Savant Wines Notebook

Growing grapes in the Antelope Valley?

A new AVA (American Viticultural Area) is being sought in Los Angeles County.  This article here describes the petition for the Antelope Valley AVA.

You don't know where the Antelope Valley is?  When our local weatherman Dallas Raines (yes, he says this is his real name) mentions "the high desert" you've hit the target.  Think Lancaster, Palmdale, Edwards Air Force Base ... and the Mojave Desert is not too far away. 

Hmmm.... you might be wondering ... Is it wise to be growing grapes in Antelope Valley? 

The summary description of the soil in the area sounds pretty good:  Boundary lines for the AVA closely follow the highest elevation of alluvial fans and terraces weathered from granite and other rocks in the surrounding mountains, providing deep loamy fine sand to loam and silty clay soils, well drained and aerated in the root zone and mineral rich with low to moderate fertility.

But then we get to these interesting bits: valley precipitation ranges from 4 to 9 inches, with little or no snow, and the growing season is 240 to 260 days ... although an average of 110 days per year register high temperatures above 90°F...

The grapevine needs an average of 25 inches of rain per year.  This means that mother nature will only provide for 16-36% of the water needed to grow grapes in this area.  So the rest will have to be piped in by man.  True, grapes can be grown very successfully with the help of irrigation - think Colombia Valley Washington and Mendoza Argentina.  But this is California.  In this day of fighting over delta smelts, water rationing and general water shortages throughout the state - one has to wonder - Is it wise to be growing grapes in the Antelope Valley?

Another, perhaps more important point, is that photosynthesis begins to shut down above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  Photosynthesis is the process that transforms sunlight into carbohydrates and ripens grape flavors.  Optimum temperature for photosynthesis is 77-82.5F.  So in the Antelope Valley, 40-45% of the days in the growing season will have a significant number of hours when it will be too hot for growing grapes.  When almost half of the season's growing days have sub-par growing conditions - one has to wonder - Is it wise to be growing grapes in the Antelope Valley?

2010 - unripe AND sunburnt?

Vintage 2010 ... good or bad?

The last couple of weeks have thrown some curve balls at California vignerons, and it is obvious that there is still a lot of "season" left in Mother Nature.

We have had relatively Cool Weather all across the state for much of the 2010 season, causing massive delays in grape ripening.  This can be a good thing in very warm growing regions because the cooler weather helps to preserve natural acidity and development of fruit flavors.  However, it can be detrimental in moderate to cool regions because the grapes may never get fully ripe.  If storms start coming through in the Fall, then those grapes will have to be harvested too early - acids will be high, flavor concentration will be low.

So what's a vigneron to do?  Well, many opened up their leaf canopy by stripping leaves from the fruit zone to allow more sunshine in.  Allowing direct sunshine to strike the grape clusters helps in the development of color and is critical to producing fully developed varietal flavor.  With the heat index for the season so far below normal, this is critical for maximizing every ounce of sunlight energy.

But Mother Nature isn't done with us yet!  For the last 2 weeks or so, we have had record-breaking Heat Wave all across the state.  And guess what happened to the fruit in all those open canopies?  Too much sunshine = sunburned and shriveled fruit.

Will the markers for 2010 be unripe and sunburned fruit?  The final chapter for this season is yet to be written ... and Mother Nature may still have some tricks up her sleeve yet.  Let's hope the vignerons do too!