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deVine Blog |
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Click on a date or scroll down to view
previous entries.
December 11, 2006
November 25, 2006
October 2, 2006
September 11, 2006
August 7, 2006
July 4, 2006
June 4, 2006
May 17, 2006
May 4, 2006
April 21, 2006
April 1, 2006
March 21, 2006
March 13, 2006
February
26, 2006
February 19, 2006
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December 11, 2006 |
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November
25, 2006 |
WELCOME TO THE MACHINE --pink floyd
The harvest of 2006 has come and gone, but everyone always
asks
what the machine looks like that picks the grapes, so here it
is. It�s incredibly complicated and expensive and best
of all it belongs to my neighbor and not to me. We have
most of our tractors and sprayers cleaned up and put away for
the winter that will eventually show up one of these days.
Most of the farm laborers are gone back to warmer climates for
a few months. The wine is in tanks or barrels. As
beautiful as it is to watch the crop grow, it is a relief to
see the vines empty again. We can be thankful for
navigating through another year that was unlike any before and
more than likely any we will see again. That is the definition
of vintage. A year in the life of the vine and in the
life of us as well. Our youngest turned 20 a week ago
and we find ourselves out of the teenager business for the
first time in more than a dozen years. Thanksgiving is
over and we are on the home stretch until Christmas when Susie
and I will take our much needed time off. We will close at the
end of the day Saturday, December 23rd and reopen Friday,
February 16th, just in time for the wine trail Valentine�s
event. There will be plenty of time for rest and
reflection, but today is sunny and beautiful and it is time to
head behind the tasting room bar. The first car of the long
Thanksgiving weekend is heading up the drive. It�s show time.
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October
2, 2006 |
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September
11, 2006 |
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Mid September
"Still the rain kept pouring, falling on my ears. And
I wonder, still I
wonder, who'll stop the rain?" Creedence Clearwater
Revival,
One of the wettest Augusts on record. We had anywhere
from five to
seven inches of rain last month and peach harvest almost got
away
from us as the peaches got bigger than expected and volume
doubled. This is the first day in a month my farm crew
has had a full
day off and we can look back and see what a great job we did
avoiding
what could have been a huge loss. What a change from
last summer
that was hot and dry. They say in a dry year you lose
sleep, in a wet
year you lose money. Leaf fungus diseases are a major
concern and
I have seen some vineyards in the area that are collapsing
from
disease. It would be heartbreaking to nurture a crop
to this point and
lose it when harvest is so near. The Pinot Noir
outside the door have
turned a beautiful Deep Purple which reminds me of my high
school
days, and possibly a name for a new wine, but that's a story
for
another day. The pictures show the grapes at the
beginning of August
when they started to turn color, and how they look today.
Harvest will
begin in a couple weeks and it looks like our nicest crop to
date of all
our varieties. We have much to do before we rest.
For now they are
just a gorgeous gift to look at. It's almost show
time, a great time to
be here.
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August
7, 2006 |
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August 7th,
It�s August and nice things are happening. Karma
Vista�s Razz
M�Tazz was awarded the Best of Show award in the dessert
wine
category at the Michigan wine competition in Lansing.
How cool is
that! It is really a great award for our winery and
Sue and I are thrilled.
Sue is tired of me bringing the trophy to bed, so I�m
thinking of having
it mounted as a hood ornament on my Jeep. (The picture is
from the
award presentation in Lansing. Linda Jones, head of the
state grape and wine industry council, Joe & Sue, Mitch
Irwin, head of the
Department of Agriculture, and Chris Cook, wine writer and
head judge
at the competition.) The vines are quite lush now.
We�ve had tons of
heat and water and the pinot noir is starting to show signs
of turning
color. They are one of the first grapes to turn.
We are pulling the
leaves off around the grape clusters to give them a little
more sun and
give us a little better idea of what size the crop is.
We are removing
some grape clusters in the vineyards we feel could have too
many.
Too large a crop can make for mediocre wine. Cherry
harvest went
well and we are pushing out an orchard or two to make way
for new
vineyards. You�ll notice the pile of trees when you
pull into the winery.
The scenery is always changing up here. We have started
peach
harvest and will be picking peaches almost every day this
month. It�s
incredibly hard work, and the crew is glad to see
temperatures back in
the 80�s rather than the upper 90�s of a week ago. And
of course my
birthday�s in August, so I�ve got that going for me.
Every once in a
while, when the stars are just right, it�s really good to be
Joe.
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July
4, 2006 |
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July 4th,
Cherry time. Our first crop to harvest and all the panic
that goes with
it. There's a few hundred thousand pounds hanging out there
and all
we have to do is go get it. The older trees by the
winery are breaking
down a little every day from a combination of weight and
age.
We will remove this orchard after harvest to make way for a
new
vineyard. Most of these cherries will end up as pie
filling on some
store shelf somewhere in the country. Some will end up
as our
Cherri Amour wine right here. I drive the shaker and
in about ten days
the fruit will all be off the tree. While cherries are
almost done,
the wine grapes are just getting started. The little
berries are just
coming out of bloom and getting bigger every day. It
will take a few
months for them to mature. It is great to watch how
fast they grow.
We have one row of Merlot that got hit by lightening and is
starting to
collapse on the wire. Glad no one was standing near it
at the time.
We bottled two wines last week just in time for the Fourth
of July
weekend. Our 2004 Stone Temple Pinot is now ready as
well as our
new white Merlot called "Mojo Nuveau." Summertime, and the
living is
easy.
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June
4, 2006 |
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"No time for dancing, or lovey dovey, I ain't got time for
that now." --Life During Wartime, Talking Heads.
Finally June!
I think it is safe to say the frosts are behind us now. One of
the
hottest Memorial Day weekends ever and all the buds that are
alive
are beginning to pop. It looks like we will have a beautiful
wine crop
after all. In fact, now that we have dodged winter lows and
survived
spring freezes, the next job is to remove shoots where there
are too
many on the vine. June is a huge month. We have hoed around
each
plant; sprayed for weeds; sprayed for mildew; removed shoots;
checked for wire and post damage; and we have a couple wines
yet
to bottle before the Fourth of July. Seems there is no rest
for the
wicked, and I won't sleep for years. Kelly is home from
Michigan State
and working both on the tractor and behind the tasting room
counter
She encountered her first super wine snob last week. A creepy
experience where the guy seemed to know everything and like
nothing
and thought the sun rose and set only around California. Ugly
Americans! Luckily that type is few and far between, and even
good
for a laugh once in a while. We will see cherry harvest by the
end of
the month. There is our first sunset and wine fest at Weko
Beach in
Bridgman on the 24th. And if I'm not mistaken, Susie has a
birthday along the way as well. The calendar is filling up
fast.
"Oh yeah, we are now open seven days a week through Labor Day,
11
a.m. to 5 p.m., Noon to 5p.m. on Sundays."
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May
17, 2006 |
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"If I could
put time in a bottle..." Jim Croce
Four days of cold and rain and finally today we have sun
and 70's and
all is right with the world. We took advantage of the rain
days to do
some bottling so now our Coloma Clearwater Riesling is
ready to sell.
The pinot out the front door look great, but this is an
unusually high
site. You can see the little clusters of grapes now that
will eventually
be in the bottle in a year or two. Other vineyards are
slow to come out,
as if they are afraid there will be one more freeze to
contend with.
Once we have some warm weather we will be able to better
tell what
survived and what didn't. Overall the wine grapes are in
much better
shape than the juice grapes. Everything needs to be
sprayed and
everything needs to be mowed. We planted a new field of
pinot gris
just east of the tasting room and will add to it next year
after we
remove some more rows of cherry trees. I have to remember
to wish
my bride a happy 26th wedding anniversary today. I promise
the next
26 will be much easier!
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May 4, 2006 |
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"Somebody's gonna come undone,
there's nothing we can do." Heartache Tonight", The Eagles.
The wine grapes seem to have survived the morning of April 26,
but
there are over 10,000 acres of juice grapes in the area that
look like
toast. It was below 30 degrees by midnight that night and was
25 by
around 6 a.m. That's the danger of an early spring. One night,
a few
hours, and the whole crop may be gone. By noon the sun is
shining
as if nothing happened. There are a couple cold nights
predicted this weekend that we will have to watch out for. The
wine grapes that were
packed tight in their buds on the 26th are now popping out and
exposing themselves to whatever the night has to offer. The
first
picture shows the grapes by the winery that were unharmed, the
second shows some of the juice grapes that are wilting,
turning brown, and dropping off. Control the things you
can, don't worry about things you can't. It's all good.
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April
21, 2006 |
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What a great time of the year. My Godfather, Eddie B. used to
always
say, "We are all rich in blossom time!" I always loved that
saying.
Like Cub fans, we are all perennial optimists. A week straight
of warm
weather and we're off to the races. Cherries are in full bloom
along with
peaches. The neighbors are picking asparagus and everything is
an
incredible color of green. We're a little ahead of schedule
weather
wise, but I don't get to do the scheduling anyway, so what the
hey?
Grapes are popping buds and showing green tissue which means
there's no turning back now. We need to go three more weeks
without
major frost before we are beyond the typical last frost date
in our
little corner of Eden. No problemo! Now everything needs to be
done
at once. Half the tractors are in the field and the other half
are being
repaired somewhere at various shops in the county. We are
nothing if
not good for the economy. Trail event this weekend when we
host
three or four hundred fun travelers. After that we look
forward to a wine and music at sunset event at Weko beach in
Bridgman in June. To
quote the prophets, (The Grateful Dead), "I may be goin' to
hell in a
bucket, but at least I'm enjoying the ride!"
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April
1, 2006 |
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Are those nuclear power plants in
the distance, or are you just happy
to see me? Perhaps a new Pope has been elected in South Haven.
Ah, life near the lake. How times have changed. What was once
a symbol of mass destruction is just another day on the beach,
and the view off our back deck overlooking the cherry orchards
and out to Lake Michigan. What were once vices are now
habits. That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger, or makes
us glow, whichever. I believe this particular nuclear plant is
still for sale, by the way, if you know of anyone who is
interested. We've thought of making a bid on it. Probably
great lake front property, already a gated community, heated
pool, and you know the electric bill would be like nothing.
What does this have to do with winemaking? It's all related.
Perhaps it's a symbol that the cold war in Michigan is over
for another year. "Mr. Gorbachav, trim those grapes." Perhaps
it symbolizes the enormity and minutiae of our existence when
measured against the nuclear finality of time.....nah.
It was just the only picture I took this week.
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March 21, 2006 |
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"Well, you have to start trimming sometime. It was nice having
no payroll while it lasted. The first picture is from the
juice grapes, Niagaras, that will ultimately go for Welch's
white grape juice. It's a jungle out there. A very cold
jungle, but a jungle none the less.
Each vine has to be tended to one at a time, and it takes
time.
Between the juice and wine grapes there are over 100,000 vines
to take care of here. We have excellent workers who know
exactly what to do.
They have pruned all over this corner of Michigan, where there
are more than 11,000 acres of grapes to keep them busy. The
wine grapes, in the second photo, are saved for last. They are
much more winter tender and you wait as long as you can before
the end of dormancy to prune and bend them down to the
fruiting wire around knee level. At this point the wood looks
great, a nice tan to reddish color. Yesterday was the first
official day of spring and we are in a March funk, barely
above freezing for the daytime highs. Lousy for people, good
for the grapes.
Nature is such a tease...
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March
13, 2006 |
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March is the month we will see all
seasons. We've had a few days of
beautiful weather in the upper 50's to 60's. One morning we
woke to a
foggy frost that covered everything. At this stage in the
vines'
development we can just enjoy the beauty of the ice on the
vines. A
few weeks from now, this would be disaster. What a difference
a little time will make. Time to start trimming. Time to get
the tractors started. Time to start getting serious. At least
until it turns cold again later this week. Maybe after St.
Patrick's Day!
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February
26, 2006 |
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"Last week of
February. What a nice week. We spent a night at a great B&B in
Union Pier, Pine Garth Inn, celebrating our friend's birthday.
It is great to
lounge and pretend we are tourists in our own back yard.
Our rooms looked out at a cold Lake Michigan, with ice forming
at the beach. We sat by the fire enjoying our wine before
venturing to New Buffalo for a nice meal at Brewsters. We were
away for 24 hours and it seemed to take us far, far, away. New
Buffalo is now virtually a Chicago suburb and it is exciting
to see the changes happening along the Lake Michigan Shore. We
were in St. Joe last night for a fundraiser at the Krasl Art
Center where we shot the photo of the pier.
Both the sky and lake are a beautiful, but very cold, blue.
They seem to know that warmer days are coming soon. So do the
vines. The pinot vines outside the winery door are waiting to
be trimmed. We will wait a few more weeks as we get into March
to get us as close to the break of dormancy as possible. March
is the month when we will see all four seasons, sometimes in
the same day! There are wines to be bottled, vines to be
trimmed, tractors to get started. But not today. It's too
cold. To everything there is a season. This ain't it yet!"
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February
19, 2006 |
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"Here we go. It's the 19th of February and about 10 degrees
outside. We lucked out last night. It only got down to
around 5 degrees, not the minus five or less that was predicted.
Those kind of lows could be devastating to the Pinot Noir and
Merlot vines in particular. The dirt is plowed up around the
vine in the fall so that if we do have a killer winter we at
least save the bottom eight inches or so of the plant and can
start over without losing the entire vineyard. We won't trim any
vines for another month or so, until we know the worst of the
cold weather is behind us. If the temps remain moderate the rest
of the way we will have cleared the first hurdle in growing
vinifera varieties in Michigan...winter. Ahead will be the
second hurdle...spring! The tasting room is now open Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, so Sue and I have to get back into the
swing of things and make any quick trips happen Monday through
Thursday. You can already tell, 2006 is going to be a busy
year."
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Karma Vista Vineyards & Winery
6991 Ryno Road
Coloma, MI 49038
Hours
Closed Tuesday
Open: 11 - 5 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday and Saturday, 12 - 5 Sunday
Phone: 1-269-468-WINE (9463)
Email:
[email protected] |
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Last Edited:
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