Newsletter Archives > Viticulture

In the Vineyard : Fall/Winter 2002


	Michael, Luis and Miti on the Tractor

As Grapes Go To Press

By Michael Davies, Chehalem Cellarmaster and Vineyard Manager

Here we are down to the business end of things in the vineyard and winery.

With me being a Commonwealthian and all, I would like to use a cricket (the sport not the insect) analogy to describe the atmosphere.

With 3 overs to go, we need more than one run off each ball to win. Peterson-Nedry and Ordaz are at either end of the wicket and the Australians have brought in their devastating fast bowlers called Rain and Rot. To date, they have had very limited effect against the batting masters. The crowd has been stunned into silence by the game and their beers. The fielders are crowding the crease with 3 slips and one person at silly mid-off but Ordaz is not intimidated. With every ball delivered it is either dispatched to the boundary or it safely sails past the bails. The other big-hitters waiting in the stand, Francis and Eyres, are quietly confident of yet another victory, thereby reinforcing Oregon's and Chehalem's reputation for producing consistently good results.


	2002 Harvest, Plentiful and Bountiful: Pinot noir sorting by John and Greg
	Photo credit: Basil Childers

Now, for those of you non cricket-literate people it suffices to say that the vineyard crew's time is being spent putting the finishing touches on another growing season.

When the desired flavors have arrived in the grapes, the word is given for the picking to begin. And begin it does! An average picker can pick between one half ton and one whole ton of grapes in a 6 hour day. Fingers and snips move like lightning and the pickers run down the rows to the master bin with their 25 pound picking lugs.

When we are not picking, time is spent checking or installing nets and bird scarers. At Chehalem we use nets, propane cannons and electronic bird-distress calls to discourage the birds. At other vineyards in Oregon kites, reflective tape and shotguns are all employed with varying degrees of success and cost.

Some of the last tractor work to be done before the actual harvest is that of sowing a mixed cover-crop. This cover-crop is sown to help stabilize the soil before the heavy winter rains, and to provide some green biomass which can then be ploughed back in during the spring.

Got to run, grapes arriving!

As We Go To Press: Exceptional Quality, Plus Quantity

Cartoon: Chehalem's 2002 Harvest : It's not like me to call the election before the polls close, but Kelly breathing down my neck to get this newsletter to press, and ongoing dry and sunny fall weather forecasts make me bold.

With half of our fruit picked and looking great in fermentation, and the other half looking impeccable on-vine and only getting better with 70 degree sunny days and crisp nights, we can confidently say it is a very good vintage. With continuing good weather, 2002 could be as good as any vintage to-date in some vineyards and with some varieties. Pinot noirs are dark, soft and rich; whites are flavorful, with good acid.

The key difference between 2002 and some excellent vintages over the last decade is that this high quality comes in decent volumes. Warm and dry weather at bloom, followed by a warm central growing season and, then, a relatively dry harvest period (0.78 inches from mid-September thru mid-October) gave a large crop that, despite thinning, ripened plentifully. A rare vintage that will excite wine critics and accountants! -Harry

Check out the final results at Harvest 2002.