My First Look at Chateau Z

Tuesday October 3, 2006

I drove out to the Ambers’ farm to check out the vineyard and the last of this season’s harvest. Cliff wanted me to get a look at the vines while they still actually had grapes on them, since they won’t when I start my internship in January. I got there around 4:30 and got suited up right away with some gloves and a very attractive wide-brimmed had (which I was grateful for later, since the gnats were so bad) before heading out to take a walking tour of the vineyard. I thought it was pretty decent sized for a relatively young vineyard—maybe one or two acres (?). We started out by walking around inside the electric fence surrounding the rows of vines, all of which Cliff had erected himself—very impressive. I tried to listen while he was rattling off the scientific names for all the different kinds of grapes he’s growing, and there were a lot. Listening to him talk I could tell that he is very into his grapes, and I felt the sudden urge to go look up wine terms, since all I really knew about vineyards was that I liked drinking dry whites. Among other things he explained to me a bit about the history of winemaking in the US and the difference between American native and European grapes in terms of resistances to different diseases and tastes, ect. He’s trying to breed grapes that will produce wine that have all the good qualities of both kinds.

I was initially struck by how many different kinds of grapes there were and how very different from each other a lot of them looked. And contrary to what I’d heard about winemaking grapes before, some of them actually tasted quite good! He had left a few vines worth of grapes of the Vidal Blanc, which I helped him to pick. Now, I’d been warned before about the hornets that like to swarm around the grapes around harvest time, but I don’t think I was really prepared for how much the grapes were literally swarming with life! When I cut the bunches off the vines, I had to be very careful not to grab a hornet, a wasp, or a bee that were buzzing everywhere. There were also loads of flies, some spiders and even birds pecking at the grapes to attract them. Cliff explained to me how this vineyard that’s teeming with life goes quiet for a few days after each time he does necessary (but expensive, inconvenient, and non-discriminatory) pesticide sprays. I’m definitely looking foreword to helping him develop organic solutions to some of these expensive and inefficient chemical pesticides. We talked a bit about using milky spore to kill Japanese beetles, which are a problem in this area (as I saw the following week when harvesting some native plants)—something that I will be working on next semester.

After they were picked, the bunches had to be looked over, and the damaged and rotten berries had to be picked out along with the “mummies” or berries that had died and shrivelled up from black rot. I also looked over the grapes for any lingering pests, particularly ladybugs, since apparently just one overlooked ladybug can ruin an entire batch of wine. When we finished, we brought the crates of grapes back to his basement where the pressing and fermenting occurs. There Cliff explained to me the basics of the de-stemming machine and the presser (I know those aren’t the technical terms, but just go with me on this) as well as the fermentation process. He had several batches going, and we added yeast to two vats of red. The process is more complicated than you’d think and very technical and chemistry oriented. He showed me where he’d carefully monitored and recorded the pH, sugar content, ect of each batch, I guess since in order to make good wine and be able to sell it, it must be within certain guidelines regarding such things. I think the thing I was most struck with was how different the process is when making red wine versus white—whether or not to keep the stems in to soak, the temperature at certain processes, ect. After the basement tour I think I felt even more ignorant than when I started, but more excited about learning all about it!

Later, we toured their garden and cooked dinner. I learned wonderful things such as how grafting works, how tasty muscadine grapes are, how strong elderberry wine is, how to cut an onion properly, and how eating stinkbugs is not something I’d like to try anytime soon. All in all, a very interesting experience.