Frostwatch -
the Vineyard
The Frostwatch
Vineyard is set atop a rocky apron in the shadow of Bennett Peak. Originally
established in the mid-1990's, the 15 acre vineyard was planted primarily to
Chardonnay and Merlot with a small half acre block devoted to old clone
Zinfandel sourced from Eldorado County in the Sierra Foothills. The 2007
harvest represented the final year of long term grape contracts between
ourselves and other wineries in place since the vineyard was originally
planted. Over the past 12 years we have had the opportunity to carefully
evaluate what works well on our site and what does not. To that end, in 2008 we
began a significant project that involves the conversion of approximately seven
acres presently planted to Merlot to other, mostly white varieties. Our very
cool site combined with our desire to produce red wines with a bold, riper
flavor profile suggest that it is economically and qualitatively feasible to
grow high quality red wine grapes on a very limited amount of our total
acreage. We have decided to keep two acres devoted to Merlot - two acres that
span the entire backside of the vineyard and share similar altitude and rocky,
well-drained soils. This acreage, not coincidentally, has been the principal
source for all of the Frostwatch Merlots released to date.
Approximately
four acres of the converted acreage will be devoted to three different
selections of old clone Chardonnay-the first two are "Old Wente"
(sourced from the Platt Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast and the Hyde Vineyard in
Carneros). The Old Wente selections are known for their intense flavor
components and relatively low yields. The third selection is based on the
"Spring Mountain" clone which is known for powerful, pleasing
aromatics of flowers and spice. In addition to Chardonnay, two acres of the
converted acreage will be devoted to Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon-the two
varieties which make up our proprietary white blend, which we call Kismet.
Lastly, based on the recommendations of our viticultural consultant Greg
Bjornstadt (formerly Tandem co-founder and now producing wine under his own
label, Bjornstadt Cellars), we have devoted an acre to Pinot Noir, specifically
the Swan selection which has historically produced some of the finest Pinots on
the North Coast.
We are
approaching the vineyard conversion from two angles. Approximately one half of
the vineyard conversion project involves actually removing the entire existing
vine. These areas will be replanted in June, using a denser spacing with a
rootstock optimally matched to the grafted clones (rootstock 420A). The other
half of the conversion project will be "topped over" - meaning that
the new scion variety (wine grape variety) will be grafted on the upper trunk
and rootstock of the existing vine. In both cases this has allowed us to
utilize the existing trellising and irrigation systems, which are still sound.
This makes the conversion process more cost effective and will also allow us to
get the portion of the vineyard that was topped over back in production as
early as next year. In three years, when the sections that were ripped out and
replanted come into production, we will be able to compare density and
rootstock differences in the wine produced.
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