Duvarita Vineyards

We arrived at the Vineyard. A long table, set for 50 people was located in the shade of the vineyard house. As we checked in, we were promptly handed a glass of Dragonette Cellars 2014 Rose of Pinot Noir, then greeted by all of the owners. I have known the owners since we first met in 2008, and this is the first time I have seen everyone in one place.

All this was for the introduction of Dragonette Cellars’ first ever Chardonnay. But, why this particular vineyard? What was so special?

Pinot Noir

The Duvarita Vineyard is located just outside of Lompoc, and right outside the border of the Santa Rita Hills AVA.  The first things you notice are the sandy loam soils, the breeze coming from the west, and the sun located directly overhead.  A closer look at the vineyard, and it is very apparent how low the trellis systems are: less than two feet off the ground. The rows are seven feet apart and about three feet between vines.

John Dragonette talking about the vineyard

We headed up the south facing slope, 26 acres of vineyard surrounding us. As we moved into the Pinot Noir block that Dragonette Cellars farms, we stopped and discussed what makes this vineyard special. The sandy loam soils allow for excellent drainage, but also retain moisture. This area receives only 14” to 15” inches of rain annually, so an automated drip irrigation system supplements the needed moisture for ideal growing conditions. The vines are cane pruned low to the ground, to protect the vines from the constant winds. The lower hanging berry clusters then benefit from the radiant heat of the earth (the sandy soil reflects the heat nicely).  Wind removes the evaporative capability of the vine, stressing the grapes and creating thicker skins. Managing the wind is key. One of those approaches is to prune the leaves. Typically leaves are left on the west side to protect from the late afternoon sun, but at Duvarita they thin the leaves on the west side to open up the canopy thus letting the wind pass through easier. The entire vineyard is biodynamically farmed.

In the distance, we could see the newest vineyard that Brook and Cody are working on. It is higher up on the slope and the soil is currently being prepped. Brook indicated that they will be experimenting with head trained vines on that property. Interesting!

Lunch at the Vineyard house

Lunch was provided by Cecco Ristorante and included wood fired pizzas from Chef David’s mobile Italian brick oven. I sat with Brook and Cory Williams, the owners of Duvarita Vineyards. During lunch, I learned more about this unique location.

The property dates back to being part of the original Rancho Santa Rita land grant that was given in 1845 by Governor Pio Pico to José Ramón Malo. Presidio Winery purchased the land in 1999 and the Presidio Vineyard was planted in 2000. In November 2012, The Williams purchased the Presidio Vineyard. The Presidio Winery kept their name, so they renamed the vineyard. The Duvarita name comes from the combination of their parents names: Durrell and Virginia, plus “rita” for the local Santa Rita Hills. While this vineyard is outside the AVA, it is often referred to as “Super Rita”, because of the unique fruit grown there.

Duvarita Vineyard grows Viognier, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Syrah (at top of vineyard) and Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is the dominant variety grown. As mentioned, all the grapes are grown biodynamically. Currently, they are two years into the three year certification process. They are also members of the two leading sustainable winegrowing organizations, California Alliance of Winegrape Growers and the Vineyard Team. They supply grapes to some of the best wineries in the country: Chanin, Dragonette, Storm, Tatomer, Ojai Vineyards, Jaffurs/Mistress and Denner.

Steve, Jen, Cody, Brook, Mitchie, John, Brandon, Michelle, Jim

Back to our reason for showing up…the new Dragonette Cellars 2014 Duvarita Vineyards Chardonnay.  We tasted barrel samples along with appetizers of prosciutto wrapped figs w/ gorgonzola. The Chardonnay is developing nicely. Neutral oak aging and limited malolactic fermentation makes for a clean, Burgundian style Chardonnay. Pre-release orders are now being taken (hint: I placed my order, so they must be good, right?). Roasted beet salad, grilled vegetables w/ toasted couscous along with pizzas were paired with the 2013 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, and the 2013 Duvarita Vineyard Pinot Noir. A special pouring of the 2009 Presidio Vineyard Pinot Noir (same vineyard, different owner and name) topped the afternoon. Only 18 bottles of this rare library wine were available…guess who has one again (I drank the ones I originally had).

In the time I have been following Dragonette Cellars, I have been impressed not only with their winemaking skills, but their ability to identify the best vineyard sites and the blocks within those vineyards. They craft wines that reflect the individual vineyard in which they are grown. This was a chance to come see one of those vineyards up close and to understand why it is one of the best in Santa Barbara county.

Out of a deep sleep

The Winter is over, and Spring is here. It seems that when the weather begins to improve, I see more people out and about. The long cold winter is over, and we are all coming out of our winter slumber, and ready to move forward into the warmth of summer.

The same is true in the vineyard. Grapevines go through a cycle of slumber, growth, harvest, then slumber. This time of year the vines are in a critical and fragile state. Budbreak and flowering are beginning to take place, getting ready for a new crop of grapes, and ultimately the next wine vintage.

Last weekend (Easter, April 8th) I was up in the Central Coast, and spent some time wine tasting, as well as taking a look at the vineyards, to see where we were in the cycle. So far, this winter, and early Spring, have been pretty dry in California. Even so, the vines have started pulling up water from the earth, preparing for production. "Budbreak" is when the tiny buds on the vine begin to swell and create shoots and eventually leaves, that help the photosynthesis process.

The soil temperature and the grape variety will determine where budbreak will occur first. Warmer soils will encourage earlier budbreak, than those in cooler soils. Even the soil type makes a difference. Clay soils tend to be cooler, and retain more water. These soils will delay budbreak, versus rocky soils which can actually retain the suns energy, and are warmer. Usually, the daily temperature needs to exceed 50 °F

Syrah, just starting to bud

The type of grape variety also has an impact on when budbreak will occur. Some early budding varieties are: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Zinfandel. These are also early ripening varieties. Some early budding, but late ripening varieties are: Reisling, Chenin Blanc, Grenache, and Sangiovese.

On the other end of the spectrum are the late budding varieties like Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. Both of these are also early ripening. The best known variety that is both late budding and late ripening is Cabernet Sauvignon.

Obviously, soil, climate, and aspect of the terrain are important factors in determining which varieties are best suited for planting.

The vineyard manager needs to watch his vines. Certain decisions must be made at this time, including the first fungicidal spraying (usually a copper based product). If the vineyard is biodynamic, a entirely different set of decisions will be made. Weather during this time is critical. Frost danger still exists, and once the buds push through, they are at risk of freezing. Last year, a deep frost at this time of year, wiped out about 35% of the central coast crop. So, why not try to delay budbreak? Well, if it occurs too late, the grapes might not have enough time to fully ripen, before the fall rains come, and the grower will be in an uncomfortable position of gambling on longer hang time, or picking unripe grapes, or even worse, loosing an entire crop. Just like this time of year, frost or rain at harvest can also have devastating consequences.

Viognier - with embryo clusters

While in the vineyards, I took a look at different grape varieties, all at various stages of growth. At one stop, there were three different varieties planted next to each other. The Syrah grapes were just beginning to bud. If you look very closely at my photos, you can also see how the tiny buds shown are pink, which is an indicator that bud break has recently occurred. Just across the road (literally 20 feet away) the Viognier grapes have fully budded, and are beginning the embryo bunch stage.

The embryo bunch stage is also a very critical part of the grape life cycle. These small green clusters are going to be the flowers that will eventually become the grapes. These are the first indication of the potential size of the crop. Usually, within eight weeks after budbreak, the tiny embryo clusters develop into flower clusters. Since we are not yet in the full flowering stage (usually some time in May), I will defer the discussion of the flowering stage for another article. But again, just like the budbreak stage, this time of year runs the danger of rain, wind and frost. Additionally, the vines can be affected by coulure or millerandage. All of these can dramatically affect the years' harvest and grape quality.

Everyone is closely watching the vineyards right now. Those of you who live in California know that we have rain and much cooler weather hitting us right now. The storm on Wednesday (April 11th) saw temperatures drop here in Southern California, and Friday's storm is supposed to be larger and cooler. Keep your fingers crossed. The next month or so, is critical to this years' wine vintage.

Clones

I was talking with a friend today, and he had received his club shipment from Melville Winery Estate. In the shipment were three different bottles of Pinot Noir. Each was made with a different clone. You don't know how tempted I was to name this weeks' blog "Clone Wars", but my better sense helped me to hold back.

So what is a clone, and why should it make any difference in the wine you drink?

First, the definition of a "clone" is (Hartman, et. al., 1990 from Ed Hellman, Texas A&M): a genetically uniform group of individuals derived originally from a single individual by asexual propagation (cuttings, grafting, etc). What that means in layman terms is that a new plant is created in the exact image (biologically identical) of another superior grape vine, without the use of a seed. The clone is created from clippings (bud or shoot) from the "mother vine". In this way, the grape grower can populate his/her vineyard with those grapevines that produce the best grapes. The superior grapevine will demonstrate attributes and characteristics that the winemaker finds desirable. However, most vineyards will have a mix of different clones, so that the livelihood of the vineyard is not dependent on a single clone. Also the winemaker may blend the different clones to create a more complex quality wine.

Some of the characteristics that make clones distinct include berry and cluster size, yield, fruit color, phenolics, flavor and aroma, time of budbreak and amount of time to ripen, vine and canopy vigor, cold/heat hardiness, and disease resistance. Obviously, all of these are critical to grape quality, and the eventual wine produced.

When we hear about clones, it is usually in reference to Pinot Noir, but any grape variety can be cloned. It just happens that Pinot Noir is an old variety, and is very susceptible to mutation. Some of Pinot Noirs' "relatives": Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Meunier. Each differs from the parent grape. If we just look at Pinot Noir, the French have identified over 1000 different clones of Pinot Noir.

Photo care of Langetwin Winery

California is a perfect example of how clonal selection affects the wine produced. The early history of Pinot Noir in California was the story of smuggled "suitcase" clippings from Burgundy. For example, cuttings taken from Romanée-Conti (considered the world’s most distinguished Pinot Noir vineyard) were planted, and some had outstanding results, while others didn't do so well. After 1987, Dijon clones began to arrive. All of these clones were identified by a French scientist named Raymond Bernard. He identified individual vines that had different characteristics, propagated them, then assigned numbers to each. Now, clonal selections are registered by the University of California Davis (UCD) and certified by ENTAV (Etablissment National Technique pour l’Amélioration de la Viticulture) in southern France. These registered cloned vines are then named or numbered and propagated on site and cuttings made available to nurseries. There are only four nurseries in North America authorized to propagate and sell ENTAV clones.

So the next time you try Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, or Sangiovese (the grape varieties you'll most likely encounter clones), keep track of which clones are present. Each will have different expressions of the grape variety. Knowing what you like, may help influence your tasting decisions in the future. Form your own opinions and experiment.  Just remember that the clone alone, will not affect the final wine....vineyard site, growing practices, and cellar processes will affect the final product.