley. He hadn’t run any recent numbers, but he’s pulling the fruit off and that’s that.

So we get what we get. Looks like it’ll be reasonably dry between now and then, at least. Sugars should be high enough, but he predicts pH will need some adjustment - to say the least.

All aboard!

At about 7am Saturday morning, Hal and I set out with Laura’s truck and trailer to find America - and barring that, ripe Cabernet Franc and Merlot. We’d packed plenty of tie-downs and enough plastic sheeting to Cristo a garage, having learned in previous years that you can’t have too much grape-wrap.

The morning was drizzly in Portland, but as we passed the Dalles, the weather lightened and the low autumnal sun began to slice across the hills, giving them the soft suppleness of suede. As we crossed the Columbia at Biggs and scaled the bluffs overlooking the water, the view downriver was both calm and majestic. It’s a 3-1/2 hour drive each way to the vineyard, but that glance over your shoulder in the early morning light always makes it easier.

Just out of Sunnyside, we pulled into the vineyard, where, as advertised, it was indeed sunny. The grower had already stacked the Franc in small white picking bins, ready for weighing. We’d always rather taste and test the grapes before they’re picked, but this grower just does what he does and you hope for the best.

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The word just in from our grower: the merlot’s looking pretty close. At 24 brix and 3.38 ph, the numbers are looking very nice, but we’ll let them hang for a few more days to soak up a little more autumnal sun. This year, we’re experimenting with reducing the yields on the Merlot and Cab Sauv - to see if we can get more flavor and depth - so I’m looking forward to tasting the fruit.

He also reports that the Franc is at 23.5 / 3.25, so that has a little ways go to. If we head east to pick the Merlot on Wednesday, we’ll test the Franc and if it’s up a brix or so, we may get that, too. But it also looks from that pH that we could let that hang until next weekend to safely get a little more oomph without sacrificing backbone. We’ll taste and test when we’re out there.

And so it begins!

Yes! it says free vinyard! Sounds too good to be true? Well friend, your right to be suspicious but this here is the real thing! Decide for yourself based on these easy-to-understand facts. 1) My mother is ready to live somewhere that is not next door to her other daughter in law. 2) Suddenly the pacific northwest looks pretty good. 3) Prefers country and views. Conclusion: With a little “help” making the right decision my dear, sweet, kind mother might end up owning land near Portland that will support viticulture. I know it sounds crazy but thats how great things usually begin. So here’s the plan: I feed her info and pix about great places she could live that, coincidentally, might suit other purposes as well. What I need: information about where grapes are succeeding within two hours or less of our burg. Example: I know that syrah is working out near White Salmon. I’ll go there and check out the area, then send a glowing report to esteemed mother. Washington side preferred for tax purposes and dry country won’t do for reasons of taste. I doubt this would be bigger than hobby size, an acre or two perhaps. But think of the fun trading in the easy purchace of grapes for year round back-breaking labor! WOW! Send me your ideas now!

Budbreak happened outside the Garagistes lair somewhere around April Fool’s day - fitting, considering how inevitably these vines succumb to powdery mildew. My plan this year is to hit it early and often with Kaligreen, an organic fungicide that takes no prisoners, so with luck, maybe I’ll get a few pounds of fruit off the vines come October.

Budbreak in Southeast Portland usually seems to be about 10 days ahead of real vineyards closer to the Coast Range (the Dundee Hills in particular). John Paul of Cameron Winery wrote the other day that

Bud break is in full swing and the nebbiolo started a couple of weeks ago just ahead of the significant frost out there weekend before last

… so it looks like the 10 day rule still holds, at least this year.