Today was a perfect day

We met Chris at 11am. He came up to the office for the first time and took in the big view out the window westward toward the beautiful Piedmont. Sharon was just back from the gym (she has kept to it religiously except during the harvest and I envy her willpower). Chris had driven up from Crozet, South of Charlottesville. He's our vineyard consultant and a really great guy. Probably early 60s but looks a lot younger. Maybe the wine-tinged good wholesome living? Great drawl and tall, outdoors rugged and handsome, a true leader in the Virginia vineyard industry. We like Chris because he calls it like it is. His honesty and directness have meant a lot to us.

Our plan was to walk the vineyard. On the coldest day of the year. With the wind blowing the temp was single digits. Sharon had on so many layers she looked like the younger brother in that movie..."A Christmas Story". Her arms kind'a spread outward and she looked like a standing snow angel. We tromped out of the office together...excited and expectant. We were going to walk the vineyard. The vines were dormant and yet there was so much to see!
First we swung by the winery. I needed to check in with Kristin to confirm the day's plan and activities. We expected it to be slow with the frigid weather. Rick was also there and we needed him to join us in the vineyard. Rick is a very good wine maker and he and Sharon are making magic downstairs. He was also a landscaper once. He wants to work more in the vineyard where we're all weak on experience. Having Chris here was a big deal for him too. The saying is that great wine is made in the vineyard.

We also needed to collect Benny and Jose. These guys are brothers and they've done the work for the last several months in the vineyard. They're a precious asset. They are smart and hard working and a great team. Benny will become our Vineyard Supervisor in the Spring and we wanted them to hear directly from the war horse's mouth. Chris has seen it all and he knows his shit. If Benny and Jose are to do a great job for us, they had to be a part of our meeting with Chris.

Collected together, we headed to the vineyard in three SUVs. We were joined by Walker Elliot who is doing research for a new book. It was the first time we'd met and it added a twist to the day's objective. He's a nice guy and he had good questions. "what have you planted? What's the time commitment? Does the consultant make a big difference in the quality of what you harvest?" The man was taking notes.

Stepping out of the cars we were blasted by wind and the cold. Those layers of clothing were coming in handy. Chris had on his dead-animal-lined Admiral Perry Blue Arctic jacket. He apologized for the offence of the dead animal lining his craggy face but we said it looked cool. He said he'd had it twenty years and wore it on the coldest days; less than a dozen times. He called it an old friend.

First up was the Vidal. At the lowest altitude in the hybrid vineyard, the six of us walked along the rows. Chris explained the pruning he wanted to see and Benny and Jose worked a few plants so that we could make certain that we were all on the same page. They immediately showed their experience and Chris was impressed. "Those guys are a find!" he said. "Yep" I replied. Chris pulled out his knife "too dull" he growled. He took a cutting of two foot of cane and sliced the buds carefully. "See, you want to see the green in the bud. Cut too deeply and you get the underlying stem. That tells you nothing." Benny and Jose leaned in. "Cut it right and find brown and you've got cold damage. Here's some see? Probably from that November frost. It'd take hold further out on the branch end. The wood gets hard and brown at the trunk and the dormancy works out toward the ends as the fall turns to winter. Should be green in the buds lower down." Chris cut some more. "See? It's greener down here." He threw down the branch and seemed satisfied that we understood the importance of the bud check. "Check 'em in a week or two after this hard freeze and let me know if you have more than 20% loss. If we do we'll have to prune 'em differently."

We were twenty minutes into our walk. It was like I'd just spent five hours at the computer doing research. It was cold, but man were we learning stuff. We walked over to the Chambourcin. It was tied to a high wire at about five feet. On these vines the fruit will hang at eye level.

It's all about controlling vigor. The summers are wet in Virginia and the vines suck it up. They'll only send sugars to the fruit if they're thirsty. The more water, the more vine vigor. That means less sugar and more green flavors in the wine. Not good for making wine; not good for drinking wine. Every vineyard manager has his own way of controlling vigor and getting sugars into the grapes. One way is a high fruiting wire. Chris had made us put it on the Chambourcin and Traminette. "These look good" he said. We smiled. "But look at this one...and that one! Lots of vigor. The cane is almost eight feet long here. This is healthy. But you'll need to watch the vigor." Chris showed Benny and Jose how he wanted the vines pruned. "Benny," Chris asked, "how many buds do you think for the Traminette? " "Five per cordon" replied Benny. Chris smiled. Benny had passed a test. Benny knew it.

Last was the Seyval. "Look at this. Healthy" exclaimed Chris, "Beautiful! We want about one and a half tons an acre for all of this. We'll add to the cordon a foot each year. Add the load incrementally. That'll allow the vine to mature without damage from the fruit clusters." Chris looked at us all. "Take down the extra buds in the spring while they're no longer than this" he drew a line from the ball to the tip of his thumb like he was measuring for a suit. "Let 'em carry twenty clusters max. Drop everything else. Less is better."

We were really cold now. Almost two hours walking the vineyard on the coldest day of the year. I had been worried that Sharon would trip in a hole and fall down. She had on way too many layers; if she fell she'd roll around on the freezing grass and become that kid in the Christmas movie: "I can't get up...I can't get up!...I...can't...get...up...! I decided we'd had enough and we headed back to the cars and drove up to the winery. Benny and Jose went back to their painting in the production room.

After a bit it was 4pm. We sat around and talked shop. We laid out the spring planting of Chardonnay and Viognier and decided the direction for the rows around the winery. We brought up beakers from the barrels and tanks of '08 wine. Chris and Walker tasted and commented and asked questions. Everyone but me was spitting. I ate cookies and drank '08 barrel aged chardonnay.

By 6pm we were ready to call it a day. We cracked an unreleased '07 BOWHaus Red and savored the vintage. Such a dry summer. Such an epic wine. So much body and structure. I smiled at the enjoyment taking place at the table. Walker was the first to leave and not much later Chris headed out with a prerelease '07 Tour'Ga Franc. He was happy and ready for the drive home. It had been a very good day.

Sharon and I retired to the office with the remainder of the '07 BOWHaus which we shared with Rick, Kristin and Cathy. The day's take: $90. The things that we had learned: priceless. We told stories and laughed about some photos we'd posted at Facebook. I thought about camaraderie. So many of the jobs and companies I've had in the past had lacked it. We listened to Kristin talk about the home that she and Kurt had purchased and their plans to move in. Cathy called her sister to invite her to next week's Mystery Dinner. We laughed about a lot of things as we enjoyed the good wine. Standing there with my friends and colleagues, I thought about the cold outside and the warmth inside and I decided it had been a perfect day.