A Wellington Wine Blog (of sorts)
29Now that I’m retired, David asked me if I would be interested in resuming blogging activity. For those of you who weren’t following w00t ten years ago, I wrote a somewhat regular blog in 2007 and 2008 called Random Ramblings of a Weary Winemaker. The idea for this new theme and title came from David; I’ll start out with that concept and see where it leads.
What Would I be Doing This Month (May) if I Hadn’t Retired
I was both a hands on farmer and a hands on winemaker, a bit of a rarity in the California wine industry. I will write about grape growing and winemaking separately in order to give a relevant portrayal of what’s going on each month. I’ll be happy to answer questions and I’ll welcome suggestions for subject matter. As you read this, I’ll be out of the country until mid June, so if you have any questions about this initial blog you’ll have to wait a while for answers.
May is always one of the busiest months in the vineyard. I always spent more hours on the tractor in May than any other month. Disking (plowing) is performed in a relatively small period of time when the soil has the right amount of moisture. It can commence when the ground has dried enough to allow tractors to enter without getting stuck, and is best and most easily completed before the surface dries and hardens. Just think about how much easier it is to dig with a shovel when the soil is damp. Disking requires multiple passes at a low speed (1-2 mph), so it is time consuming. At the same time, grasses are also growing rapidly in vineyards with permanent cover crop, and mowing is also a time sensitive chore. Mildew control (in my case, dusting with sulfur) starts when the weather is warm enough for mildew growth, three days in a row with at least six hours between 70 and 85°F, usually late April or early May. I remember spending a fair bit of time wrestling with heavy farm equipment as I had to switch implements frequently.
The vines grow very rapidly in May, and it requires a lot of handwork to keep up with suckering, shoot thinning and selective leaf removal. These functions take much more time if you get behind schedule, because, as the leaves grow it rapidly becomes difficult to see which shoots to remove. May was always my highest vineyard payroll month and sometimes workers are as hard to find in May as at harvest time. Bloom starts in May for most grape varieties in most years, and late May / early June is the worst time of year for rain, high wind or excessive heat, as these all can inhibit successful pollination.
Nothing dramatic is going on in the winery during May, and there are few time sensitive work demands. It is a time for racking, stabilizing and blending, as we move wines along the path towards bottling. By now all the wines of the previous vintage should have completed primary and malolactic fermentation, settled clear and been racked off lees (fermentation sediment comprised of yeast and grape solids). We do a lot of tasting trials as we fine tune wines by blending, changing the amount of new oak, and considering fining, alcohol or acid adjustment and/or other treatments. My winemaking philosophy was to manipulate or treat wine as little as possible, specifically only when it would significantly improve the wine.
Bottling activity is increasing in general this month, but varies from winery to winery. The industry giants bottle year-round, the next tier might bottle more or less continuously from December through August, while smaller wineries bottle irregularly, typically using a mobile bottling line. Very small wineries that focus on one or two varietals might bottle everything within the span of a week or less. At Wellington Vineyards we bottled six or seven different times each year because we produced so many different wines. A typical May bottling for us would be entirely comprised of red wines 16-18 months post harvest; this May we probably would have been bottling more than one of our 2016 Cabernet sauvignons, other Bordeaux varietals and blends.
I’ll check in mid June, answer questions, and if anybody gives me a really good suggestion I’ll address it in next month’s blog.
~ Peter Wellington
- 22 comments, 7 replies
- Comment
I love hearing from the man, whose name is all over my basement.
This^
Here’s a link to the old blog, courtesy of Peter and new-fangled technology
…and please read the notes on page ii
@XsanityX
I enjoyed that read. It consumed a week of my commute.
Definitely the trip of a lifetime! Just leaving for a dawn game drive
Keeping it wine related: There’s quite a history here. We visited Groot Constantia, founded in the 1600’s, high up an east facing slope of Table Mountain. Aside from the beautiful views it is obviously a very special place; iron rich soil with exceptional drainage, cooling ocean breezes and the east facing aspect combine for ideal wine grape conditions.
QPR is ridiculous compared to California, and the wines are way better than two or three decades ago. I’m on a mission to try as many Pinotages as possible; most of them are better than any of the 20 or 30 I have tasted previously (with apologies to Kent Rasmussen).
I read your original blog just a couple of years ago, long after you had written it. I learn so much about wine and the time, care and knowledge it takes to craft fine wine, as well as so much about the economics of running a vineyard.
So glad to see this new blog.
Great idea WD. Are you paying Peter in vino???
Enjoy your retirement and being out of the country! Thanks for the wonderful wines, and continued participation in the community.
It isn’t really a wine question, and surely it is vineyard specific, but what happens to the “shouldn’t be made in to wine” grapes that you grow.
I know it is an exact science and money involved means I am probably talking about a few tiny clusters of waste over a large vineyard, but if there is ever a block that doesn’t really work for whatever reason, do you compost the grapes? Make a jam? What did you do?
Welcome backish Peter!!
Pinotage, a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, has been South Africa’s signature wine, much like Zinfandel is for California. The other traditional varietals have been Steen and Hermitage, now labeled Chenin Blanc and Shiraz.
@PeterW pinotage is what I’ve attempted to grow here in Central VA. Not having the experience or dedication has caused me several missteps. Ground needed nutrient changes, but three things have created me: I trimmed too early one year and a late frost was devastating. Add to that Japanese beetles and it was too much for the young vines. Went from 51 to 9.
I spent the better part of 1991-1994 in South Africa- lived in the Mid Rand, worked in Pretoria, J’Burg, traveled to Capetown several times. We would get 20 year old Bordeaux blends from Meerlust, Rust-en-Vreed, Kanonkop, others at steakhouses for $15 a bottle. And always look for the Nederberg Edelkeur and other auction wines. Like always, the best juice never left the country. Enjoy the game drives- they are a blast!
Awesome.
Thank you Peter! This is awesome!
Thanks Peter! Your experience and willingness to share it have always been phenomenal.
Drinking a 2013 S.V. Cab of yours last night/tonight.
I just happen to be drinking a 2005 Wellington Cab Sauvignon, Handal-Denier Vineyard in Sanibel, FL when I saw Peter’s post. Great to hear your wine wisdom and educational wisdom! It sure helped me understand the production side of wine varietals and what I should look for in a wine. Looking forward to more of “Peter Wellington” Says!!
good stuff thank you !
Thanks for the insights. I’m drinking one of your ‘13 Chard tonight, going to miss them when I’m out. Enjoy your retirement.
Whoa… what a nice surprise!
Good to hear from you again and happy retirement! I will be back to read MORE. Thank you!
What a good idea this is. I loved reading peters old blogs.
Peter what do you miss most from old job and what activity are you absolutely not missing at all?
I opened a 2011 estate zin last night that was doing just fine.
I’m looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on here.
Cheers!
I was thrilled to see this blog. Welcome back! I have many bottles of your wines to enjoy. I was fortunate to stock up late last year. Cheers to your retirement!
Respect.
just received from Peter on his trip abroad:
OMG! We landed only 8 hours ago. On the drive from the airport to the camp we saw 6 giraffes including a baby, zebras, kudu, impalas, yellow hornbills. On the afternoon game drive we saw 4 rhinos including a baby, hyenas, elephants, lots of impalas, all up close. Just as we were finishing dinner a call came in and we jumped in the Land Rover in time to see a pride of 9 lions at a fresh kill. We parked less than a hundred feet away for an hour or so, first with the snarling and ripping, then the crunching, purring, grooming, resting. One of the males, face, chest and fore paws red with blood, walked towards us until he was less than 50 feet away, not menacing, but truly awesome. The whole experience was awesome - once in a lifetime and something I will never forget.
@PeterW Neat! Are you going to get to Lake Nakuru or Bogoria? When my brother was there, he was disappointed until he realized there were so many flamingos that he was unable to comprehend them at first. Then things changed to awe at the sheer amount of biomass.
Do we know ‘out of the country’ where?
Sounds awesome.
@rjquillin S. Africa, on a private game preserve near Kruger National Park
@rjquillin @Winedavid49
Awesome! One of my best friends did a safari in/near Kruger last spring. Trip of a lifetime!