All About the Vines...

Late April and I feel so far behind... growth on the vines seem normal, but the weeds and gophers are crazy. All this season's rain will make this an interesting vintage.

First things first, I need to take a first pass at suckering the vines. I usually sucker the Petite Sirah first and then the Zinfandel. (As a side, I'm working with a friend to document the growth cycle of the head-trained vine with the hope that we produce something educational for others.) After a couple of weeks I'll go back through and clean up loose ends (final suckering). Then, we need to weed, hoe the entire vineyard before the weeds become too strong, but not too early that we see another entirely new batch of weeds grow as soon as we finish the first pass. After that, it's on to tying the canes to the wire. Of course now the wire is higher, in over half the vineyard, and should prove to be easier to perform.

In between the above activities I'll need to spray the vineyard every two weeks. We'll use the hot days (hoping for more than last year) to rack and bottle the 09' vintage. OK, that's my to-do list... better get to work!

Wait a minute, I almost forgot - in our spare time we ship wine too! Call (805-474-8514) or email me (doug@toucanwines.com) with your order... or check out our website.

Two New Events and Vineyard Update...

Our event dance card is becoming more and more interesting. This Thursday I'm at Monterey Street Wines with Mojo Cellars sharing our wines with customers - drop in this Thursday and say hello and try a few wines.

On the 13th of June, Toucan Wines has been added to the winery line-up at the Ojai Wine Festival and I look forward to seeing many of our friends there. In the same neighborhood, find our wines at Paradise Pantry and Mary's Secret Garden, both in downtown Ventura.

Today, we're getting a little rain and this could easily be the last rain of the season. I've started hoeing the vineyard and at the same time making my second pass on suckering. The next chore will be tying the longer shoots to the drip wire to save them from tractor damage and the effort somewhat shapes the vines arm position.

The weather has been strange, we've had a cooler than usual year so far and the vines got off to an early start - hopefully this means a longer hang time. We've also had the latest frost (just last week) that I can remember, but fortunately no obvious damage resulted.

Please take a close look at your calendars for any opportunity to visit us at one of the many upcoming events we plan to attend. And remember our special 12 bottle case discount is 20% on any mix of our wines plus only $1 shipping in California.

Spring Weather Rocks... Wine Tasting... Vineyard Work

I had a great time at the Taste of Huntington Beach this past weekend and enjoyed the crowd, met new folks and many returning friends and customers. We previewed samples of the 2008 Carignane which was a big hit with the Huntington folks.

This weekend, being the first weekend of the month, you'll find Toucan Wines on the tasting bar all weekend at Monterey Street Wines in San Luis Obispo. You'll also find me pouring our wines at Lund's in the village of Arroyo Grande on Saturday 1-5pm.

I love this time of year - work in the vineyard has begun with suckering, gopher trapping, hoeing and other spring chores. The weather has been consistent lacking the usual spring heat wave or last year's late frost. The vines seemed to taking off a little earlier this year with the Petite Sirah leading the pack. I've already suckered the Petite vines and will be starting on the Zinfandel before the week is out. I forgot to mention mowing, three passes through the vineyard on the mower so far and another day of mowing is in store for me by next week.

Spring Activities

We've recently enjoyed a little rain and now very mild weather. The spring flowers are out and the valley is beautiful. We've been busy with landscaping projects and work on our tractor shed. Next in the vineyard is a hoeing project and then we'll be suckering the unwanted shoots.

California Heat Wave 100 degrees and counting

Well it's only about 88 degrees in the shade right now, but yesterday was good and HOT and today and this weekend it's expected to bake and reach well over 100! The vines love it! Except for the young vines we just planted, those I'm hand watering every other day to keep them alive.

We just finished racking the 07 wines, the Estate Port, the Estate Zin and Petite Sirah are all coming along nicely. And we're doing some early preparation for this year's harvest. We have our barrel order placed, I'm looking into new bottles, and alternate suppliers for some materials.

Next in the vineyard I'll make a second pass to sucker unwanted growth and to tie vines that might get caught-up in the tractor when mowing. So, if you're driving by the vineyard wave at the farmer in the hat.

Suckering, Suckering, Suckering

Yes, it's the time of year when each little vine needs special attention to remove extra growth. Particularly the Petite Sirah vines that always grow a little wild. This is the first of two suckering passes through the vineyard.

The process is simple but requires some thought - I remove unwanted shoots that grow from buds formed in odd locations on the truck; I remove those growing the wrong direction; and those creating an excess that will crowd the others as the rest grow up. Really, it's one of the best jobs in the vineyard. Especially when the weather is great and with a little music playing in my ear. That said, it's bending and stooping - so at the moment I'm inside taking a break and justifying that with a note to you ;-)