The Vineyard
W
e have been growing our vineyard and making wine for over 20 years. We are members of IGGPRA as well as the Central Coast Vineyard Team with emphasis on sustainable farming practices.
VINES
The four acre vineyard rows are 6’X10’ and have an east-west orientation.
The north side of the rows have a "vertical shoot position" arrangement allowing some sun exposure and air flow through the fruit zone.
The south side of the rows, the sunny side, have a "California sprawl" type of arrangement allowing just dappled sunlight into the fruit zone.
The unilateral vines are spur pruned with an average of one to five pruning weight on the six-foot cordon. This averages around 4.5 lbs of fruit per vine with the average tonnage at less than 3 tons/acre. We produce between 10-12 tons of cabernet sauvignon. We produce 1 ton of syrah.
PRESSURE CHAMBER
We use the Pressure Chamber to help determine how much water the vines need. Using a plant-based monitoring system like the Pressure Chamber, we can monitor the moisture flowing through the vine and determine what the plant is experiencing.
WATERMARK SOIL MOISTURE MONITOR
Soil water levels for the vines are monitored. Down through the root mass, readings are taken at 10”, 20” and 30” to determine the amount of water that is available for the requirements of the vines.
Utilizing the data from both systems, we structure an irrigation program that optimizes the development of our premium fruit.
VINEYARD LAB WORK
Soil samples as well as plant tissue are routinely analyzed. From these lab reports, plant and soil nutrition requirements are determined and applied to the vineyard ensuring an optimum, healthy vineyard. As a periodic "Best of Show" winner, we are keenly interested in utilizing all means of producing fruit with maximum potential.
