Man O War Vineyards

One of the most amazing viticultural efforts I've visited in New Zealand, actually the world, are the Man O’ War vineyards.

You can see three blocks of vines not far from one of the little bays found at the east end of Waiheke Island. Man O War Vineyard, Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Not just one vineyard, the vines are actually planted in 76 individual blocks scattered on 4500 acres on the eastern side of Waiheke Island. Most of the 150 acres of vines are planted on very steep hillsides.

Man O War Vineyard, Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Sauvignon blanc harvest. Man O War Vineyard, Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

When asked about the difficult logistics of moving men and machine over often washed out roads to the scattered vineyards, vineyard manager Matt Allen says: "I wouldn't have it any other way. Doing in the flat would be boring."

Matt as been Man O War vineyard manager for 24 years.

Matt Allen, vineyard manager. Man O War Vineyard, Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Bird netting. Man O War Vineyard, Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Besides the vines on Waiheke Island, Man O War Winery has vineyards on adjacent Ponui Island. At harvest, the grapes are barged from Ponui at high tide to the winery on Waiheke Island.

Ponui Island seen from Waiheke.  Man O War Vineyard, Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Bird net-covered vineyard and sheep seen from a hill covered with volcanic strewn boulders. Man O War Vineyard, Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

One of World's Most Amazing Vineyards #4 Ancient Lakes

Massive silt-filled flooding and raw scrapping by the Pacific Northwest's mightiest river, the Columbia, describes the geological history of one of Washington States newer AVAs, the Ancient Lakes. 

Cave B Estate Vineyards:     About 100 acres of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sangiovese, Barbera, and Tempranillo make up the Cave B Estate Vineyards some 900 feet above the massive Columbia River. Although humans have lived along the river for more than 10,000 years, modern engineering in the 19th and 20th centuries has dramatically altered the Columbia to that point that some scientists believe that today the river is environmentally threatened.

A quick peek at photographs of the region instantly reveal the AVA's tormented geology located smack in the middle of the state having the second most vineyard land in the USA.

Instead of just one, lets feel the hot dry Autumn air at two Ancient Lakes AVA's vineyards: Cave B Estate Winery and White Heron Cellars.

Cave B Estate Vineyards:      Cave B Winery and Resort are about 20 minutes south of Quincy, Washington. The Columbia flows some 1,200 miles, from the base of the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Oregon.

Cave B Estate Vineyards:      At Cave B, the red grape varieties are planted closest to the river, while Germanic white varieties are planted a mile to the east, where a shorter growing season, and slightly cooler temperatures prevail.

White Heron Cellars:    Smack in the middle of Washington State, the White Heron Cellars' vineyard and winery site overlook the powerful geology-carving Columbia River and in the distance, the undulating foothills of the Cascade Range. Estate varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Syrah, Rousanne and Viognier.

White Heron Cellars:      The White Heron Cellars' vineyard address is part of the tiny, nearly ghost town of Trinidad, between Quincy and Wenatchee, above the the largest river in the Pacific Northwest, the Columbia, as it gouges through the center of Washington State.

All images copyright ©Janis Miglavs 2015

One of World's Most Amazing Vineyards #3 San Vicente de la Sonsierra

The vineyards surrounding the ancient village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra in the La Rioja region of northern Spain make one of the most picturesque scenes in all of Spain, perhaps all of Europe. Many of the vines are at least 80 to 100 years old.

Set on a hill surrounded by a wall that incorporates a church, a castle and the chapel of Vera Cruz, where I believe the world's only ancestral procession of Los Picaos takes place. Surrounding the vineyard are rolling hills studded with old-vine vineyards.

The sun sets behind the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra perched on a hill top in the La Rioja region of northern Spain. Many of the approximately 1200 village people work in the surrounding vineyards and farmland.

All images copyright ©Janis Miglavs 2015

Farmers are Told to Begin Harvest in Alsace, France

On Monday, September 10, harvest began in Alsace, France. (You know that area where I got to speak German because ownership of the strip of land went back and forth between the Germans and French. The French won the last skirmish.) This is the regulated earliest date that harvest can begin for Crémant (translate to bubbly) in Alsace part of France. That Monday morning was like a floodgate opening of workers pouring into certain vineyards. Harvest of grapes for still wines will begin on Sept 24, per regulations.  

Wine history here is ancient. The Alsacian vineyard is one of the oldest ones of France. There were 108 wine-producing villages in 800, 160 in 900 and 430 in 1400. By this time, Alsacian wine, red or white, was one of the most famous wines of Europe and one of the most expensive. Today, prices for wine are more reasonable, but the land is among the most expensive in France.

Near the little village of Eguisheim, Alsace, France, these happy guys are harvesting Pinot noir, destined to become Crémant d'Alsace (which means bubbly).

Just in case you didn't know what the Alsace wine region looks like, here is Husseren les Chateaux (to the best of my non-French ability, that means "Husseren the Chateaus" for the nearby ancient castles.) 

Have you ever seen a white rainbow?

While pulling some stock photos for a client, I came across this view I took last March over Bella Vida vineyard above Dundee in the Dundee Hills of Willamette Valley Wine Country, Oregon. I called it a white rainbow.

 Is it the same thing as this event seen from Cain Vineyard above Napa Valley?

Thank you Jim Foliek at Santa Barbara County Wines

I want to thank Jim Foliek, executive director at the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association and fellow Latvian, for introducing me to Santa Barbara vineyards and wineries. Wow was I surprised. Check out these landscapes. No wonder Ronald Regan wanted a ranch in the area.
A mechanical pruning machine cuts the longest vines in the flatter areas of the Bien Nacido vineyards. Skilled workers will follow up hand cutting to the final two vines.

The above four photographs are Bien Nacido Vineyards near Santa Maria, California. And yes, those are goats charged with keeping the healthy weed population at bay.


The above two photographs are Dierberg Vineyards and winery. The interior photograph is nearly a 360 degree view inside the rotunda of the winery. Just too bad that the winery is not generally open to the public because of neighborhood restrictions. While Dierberg has several vineyards, these are near Santa Ynez, California.

Rare Holiday photograph proves it's true

A couple of nights ago when all was quiet on the earth, suddenly I heard this swishing roar in the sky. I wondered if it was a bird, a plane or even Superman. But then I saw a mysterious red glow coming towards me. My eyes nearly bugged out from fright. It had to be aliens coming for my body parts.
But wait, what was that? A jolly Ho Ho Ho filled the sky. Instantly I knew the mystery riders of the dark Winter sky. It had to be Santa with his reindeer delivering good cheer on earth.
No, it can't be. Did I have too much Pinot? Those are reinrhinos. Fortunately my Venus-flytrap reflexes enabled me to grab my trusty Nikon to snap this one frame. Otherwise I didn't think that you would believe me.

Which is Napa's most scenic vineyard?

Yesterday, Tamarah, my Digital Asset Manager, and I were pulling photos for an upcoming gallery show. Besides the new Mandala-like images and visual illusion composites, we wanted some straight beautiful images of Napa vineyards. As we pulled the photos, we got into a debate (again) as to which of these photos depicts Napa's most beautiful vineyard view. Please help us settle the debate by voting in the comments.

Which one of these photos is your favorite Napa vineyard view? (For you Oregon wine lovers, Napa does have some nice scenic views. I grew up there, but matured in Oregon.)

Since I'm trying to learn how people respond to my photos, please comment with a Tweet-sized note explaining your choice.

#1 Spring-time mustards grow between the rows of Screaming Eagle vineyard from Silverado Trail, valley floor looking west.

#2 Shafts of evening light, breaking through a cloud crack, hit Oakville Ranch Vineyards' Summit Vineyard looking NW up valley.

#3 View from Graeser Winery vineyard on Petrified Forest Road, near Calistoga in the Diamond Mountain District, looking across the north end of Napa Valley.


#4 Edge-of-storm scattered clouds allow spots of light to drop over view from Artesa winery of red barn-like Blue Creek Vineyard building surrounded by vineyards in the Carneros AVA.


#5 Diffracted sunrise seen from Cain winery's vineyards overlooking St. Helena at the top of the Spring Mountain District.


#6 Spring clouds hang over the valley view seen from Newton Vineyard in the Spring Mountain district.


#7 Napa Valley in the distance with Hess Collection winery and Christian Brothers buildings (on right) in the lower hills seen from Hess Collection winery's Veeder Summit vineyard on Mt. Veeder.


#8 Spring-time view of John William's white barns and water tower seen from mustard-flowering Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard next to Del Dotto Winery along Highway 29.


#9 Soft sunrise light over winter-bare Saintbury's vineyard in the Carneros AVA.

Is Vineyard photography more than f16 and be there?

Back in the old film days when I did heavy-duty studio advertising photography, when one art director found out I did landscape photography for fun, he told me that landscape photography was simple: f16 and be there. I didn't try to convince him otherwise. For example, even the being there is most often more than mere chance. I watch weather and especially like the drama found along edges of storms.

This photograph is a perfect edge-of-storm example. This is in the Umpqua region of southern Oregon. It had rained all day, but the forecast called for a small chance of some clearing. So I drove up into the mountains to this private little vineyard called Ferris Wheel owned by the kind folks at Brandborg winery and waited. Sure enough the clouds started to break–for about 15 minutes. I shot like mad everything I could think of.

Here's the RAW file of one shot:

This is one of the two RAW layer exposures I used. Please note that I open the RAW files as smart objects, but in this case had to unsmart the layers to combine them in the way I wanted.

Here's a screen grab of the work I put into this vineyard landscape.

Here's the final photo as I originally experienced and visualized it.

So was the pimple-faced art director right? I was there, after asking lots of people where I could find the most scenic vineyard, some careful listening to the weather forecasts and lots of luck. I didn't look in the EXIF file, but I probably used f22 on my 18mm lens to get both the foreground leaves and the distant clouds stuck in the Doug fir covered mountains all in focus.

Why photograph vineyards?

Storm breaking over Fall-colored Brandborg winery's Ferris Wheel vineyard near Elkton, in the Umpqua region of Oregon.

Yesterday, I was trying to figure out why I love photographing vineyards, wineries and the whole world-wide wine industry.

First, I love the outdoors and nature. At 62, I still go backpacking into the wilderness with my 25-year-old son. (Please don't tell Ryan that I put a large rock in his pack last time to slow him down.) Watching a sunrise in a vineyard with two screeching hawks circling overhead, a bob cat meandering ahead of me and a ladybug crawling on a vine is a Yosemite-like experience for me.

I'm also intrigued why the vineyard and wine are mentioned something like 412 times in the Bible, and why Jesus used the vineyard so often in his stories. Even the Qur'an has vineyard stories. So why is that?

I also enjoy people, especially the vineyard workers–the unheard heroes who never make it to the tasting room.

Finally, I love art. My background is drawing and painting. (Heck, while working on my Masters degree, I even learned to color outside the lines.) So I'm intrigued with the whole process of making wine, from choosing the varietal to plant all the way to producing the wine. There's technical know-how, craftsmanship and something like creative vision.

All of these loves come together in the vineyard with enough elbow room for me to stretch my craft, technical abilities and vision.
It's raining while Tim harvests Pinot Gris at Henry Estate winery vineyard in the Umpqua region of Oregon.

The Winner: Oregon's most beautiful vineyard view

At the end of June we asked viewers to vote for Oregon's Most Beautiful Vineyard View from 7 posted photographs. We were amazed at how many people voted. We were also amazed at how many people emailed their vote directly to us instead commenting on the blog (mostly because they didn't want to sign up for a gmail account which Google requires to comment).

These three views were by far the front runners, with a difference of only a few votes between them.
Number 1 vote getter. Mt. Hood with fog in the Willamette Valley seen from Elk Cove Winery's five Mountain Vineyard. Many voters said that Mt. Hood in the background made it Oregon. One of the most unusual comments declared that she loved the photo but thought that the man-made harvest crates along the left ruined the photo as a beautiful landscape.

Number 2 vote getter. Stormy morning light on Knudsen vineyard seen from Bella Vida vineyard in the Red Hills above Dundee, Willamette Valley. A number of voters remarked that this is the photo they would like to hang on their wall.

Number 3 vote getter was only three votes behind #1. Sunrise over the northern Willamette Valley seen from the David Hill Winery vineyard near Forest Grove.

What does this photo say?

"What do you want the photo to say?" is one of the first questions I always ask clients before starting a new assignment. The answer helps guide me while executing the vision. Just today, I re-learned that what the photo says to me is not necessarily what it says to another person–like the editor.

On and off for the past month I've been working on a story about a system of rigorous farming techniques developed by the founder of the Waldorf School, Rudolf Steiner. Called Biodynamics, it's organic farming, which prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides, but with an overlay of Steiner's holistic philosophy and the use of homeopathic-like preparations. Today, an increasing number of vineyards and wineries–especially in Oregon–are adopting Steiner's intensive techniques.

Since Steiner taught that the whole environment, moon and other planets influenced vineyard plant growth, I wanted to create a photograph illustrating the concepts. Somehow I wanted an ethereal, other planet-like feeling with the moon dominating the sky over the vineyard. So I went to the Doe Ridge Biodynamic vineyard on a full moon night, set up my shot with the rolling hills in the background and the full moon dominating the sky. Perfect.

But how to make it feel ethereal and other-planet like? I didn't have any preconceptions, so I winged it. Setting my D3 on a tripod, I stopped down to f14 with ISO set at 200 so I could have a long exposure–81 seconds. After clicking the shutter, I ran up and down the vineyard rows manually flashing my Nikon SB 900 strobe holding a bluish filter over the head to light the posts and vines. Using the small aperture creates the starburst effect.

I liked the look, but wasn't sure the photo really illustrated Steiner's ideas. I haven't spoken with the editor, but her choices spoke. While she was suppose to choose 3 total photos to illustrate the story, she chose 9, which always feels good. But she didn't choose this one.

What do you think? What does this photo say to you?