Current Grape Availability as of 8-6-11

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Varietal

Amount Still Available for Sale

Expected Optimal Harvest Time

Price ($)/lb

(<1000 lb/ > 1000 lb)

Barbera

3.25 tons

Mid October

0.75/0.625

Primitivo

1.80 tons

Late September

0.75/0.65

Touriga*

Sold Out

Early October

0.75/0.65

Mixed Port Grapes

2 shares

Early October

NA**

* 2009 grafted.

**Fixed price of $200 per share.

Port Grape “Shares”  for Sale

Available for sale for the first time are shares in the 2011 production of our “port” vineyard consisting of (in expected order of decreasing proportion) touriga nacional, tempranillo, tinto cao, souzao, and tinta amarella.  A share ($200) entitles the holder to 10% of the 2011 production of each varietal from our 2005-planted estate “port” vineyard that we call The Quinta.  The grapes are, in fact, suitable for both dry and dessert style wines.  This is a unique opportunity for persons working on a home winemaking scale to easily access, in one-stop fashion, the blend of relatively obscure varietal grapes that would go into a Portuguese port-style wine.  Such wines are notable for their complexity and ability to age well.

Q&A on Quinta Shares

Q: How much grapes do I get for a share?

A:  Welcome to farming; we cannot guarentee a specific amount!  The estimated total production (given viticultural practices and multiple years of experience) is 2500 lbs.  Thus, the target is 250 lb/share.  If we come up as much as 10% short (eg as little as 2250 lbs), no adjustment will be made to the share price.  If we come up greater than 10% short, the share price will be pro-rated downward.  If we exceed our production targets, shareholders keep the gain at no additional cost.  For example, if total production is 2800 lbs, a share would entitle the holder to receive 280 lbs of grapes for the same fixed share price.

Q: What mix of grapes will I receive for a share?

A:  The vineyard has been planted to yield proportions of grapes suitable for a high-quality port.  Nevertheless, the proportions will vary from year-to-year depending on varietal-specific yield.  For example, in 2011, we are likely to have relatively more touriga nacional than tempranillo or tinto cao due to some early season frost (Most would not regard this as a problem!).  So, the answer is that one share will entitle the shareholder to receive 10% of the production of each varietal, whatever that is.  For example,  If we get 1500 lbs of touriga nacional, 400 lbs of tempranillo, 300 lbs of tinto cao, 150 lbs of souzao, and 100 lbs of tinta amarella, a single share will entitle the holder to receive (separate but on the same day) 150 lbs of touriga nacional, 40 lbs of tempranillo, 30 lbs of tinto cao, 15 lbs of souzao, and 10 lbs of tinta amarella.

Q: How will this work logistically?

A: On a designated weekend harvest day that Shaker Ridge will announce with as much lead time as possible, likely in early October, the entire Quinta will be harvested in the morning, and the total yield of each varietal determined on our certified scale.  This number, divided by ten (there are 10 shares total), will determine the amount of each grape to be distributed for a share.  Shareholders will be invited, beginning mid-day, to pick up their grapes.

Q: Does Shaker Ridge have any track record with these grapes?

A: Yes, and we think a pretty good one.  The vineyard was planted in 2005, and we have been making wine with the grapes since 2007.  Our first attempt at a serious port-style wine (our 2008 “Dorado”) was entered in regional home wine competitions for the first time this year.  It earned a gold medal, Best of Show, at the 2011 El Dorado County Fair, a double gold at the 2011 Orange County Fair, and a silver at the 2011 Amador County Fair.  Our dry red blend made from the same grapes, same vintage was entered only at the El Dorado County Fair and earned a gold medal.  A homemade touriga nacional varietal wine made from the 2009 vintage also earned a gold medal at the El Dorado County Fair.  A commercial touriga wine made from the 2009 vintage (by Obscurity Cellars of Fair Play) earned a gold medal at the California State Fair, and silver medals at both the El Dorado and Amador County fairs.  We think that our viticultural practices have only improved with experience since these vintages…

Vineyard Diary

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We received an unexpected inch and a half of rain on June 28, but after that little aberration, it’s generally been seasonal Sierra Foothills weather:  sunny, cloudless skies, hot days, and cool nights.  We’ve had two runs into the upper 90’s, including about a week in early July, but have avoided triple digit days to date.  Our vines started showing some water stress beginning in early-mid July, and we have been irrigating regularly since.  The berry growth seemed exceptionally fast this year, going from bloom to obvious fruit clusters in about 3 weeks.  Primary shoot growth is all but done now as the vines concentrate their energy on fruit development.

In the barbera, we waited until mid-late July to remove the “kicker canes”–a single intact cane left at pruning to absorb some of the vigorous vegetative growth of barbera.  This year, the April frost damage resulted in light fruit set on most barbera vines, so we actually used the kicker canes to augment fruit production and hopefully bring the vines into better balance than would otherwise have been possible.  Thus, the kicker canes were generally removed only in part, to a degree decided on a plant-by-plant basis,  so that the fruit that they carried could add to the total for the vine. 

Shoot growth in the primitivo was exceptional–that is to say long–this year, probably helped by the late rain.  This is not a particular problem unless driving a tractor between rows, which can be a punishing experience with primitivo’s stiff shoots.  Shoot thinning there is well underway and should be completed soon.  Shoot thinning in the port vineyard and “new” touriga field was completed by early July.

Weeds loved the late rain and have had to be mowed and re-mowed for us to gain any semblance of control.  In or near the vine rows, our old friend (not) horsetail remains weed enemy #1.  Though easy to pull out, it is remarkably prolific and obviously refractory to our preemergent weed treatment.  On the bright side of pest control, we have gotten extremely handy with two kinds of gopher traps after nearly giving up on these contraptions.  In the last 3 weeks, we have sent 8 or 9 gophers to the great gopher hole in the sky, but not before they had a field day tunnelling in and around our orchard and vineyard.

On the county fair circuit (home winemaker division), we are pleased to report that our port-style wine Dorado (2008) won a double gold at the 2011 Orange County Fair and a silver medal at the 2011 Amador County Fair.  Our 2009 primitivo won a silver at the 2011 Amador County Fair (not entered elsewhere).

Five “shares” of our mixed port varietals as well as some primitivo and barbera remain available for sale for the 2011 season.

 

Current Grape Availability as of 7-24-11

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Varietal

Amount Still Available for Sale

Expected Optimal Harvest Time

Price ($)/lb

(<1000 lb/ > 1000 lb)

Barbera

3.6 tons

Mid October

0.75/0.625

Primitivo

2.15 tons

Late September

0.75/0.65

Touriga*

Sold Out

Early October

0.75/0.65

Mixed Port Grapes

5 shares

Early October

NA**

* 2009 grafted.

**Fixed price of $200 per share.

Port Grape “Shares”  for Sale

Available for sale for the first time are shares in the 2011 production of our “port” vineyard consisting of (in expected order of decreasing proportion) touriga nacional, tempranillo, tinto cao, souzao, and tinta amarella.  A share ($200) entitles the holder to 10% of the 2011 production of each varietal from our 2005-planted estate “port” vineyard that we call The Quinta.  The grapes are, in fact, suitable for both dry and dessert style wines.  This is a unique opportunity for persons working on a home winemaking scale to easily access, in one-stop fashion, the blend of relatively obscure varietal grapes that would go into a Portuguese port-style wine.  Such wines are notable for their complexity and ability to age well.

Q&A on Quinta Shares

Q: How much grapes do I get for a share?

A:  Welcome to farming; we cannot guarentee a specific amount!  The estimated total production (given viticultural practices and multiple years of experience) is 2500 lbs.  Thus, the target is 250 lb/share.  If we come up as much as 10% short (eg as little as 2250 lbs), no adjustment will be made to the share price.  If we come up greater than 10% short, the share price will be pro-rated downward.  If we exceed our production targets, shareholders keep the gain at no additional cost.  For example, if total production is 2800 lbs, a share would entitle the holder to receive 280 lbs of grapes for the same fixed share price.

Q: What mix of grapes will I receive for a share?

A:  The vineyard has been planted to yield proportions of grapes suitable for a high-quality port.  Nevertheless, the proportions will vary from year-to-year depending on varietal-specific yield.  For example, in 2011, we are likely to have relatively more touriga nacional than tempranillo or tinto cao due to some early season frost (Most would not regard this as a problem!).  So, the answer is that one share will entitle the shareholder to receive 10% of the production of each varietal, whatever that is.  For example,  If we get 1500 lbs of touriga nacional, 400 lbs of tempranillo, 300 lbs of tinto cao, 150 lbs of souzao, and 100 lbs of tinta amarella, a single share will entitle the holder to receive (separate but on the same day) 150 lbs of touriga nacional, 40 lbs of tempranillo, 30 lbs of tinto cao, 15 lbs of souzao, and 10 lbs of tinta amarella.

Q: How will this work logistically?

A: On a designated weekend harvest day that Shaker Ridge will announce with as much lead time as possible, likely in early October, the entire Quinta will be harvested in the morning, and the total yield of each varietal determined on our certified scale.  This number, divided by ten (there are 10 shares total), will determine the amount of each grape to be distributed for a share.  Shareholders will be invited, beginning mid-day, to pick up their grapes.

Q: Does Shaker Ridge have any track record with these grapes?

A: Yes, and we think a pretty good one.  The vineyard was planted in 2005, and we have been making wine with the grapes since 2007.  Our first attempt at a serious port-style wine (our 2008 “Dorado”) was entered in regional home wine competitions for the first time this year.  It earned a gold medal, Best of Show, at the 2011 El Dorado County Fair, a double gold at the 2011 Orange County Fair, and a silver at the 2011 Amador County Fair.  Our dry red blend made from the same grapes, same vintage was entered only at the El Dorado County Fair and earned a gold medal.  A homemade touriga nacional varietal wine made from the 2009 vintage also earned a gold medal at the El Dorado County Fair.  A commercial touriga wine made from the 2009 vintage (by Obscurity Cellars of Fair Play) earned a gold medal at the California State Fair, and silver medals at both the El Dorado and Amador County fairs.  We think that our viticultural practices have only improved with experience since these vintages…

Current Grape Availability as of 7-7-11

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Varietal Amount Still Available for Sale Expected Optimal Harvest Time Price ($)/lb(<1000 lb/ > 1000 lb)
Barbera 4.0 tons Mid October 0.75/0.625
Primitivo 2.15 tons Late September 0.75/0.65
Touriga* Sold Out Early October 0.75/0.65
Mixed Port Grapes 7 shares Early October NA**

* 2009 grafted.

**Fixed price of $200 per share.

Port Grape “Shares”  for Sale

Available for sale for the first time are shares in the 2011 production of our “port” vineyard consisting of (in expected order of decreasing proportion) touriga nacional, tempranillo, tinto cao, souzao, and tinta amarella.  A share ($200) entitles the holder to 10% of the 2011 production of each varietal from our 2005-planted estate “port” vineyard that we call The Quinta.  The grapes are, in fact, suitable for both dry and dessert style wines.  This is a unique opportunity for persons working on a home winemaking scale to easily access, in one-stop fashion, the blend of relatively obscure varietal grapes that would go into a Portuguese port-style wine.  Such wines are notable for their complexity and ability to age well.

Q&A on Quinta Shares

Q: How much grapes do I get for a share?

A:  Welcome to farming; we cannot guarentee a specific amount!  The estimated total production (given viticultural practices and multiple years of experience) is 2500 lbs.  Thus, the target is 250 lb/share.  If we come up as much as 10% short (eg as little as 2250 lbs), no adjustment will be made to the share price.  If we come up greater than 10% short, the share price will be pro-rated downward.  If we exceed our production targets, shareholders keep the gain at no additional cost.  For example, if total production is 2800 lbs, a share would entitle the holder to receive 280 lbs of grapes for the same fixed share price.

Q: What mix of grapes will I receive for a share?

A:  The vineyard has been planted to yield proportions of grapes suitable for a high-quality port.  Nevertheless, the proportions will vary from year-to-year depending on varietal-specific yield.  For example, in 2011, we are likely to have relatively more touriga nacional than tempranillo or tinto cao due to some early season frost (Most would not regard this as a problem!).  So, the answer is that one share will entitle the shareholder to receive 10% of the production of each varietal, whatever that is.  For example,  If we get 1500 lbs of touriga nacional, 400 lbs of tempranillo, 300 lbs of tinto cao, 150 lbs of souzao, and 100 lbs of tinta amarella, a single share will entitle the holder to receive (separate but on the same day) 150 lbs of touriga nacional, 40 lbs of tempranillo, 30 lbs of tinto cao, 15 lbs of souzao, and 10 lbs of tinta amarella.

Q: How will this work logistically?

A: On a designated weekend harvest day that Shaker Ridge will announce with as much lead time as possible, likely in early October, the entire Quinta will be harvested in the morning, and the total yield of each varietal determined on our certified scale.  This number, divided by ten (there are 10 shares total), will determine the amount of each grape to be distributed for a share.  Shareholders will be invited, beginning mid-day, to pick up their grapes.

Q: Does Shaker Ridge have any track record with these grapes?

A: Yes, and we think a pretty good one.  The vineyard was planted in 2005, and we have been making wine with the grapes since 2007.  Our first attempt at a serious port-style wine (our 2008 “Dorado”) was entered in regional home wine competitions for the first time this year.  It earned a gold medal, Best of Show, at the El Dorado County Fair and a double gold at the Orange County Fair.  Our dry red blend made from the same grapes, same vintage was entered only at the El Dorado County Fair and earned a gold medal.  A homemade touriga nacional varietal wine made from the 2009 vintage also earned a gold medal at the El Dorado County Fair.  A commercial touriga wine made from the 2009 vintage (by Obscurity Cellars of Fair Play) earned a gold medal at the California State Fair, and silver medals at both the El Dorado and Amador County fairs.  We think that our viticultural practices have only improved with experience since these vintages…

Current Grape Availability as of 7-6-11

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Varietal Amount Still Available for Sale Expected Optimal Harvest Time Price ($)/lb(<1000 lb/ > 1000 lb)
Barbera 4.0 tons Mid October 0.75/0.625
Primitivo 2.15 tons Late September 0.75/0.65
Touriga* Sold Out Early October 0.75/0.65
Mixed Port Grapes 8 shares Early October NA**

* 2009 grafted.

**Fixed price of $200 per share.

Port Grape “Shares”  for Sale

Available for sale for the first time are shares in the 2011 production of our “port” vineyard consisting of (in expected order of decreasing proportion) touriga nacional, tempranillo, tinto cao, souzao, and tinta amarella.  A share ($200) entitles the holder to 10% of the 2011 production of each varietal from our 2005-planted estate “port” vineyard that we call The Quinta.  The grapes are, in fact, suitable for both dry and dessert style wines.  This is a unique opportunity for persons working on a home winemaking scale to easily access, in one-stop fashion, the blend of relatively obscure varietal grapes that would go into a Portuguese port-style wine.  Such wines are notable for their complexity and ability to age well.

Q&A on Quinta Shares

Q: How much grapes do I get for a share?

A:  Welcome to farming; we cannot guarentee a specific amount!  The estimated total production (given viticultural practices and multiple years of experience) is 2500 lbs.  Thus, the target is 250 lb/share.  If we come up as much as 10% short (eg as little as 2250 lbs), no adjustment will be made to the share price.  If we come up greater than 10% short, the share price will be pro-rated downward.  If we exceed our production targets, shareholders keep the gain at no additional cost.  For example, if total production is 2800 lbs, a share would entitle the holder to receive 280 lbs of grapes for the same fixed share price.

Q: What mix of grapes will I receive for a share?

A:  The vineyard has been planted to yield proportions of grapes suitable for a high-quality port.  Nevertheless, the proportions will vary from year-to-year depending on varietal-specific yield.  For example, in 2011, we are likely to have relatively more touriga nacional than tempranillo or tinto cao due to some early season frost (Most would not regard this as a problem!).  So, the answer is that one share will entitle the shareholder to receive 10% of the production of each varietal, whatever that is.  For example,  If we get 1500 lbs of touriga nacional, 400 lbs of tempranillo, 300 lbs of tinto cao, 150 lbs of souzao, and 100 lbs of tinta amarella, a single share will entitle the holder to receive (separate but on the same day) 150 lbs of touriga nacional, 40 lbs of tempranillo, 30 lbs of tinto cao, 15 lbs of souzao, and 10 lbs of tinta amarella.

Q: How will this work logistically?

A: On a designated weekend harvest day that Shaker Ridge will announce with as much lead time as possible, likely in early October, the entire Quinta will be harvested in the morning, and the total yield of each varietal determined on our certified scale.  This number, divided by ten (there are 10 shares total), will determine the amount of each grape to be distributed for a share.  Shareholders will be invited, beginning mid-day, to pick up their grapes.

Q: Does Shaker Ridge have any track record with these grapes?

A: Yes, and we think a pretty good one.  The vineyard was planted in 2005, and we have been making wine with the grapes since 2007.  Our first attempt at a serious port-style wine (our 2008 “Dorado”) was entered in regional home wine competitions for the first time this year.  It earned a gold medal, Best of Show, at the El Dorado County Fair and a double gold at the Orange County Fair.  Our dry red blend made from the same grapes, same vintage was entered only at the El Dorado County Fair and earned a gold medal.  A homemade touriga nacional varietal wine made from the 2009 vintage also earned a gold medal at the El Dorado County Fair.  A commercial touriga wine made from the 2009 vintage (by Obscurity Cellars of Fair Play) earned a gold medal at the California State Fair, and silver medals at both the El Dorado and Amador County fairs.  We think that our viticultural practices have only improved with experience since these vintages…

Vineyard Gallery as of July 5, 2011

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Barbera vineyard on July 5, 2011.  Substantial secondary shoot growth has filled out the vines since shoot thinning, and the fruit clusters are growing rapidly.

The primitivo vineyard on July 5, 2011 from the back hilltop.  It’s a very healthy sea of green at this point, and the fruit is set.

Touriga nacional in port (quinta) vineyard on July 5, 2011.  Shoots are thinned and tucked in the fruiting wires, and the fruit is set.  The black line above and running across the row is overhead bird netting, which will be unfurled when the fruit is closer to harvest.

Vineyard Diary

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The growing season is now in full swing.  This would normally be a rather unnecessary statement approaching the summer solstice, but it has been an unusual spring…again!  As northern California residents are well aware, it’s been a persistently cool and relatively wet spring, significantly delaying most crops.  The last rain–still an abundant one–came on June 6.  After June 6, Mother Nature offered up some dry but still unseasonably cool springtime weather which was perfect for getting work done, though did not nothing to make up for the late budburst.  In the last few and coming few days, finally, we’re seeing some typical Foothills summer weather, with some hot days and cool nights.  We are seeing “bloom” (flowering) in all of our main varietals right now.  The net effect of all of this is that the 2011 vintage is likely to play out similar to last year–with late ripening across the board–and we have set our harvest expectations accordingly.

The frost that hit our barbera turned what is normally tedious shoot-thinning into an absolute slog.  Frost-affected plants typically push buds that even they didn’t know they had, and this compounded the propensity of barbera to push unwanted shoots.  But the work is done, and the good news is that the expected suppressive effect of frost on crop load has left a crop that is both adequate to meet current demand and clearly NOT in need of subsequent fruit-dropping, an operation that normally occurs in the hottest time of the year.  The vines were so nicely thinned that we were able to count fruit clusters in a large sample of the barbera vineyard, and concluded that, assuming normal attrition and cluster size, we should only come up one ton shy of target, leaving some barbera still for sale.  The vines look great now, and we’ll now focus on keeping the vines healthy for what should be some nice, concentrated fruit.

The primitivo appears to have been completely spared the early spring frosts, and the shoots are still in a rapid growth phase, with bloom fully in progress and vines looking extremely good.  Shoot thinning in the primitivo (and neighboring touriga) will commence after the impending heat wave passes.  In the last month, we completed a mundane (to the client) but extremely helpful re-jiggering of our irrigation blocks in the primitivo.  Block 6 had been added onto from the original planting in 2002, making it a little too large as a watering block for our well pump.  A portion of the block had subsequently been grafted over to touriga nacional, meaning that the two varietals were being irrigated at the same rate.  We’ve now reduced the size of Block 6 by breaking off the “new” touriga as its own watering block.  This will allow us to more effectively reach all the primitivo in Block 6 with water and customize the irrigation of the touriga.

The Quinta–our circa half-acre of Portugese varietals–is well-positioned for a great season.  It appeared that the touriga nacional portion of this vineyard was partially affected by the spring frosts, but this was mild enough, and the vines resilient enough, that crop load looks normal. The tinto cao, on other hand, was hit harder, and shoot thinning with that varietal and adjoining tempranillo was focused on preserving fruitful clusters.  We think the net effect of the frost has been to limit crop load very close to our targets from an unusually early period of the season, which we would anticipate would only help concentration.  This, together with our previously mentioned removal of a partially shading tree to the south of this vineyard have us very optimistic for this vintage.  The Quinta’s 2011 production of about 1.25 tons, which represents a turnkey opportunity for making a port-style wine with all the complexity of an authentic Portugese-style port (or an equally complex Portugese-style dry red wine), is still available for purchase.  Absent a single buyer for these grapes, we will be making available “shares” of this vineyard to give smaller scale winemakers a chance to make such a wine. 

We received more great news on the 2011 wine competition front, this time from our some wines made commercially with Shaker Ridge grapes.  Oakstone Winery of Fair Play’s 2008 primitivo took a gold medal at the Amador County Fair and a bronze medal at the California State Fair.  Oakstone’s 2009 barbera–recently released by that winery after sell-through of the 2008–garnered silver medals at the El Dorado County Fair, the Amador County Fair, and the California State Fair.  And the first-ever commercial touriga made with our Quinta grapes, produced by Obscurity Cellars of Fair Play, earned a gold medal at the California State Fair and silver medals at both the El Dorado and Amador county fairs.  Congratulations to Oakstone and Obscurity on these outstanding results.

Current Grape Availability as of 6-6-11

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Varietal Amount Still Available for Sale (tons) Expected Optimal Harvest Time Price ($)/lb

(<1000 lb/ > 1000 lb)
Barbera 4.0 Mid October 0.75/0.625
Primitivo 2.15 Late September 0.75/0.65
Touriga* Sold Out Early October 0.75/0.65
“Buy the Quinta” 1.25 Mid Sept-Late Oct   NA**

* 2009 grafted.
**Not applicable, $1750 fixed price.