Fruit On the Ground

As exciting as it is to see clusters on the vine taking shape, giving me a glimpse of what this vintage has in store, it is even more exciting seeing how much fruit is sitting on the ground underneath those vines. If you are trying to find out who is farming purely for quality vs. the growers that are in it to maximize their yield just look on the ground underneath the vines.

Last night my good friend Julio Covarrubias, owner and vineyard Manager at Casa De Vinas was asked to speak at the First Annual "Petite Sirah Stars" event in the Livermore Valley. Who better to speak at this event than Julio, whose passion for growing premium Petite Sirah is no secret if you have spent more than 5 minutes talking to him.

Julio's integrity in the vineyard is unmatched, and his passion for seeing PS shine in Livemore is what inspired him to plant 1/2 of his 20 acre vineyard to it.

I was lucky enough to meet this man in 2009, right before we moved the winery to Livermore. I knew from the moment I set foot in the vineyard that this was something special. We took four tons in 2009, what we thought was maybe a little too much but figured we could blend off whatever we didn't want to bottle so we stuck with it. A little too much, we couldn't have been more wrong.

In 2010 we doubled our Petite order before the wine was in the bottle. I was confident the wine would be a hit having tasted many in the Valley and the rest of the wine world. This year NC is looking at producing 16 tons of Petite, about 1000 cases, all from Julio's vineyard.

The reason I work exclusively with Julio on Petite is simple, he has the best Petite Sirah in Livermore. There are other growers in Livermore who take their craft seriously and are pumping out some awesome fruit, but comparing these growers is like comparing a Chevy to a Ferrari. Yes, they both drive, but one is a little more exciting than the other.

The main reason why Julio's fruit performs so well is the amount of berries that never make it to the winery. The vineyard is farmed at a few different levels. At the production level, the rows situated on the furthest west end of the vineyard, about 50% of the fruit that vine produces are left on the ground. In the 5-Star lot, the highest level of farming at his vineyard, nearly 70-75% of the fruit ends up on the ground. Amazing. The clusters that stay on the vine produce tremendous concentrated black fruit characteristics that I have yet to find anywhere else.
The fruit is dropped in several passes throughout the growing season. The first pass, which took place yesterday, is all about opening up the canopy and making sure no cluster are tangled. Just after Véraison his crew goes by again for a second pass to remove anything that isn't 70% through. This assures that all the fruit that we take in will ripen properly and not produce an acid burn in the mid-palate and back end of the wine; the major gripe I have with some Petite's I have tasted.

On top of growing what I argue is the best Petite available ANYWHERE, the man is just awesome. Humble, respectful, honest and fair. He has really mentored me in the vineyard, and in life in general. I never thought one of my best friends would be a guy that is my dad's age. Julio has a way of putting a positive spin on just about anything. Just like his vineyard he is full of life and passion.

The pictures above were taken this morning. On the top right, you can see how much fruit is dropped on the first pass. All of these clusters came from a single vine above them. Below you can see a perfectly executed Vertial Shoot Position (VSP) canopy forming with all of the clusters free from each other.