Down the garden path

Table grapes second summer

Garden path in second summer

Sometimes vineyard layout is a cold and lonely business

A big house with no vines

The view from the top

Site prepared for vines

Volunteers plant the vines

Feeding the volunteers

Volunteers on horseback

Lola, our mascot

Grow Tubes

First year vines at sunrise

First Fruit

Mature vines on split canopy

Mature vineyard

Critter Control

Elves in the vineyard

More elves in the vineyard

The start of harvest

Vine pruning

Maturing vineyard in spring

Clean vineyard rows

Cane pruned Nebbiolo, 4-cane head training system

Veraison

Spur-pruned Syrah

We designed this small backyard vineyard in 1999 for a homeowner who wanted the picturesque textures of the vines as well as table grapes for home consumption

Many grape vines will produce a "token" crop in the second summer.

While the grapes have not yet completely filled the trellis, they do show the colors and textures intended for the space

Our principal, Pete Engle, pauses to pound in a stake during the winter before establishment of an estate vineyard. Stakes help us and our clients to visualize the extent and scale of the vineyard.

This gracious estate home was under renovation when we planted the vineyard. This view shows the house before the installation.

From the new front lawn of the big house, the stakes show us how the vineyard will frame views of the hills and river nearby. The alley between the vines was intentionally centered on the front door to align the views of the house and from the house.

The hillside has been plowed and the soils in the vine rows have been adjusted for pH and fertility. Vine holes have been dug. Stakes are installed for the wires that will help train the vines from the beginning. Everything is ready for planting day.

In many installations, the landowners, friends and relatives volunteer to help plant the vines. Here, one volunteer proudly shows off her first vine.

We find that keeping volunteers happy is an important part of a successful planting day. It is also a very good excuse for one of the first vineyard parties!

Volunteers arrive at the vineyard in many ways. Our local equestrian community often shows up for planting and other vineyard events

Loal was a puppy at planting time. Here, she keeps an eye on the vineyard work while she guards the dormant vines ready for planting

The vines are planted and the vineyard begins to take shape. The green grow tubes form individual shelters around each vine, acting like mini greenhouses to protect the vines from intense sunlight, drying winds and critters.

By the end of the first season, the vines have reached the fruit wire and begun to fill the trellis

The first taste of fruit in a typical vineyard is in teh second summer, when a "token crop" is harvested. We generally use the fruit on second year vines more as a "throttle" for vine vigor than specifically for an economic crop. When we manage a good yield in the second year, so much the better.

Our most vigorous vines reach their full size within 3-4 years. This trellis has canes trained both up and down in a modified Smart-Dyson, half-ballerina system. Note how the canopy stretches from the trailing vines on the ground to the very top wire, a total of nearly 10' from top to bottom.

By the 4th summer, the vines have completely filled the trellis, and they provide the textures and color intended for the site. The turf is fully established, and nearly full size harvest of 4-5 tons per acre is expected.

Lola, our mascot, has her own chores in the vineyard. Ground hog control is one of her chief occupations.

Our vineyard elves have their own chores as well. One of the more important ones is sampling the ripening grapes.

Here, our vineyard elf is carefully keeping watch on teh ripening grapes, in order to help us determine when they reach their peak of flavor and aroma.

In the 4th season, we begin to see what to expect in terms of yield for the vineyard. We try to keep the vines balanced between vine vigor and crop load, and this is the time that we start to see the real yield produced by the combination of variety, clone, climate and soil.

Vines ar pruned in late winter and early spring. Here, Pete does the final tying of the cordons to the fruit wire just as the buds begin to break. We like to have all of this work finished at the time of budbreak so that we don't injure the tender young buds and canes.

Spring is an exciting time in the vineyard, as with everywhere else. The fresh young shoots signal that the vines are awakening with little winter damage. Severe cold weather is a threat in most Eastern vineyards, and budbreak allows us to begin to gauge any damage.

Once established, the mature vinew are neatly hedged to maintain even sun exposure to every leaf and cluster of grapes. Turf helps hold the soil, manages moisture and competes for nutrients with the vines. The weed-free strip under the vines allows the roots room to spread, and it allows us to apply any necessary fertilizers and nutrients directly to the vines. Good vineyard hygiene helps suppress disease.

Nebbiolo (the Italian grape used in Barolo) has a very long internode spacing, and inconsistent fruit set. These vines get a special pruning style where 4 new canes are trained up from the head every year to replace last year's fruiting canes. Only the fruitful canes are retained, leaving just the right crop size for the vine.

Veraison is the point at which cell growth, division and inflation stops in the grapes, and they begin to ripen. It is often assessed as the point where the grapes begin to show color. Sugar starts to build in the fruit to an eventual goal of 21-24 brix (percent sugar).

These Syrah vines are spur-pruned. Mature trunks and arms stay in place for many years. The short spurs extend up from the arms, and this year's canes emerg from the spurs. This vine is very close to our goal of 5 canes per foot and one cluster per cane, providing our maximum yield while maintaining fruit quality and vine health.