Going Biodynamic!

The 2012 growing season has just begun here at Edward Sellers and along with the change of seasons we are taking a new approach to growing our grapes. We are now farming our estate biodynamically, with an eye toward enlivening not just our grapevines but also our olive trees and our soils in general. We hope this approach will lead to even more interesting wines and a healthier environment for all the animals (those that drink wine and those that don’t) that visit our estate.

Austrian farmer and philosopher Rudolph Steiner developed the Biodynamic farming method in the 1920s as a holistic way to grow crops, and he did so with the understanding that farming is not just about rainfall, micronutrients and heat. There are spiritual forces at work, too. The Biodynamic method of farming incorporates the rhythm of the earth and the movements of the planets, enfolding these seemingly disparate systems into a whole. Think of your own circadian rhythms, or the effect of the moon on the tides, and you’ll get an idea where the biodynamics is coming from.

In practical terms, that means, among other things, rejuvenating the soil by applying concentrated amounts of cow manure to the ground after we have stirred this mixture by hand for an hour. And when we prune now, we do so according to the position of the moon and the planets.

We don’t expect to see results immediately. We may not, in fact, see any measurable results for several years. That’s okay. We are farming this estate for the future and making wines that can be enjoyed for years to come.

Jeremy Weintraub
Winemaker

It’s mid-October and we’ve brought in just viognier, marsanne and grenache blanc. The reds are still not ready to be picked, though this week’s beautiful weather should move syrah into the harvest window.

For the last two weeks we’ve spent lots of time in the vineyard. Two weeks ago, for example, the weather forecasters were calling for rain and clouds—the perfect cocktail for botrytis bunch rot. We took preventative measures in all of our estate blocks, such as pulling leaves and making certain that clusters were not touching each other. The skies cleared up after just a night of rain and we immediately dropped those clusters that had incipient rot.

Now it’ a waiting game: Waiting for continued sugar ripening and the further advancement of all the inexplicable things that signal it’s time to pick.

The whites that are in barrel taste great. The viognier is already a new wine with a sexy nose. We picked the marsanne and grenache blanc at very low brix levels (and the grenache blanc just before a full moon—for those who pay attention to such things). The rousanne is still on the vine and could be ready by next week.

The reds are developing great flavors at low brix levels this year. We’re all anxious for the reds to turn the final corner and the sunny and warm days are making us feel hopeful.

Jeremy Weintraub, Winemaker

It’s mid-October and we’ve brought in just viognier, marsanne and grenache blanc. The reds are still not ready to be picked, though this week’s beautiful weather should move syrah into the harvest window.

For the last two weeks we’ve spent lots of time in the vineyard. Two weeks ago, for example, the weather forecasters were calling for rain and clouds—the perfect cocktail for botrytis bunch rot. We took preventative measures in all of our estate blocks, such as pulling leaves and making certain that clusters were not touching each other. The skies cleared up after just a night of rain and we immediately dropped those clusters that had incipient rot.

Now it’ a waiting game: Waiting for continued sugar ripening and the further advancement of all the inexplicable things that signal it’s time to pick.

The whites that are in barrel taste great. The viognier is already a new wine with a sexy nose. We picked the marsanne and grenache blanc at very low brix levels (and the grenache blanc just before a full moon—for those who pay attention to such things). The rousanne is still on the vine and could be ready by next week.

The reds are developing great flavors at low brix levels this year. We’re all anxious for the reds to turn the final corner and the sunny and warm days are making us feel hopeful. Jeremy Weintraub, Winemaker

The Right Direction!

Organic farmers, ranchers, fishermen, vintners, and notable chefs team up to donate cooking talent and locally-grown, artisanal foods at The Ecology Center’s third annual outdoor farm-based fundraising dinner, Green Feast.

From all over Southern and Central California, organic farmers, ranchers, wine makers and renowned chefs will contribute their expertise and their foods, to serve up The Ecology Center’s third annual Green Feast on Saturday, September 10, 2011. Over two hundred supporters of The Ecology Center will sample hors d’oeuvres and enjoy a five-course meal served on tables set up end to end outdoors at The Ecology Center. For a look at the full menu, click here.

The Green Feast generates funds for educational programs at the South Orange County non-profit, housed in an historic farmhouse. Conceived by founder Evan Marks, the three-year-old learning facility offers programs for school children, families and adults interested in learning practical ways to grow organic gardens, conserve water and energy, and design environmentally responsible living environments.

The Feast will take place from 4:00 p.m. until after dark. Dinner will be served on tables dressed in white linens and candles, set up communal-style next to The Ecology Center.

Before dinner, guests will be entertained by the Eco App Off where they will be sampling appetizers from 10 stations spaced around The Center. Guests will be asked to vote for their favorite appetizer. Chefs participating in The Eco Ap Off are Ryan O’Melvey Wilson (Five Crowns Side Door), Casey Overton (Loft at Montage Resort), Nathan Coulon (True Foods), Ryan Adams (Sorrento Grill), Gina Galvan (Chomp Chomp Naition), Justin Monson (Vine), Paul Buchanan (Primal Alchemy), John Cuevas (Crow Bar and Kitchen), Scott Brandon, Ryan Carson (Anqui), Pascal Olhats (Pascal), and Cathy McNight (What a Dish).

After The Eco Ap Off, Chefs Cathy McNight (What a Dish), Jenny Ross (118 Degrees), Rich Mead (Sage and Canyon), Rob Wilson (Montage Resort), and Yves Fournier (Andre’s Conscius Cuisine) will prepare the remaining four courses. All food is prepared in an outdoor kitchen. As each course is served, the rancher, fisherman or farmer responsible for the main ingredient will speak to guests about his or her special approach to organic, pasture-raised and sustainable farming.

Among the purveyors participating in this year’s Green Feast are Santa Monica Seafood, Carlsbad Aqua Farm, MM Livestock, South Coast Farms, Weiser Family Farms, Hidden Haven Farms, Tablas Creek Vineyards, Bonterra Vineyards, and Edward Sellers Vineyard.

Tickets for the event are $180 per person for members of The Ecology Center. Tickets for non-members are $225. Persons wishing to become members, at a minimum price of $50 per person, can telephone The Ecology Center at (949) 443-4223. Non-members can purchase tickets either by calling The Ecology Center, or online at TheEcologyCenter.org.

The Ecology Center is located at 32701 Alipaz Street in San Juan Capistrano. For additional information, please contact Vicki Marks at The Ecology Center, 949-443-4223 or vicki@TheEcologyCenter.org.

2011 Harvest Update

We are just beginning to see some colored berries in our 5-acre block of Mourvèdre here at Edward Sellers, which means the onset of berry ripening (véraison) is finally commencing. From a winegrower’s perspective, that means harvest is within sight.

If we agree that organisms big and small are concerned with propagating their species, then for a grapevine the period up until now has been about protecting its grapes until the seeds are mature enough for dispersal by birds and other animals. This helps explain the production of astringent compounds known as tannins, as well as the synthesis of tartaric and malic acid. Foragers rarely return to hard green berries that pull all the saliva from their mouths.

During veraison the grapes will grow and soften as they accumulate sugar and begin to synthesize the color pigments known as anthocyanins (for red varietals) and volatile aroma compounds (for white varietals). Tannin and malic acid levels will decline. Simply, the grapes are becoming more attractive and more palatable.

The cool 2011 season has kept our focus on vine balance. In a normal year for high quality grapes we ask each vine to hang roughly four pounds of fruit. But 2011 is not a normal year. In April, two consecutive days of frost severely reduced the number of Grenache clusters we could expect, and the low temperature has continued through the summer thanks to a trough on the coast that just won’t go away.

We’re spending many hours in the vineyard looking closely at each vine’s strength and its ability to ripen fruit before autumn rains arrive, and we’re articulating our farming based on our observations. As usual, we’ve made a green pass, dropping fruit from weak shoots, but this year we have been more aggressive. We’ll make another pass at about 75% veraison, dropping clusters that have not colored up. This year we’re also doing a bit of origami, cutting some shoulders and tips of those clusters that are too big and heavy.

Come cool weather or warm, our vines should be in fine shape at harvest to deliver grapes with plenty of stuffing and poise.

Jeremy Weintraub, Winemaker

New Winemaker - Jeremy Weintraub

If you have visited the Tasting Room lately, you may have noticed a flurry of activity in the winery. This is not just some cellar rat, this is Jeremy Weintraub, our new Winemaker.

Jeremy joined us at Edward Sellers in early June and has gone through every barrel and walked every row in the vineyard preparing him and us for our upcoming bottling and a very interesting 2011 harvest. (More from Jeremy on that later!)

Jeremy grew up on Long Island, New York drinking mostly French wine with his family. In the summer before he left to study at the University of Edinburgh, Jeremy took a job giving tours at Lenz Winery on Long Island. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Clark University, Jeremy worked at a think tank in Washington, D.C. He then moved to New York, where he wrote articles for a number of magazines. As he approached his 30th birthday Jeremy quit writing and listened to his heart, and began interning at wineries and vineyards on Long Island.

In 2002, Jeremy moved to Davis, CA and earned his Master’s Degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis, where his awards included the American Society of Enology & Viticulture Scholarship and the Wine Spectator Scholarship. He followed his academics with stages on the North and South Island of New Zealand and at Italy’s famous Tenuta Tignanello Estate.

On return from Italy, Jeremy became assistant winemaker at Tantara Winery in Santa Maria, CA. In 2006 he became winemaker at Shadow Canyon Cellar in Paso Robles, where he started his appreciation for the Paso Robles, AVA and Rhône varietals. Since 2008 Jeremy has been the winemaker at the highly acclaimed boutique winery in St. Helena named Seavey Vineyards. At Seavey, Jeremy was responsible for the winemaking decisions from vineyard to bottle, with assistance from consultant Philippe Melka. While at Seavey, Jeremy has received luminous accolades from Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator.

Our goal at Edward Sellers is to continue the tradition of making some of the finest Rhône wines in California and we are proud to have attracted a winemaker of Jeremy’s caliber. His winemaking style captures the essence of our past while infusing new energy into our future.

The Vineyard - Spring Pruning

With the temperatures climbing to 86 degrees last week and the Paso sky bluer than blue, I think we are finally on track for the start of a beautiful spring “in the vineyard”. After Mother Nature gave us increased winter rains this season, 22 inches in our vineyard, the vines are now ready for the next phase of their early spring routine, a haircut.

Yesterday as I walked the vineyard, as I do many days, I looked at the new spur pruning regiment we have implemented to again improve the quality of the vines in our vineyard and most importantly, the quality of the grapes these vines produce. Because the pruning strategy directly influences the number of shoots and the potential crop level (grapes only grow on new shoot growth), it is one of the most significant annual vineyard decisions we make as farmers. This decision will affect the balance of the vines throughout the growing season and the quality of fruit we harvest. We prune our vineyard each year with the intent to balance fruit production with adequate shoot growth, while still controlling the vine’s canopy (shading). The shoot numbers, their positions and the length in which the vine produces them, leads directly to the vine’s capability to ripen the given crop level we have chosen.

To achieve our increased quality and lower production levels this year, we are removing any cordon (the woody "permanent" horizontal branch of the grape vine) that is not larger than your little finger and prune the remaining unilateral cordon to only one bud per spur position, not the traditional two (the bud is the location on the spur the new shoot will grow from). We have trained our vines to the unilateral cordon style because of our dense planting, 6’ between rows and 5’ between vines, and because we feel the vine will ripen its fruit better and more evenly with this method.

Our pruning strategy will decrease the number of shoots the vine produces, increase the overall growth and health of the vine, increase the remaining shoot length and ultimately intensify the flavor and color the grapes harvested. As our great friend and former vineyard manager, Jim Smoot, would say…. we’re “Gucciing” the vineyard up to another level! Pruning is KEY!