The grapevine learns from the earth's darkness

Through companionship with the ground 
a grapevine grows. It opens
into the earth's darkness and flies.

It becomes selfless in the presence 
of its origin and learns what it really is.
Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

Pinot noir vines of a Premier Cru vineyard in Gevrey Chambertin, Burgundy, France.

Worker harvests pinot noir in vineyard near Eguisheim, Alsace province, France.

Even though it has nine highly-regarded Grand Cru vineyards, the village of Gevrey-Chambertin in Burgundy, France's Côte de Nuits appellation has many village-level vineyards such as this one in full harvest just outside of town.

Harvest near Gevrey-Chambertin in Burgundy, France's Côte de Nuits appellation.

Harvesting pinot noir in vineyard near Eguisheim, Alsace province, France.

Signature cross in front of world-famous Romanée-Conti vineyard above Vosne-Romanée village, Burgundy province, France.

Vineyard inside of Pinot noir glass.

All photographs and text © 2015 Janis Miglavs

www.jmiglavs.com

janis@jmiglavs.com

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

I planted a vineyard because of my pollution.

Farmers plowing between rows of Cabernet Sauvignon in a Tianjin Province vineyard, China.
About one-half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day, according to the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Our people are very, very poor. Not enough
food; we struggle for survival. In those kind of
times, you really cannot think about how to do
something beautiful, you only think about how to
survive. So for a long time most Chinese people
struggled to survive. In 1980, I was very poor. I was very afraid.

Then when I became successful, making some money,
I can consider other things. I made a lot
of money here in Shanxi Province; I took a lot of
profit from this place, but we left lots of pollution.

Now, I really feel guilty.

I know that dirty pollution is not natural. Human
beings create the pollution. Even if we start doing
something now, we need a long time, a lot of effort
and a lot of money to re-clean the environment. 

Grace vineyard, Shanxi Province, China. China wine.

Today if I am rich, I can build a very beautiful village here, but if the window can not be opened, and we cannot be outside, we can’t enjoy it.

So I planted a vineyard to create beauty. 

Mr. Chan Chun, Industrialist, owner Grace Winery, Shanxi Province, China

Why working dozens of Willamette Valley vintages taught this Oregon Wine Pioneer to be optimistic.

Vineyard Light interview with Dick Ponzi, Oregon Wine Pioneer, whose first Willamette Valley vintages were in the early 1970s.

This is Ponzi's Mountain Home Road vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains with dramatic views of the Willamette Valley, located between Scholls and Sherwood, Oregon.

"It makes me feel good to walk through the vineyard. It’s like a hike in the mountains. Refreshing. After I take a 20-minute hike through the vineyards around our home, I come back refreshed, reinvigorated.

Fall colors on Ponzi's Mountain Home Road vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains, Willamette Valley, Oregon.

"The vineyard has also made me optimistic, rather than being a pessimist. There is the rebirth that happens every year. 

"After experiencing the variation of many vintages, I’ve learned that if things don’t go well this year, they will go better next year. I guess too that if there is a series of good years, there will be a bad year."

Dick Ponzi,  Oregon Wine Pioneer,  Ponzi Vineyards, Willamette Valley, Oregon.

Winter in Ponzi's Mountain Home Road vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains, Willamette Valley, Oregon. The tall white building in the background is an old walnut drying barn.

Vineyard Light: What a Slovenian winemaker taught writer Eric Asimov about life.

As part of my Vineyard Light Project, at a Napa Wine Writer's Symposium I asked New York Times wine and food writer Eric Asimov what the vineyard taught him about life.

"I think of Alesh Kristantochiev, a wonderful producer in Slovenia, just across the border from Italy. I’ve walked in his vineyard with him. It’s almost as if he knows each one of his vines, as if they all had their own individual personalities. Then he tailors his care for them to their individual needs. 

"I was very amazed by how much effort goes into being out there to observe and know those plants, and how that contributes to making great wine. It's a product of love and passion.

"In a very broad sense we can all learn lessons – life lessons – from that. Whatever you do in life, do it with love, do it with passion, do it with effort, do it with commitment."

Eric Asimov, Wine and Food Writer, New York Times, New York, New York.

On the other side of the world from Solvenia, winemaker Emma Gao (in yellow top) of Silver Heights, checks Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in one of her contract vineyards with a worker. Like Asimov's Alesh Kristantochiev, Emma is full of passion for both life and for growing the best grapes and wine. The vineyard is near Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China

During harvest, Emma Gao of Silver Heights often put her face into the crated grapes just to smell them. Then, if the grapes were good, she would straighten up with a big grin.  Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Vineyard Llight: What gave him the chutzpa to plant the first modern-era wine grapes in Oregon?

From  Oregon The Taste of Wine by Janis Miglavs, Roseburg, Oregon
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During a two-day interview for my Oregon The Taste of Wine book, Richard Sommer talked of his dream during the 1950s, to grow wine grapes in a place where others said “impossible.” He recalled UC Davis viticultural professors chuckling when he said he was starting a vineyard in Oregon. Too cold, too rainy, was the consensus. It hadn’t been done before.

While working on my Oregon wine book, I took Richard Sommer to visit Hillcrest, the winery he founded.

But Richard had faith, enough faith to plant Oregon’s first modern-era vinifera grapes, including Pinot noir, in 1961. He actually had wine before the well-known Boys up North in the now-famous Willamette Valley planted their first Pinot vines in the ground. And he had enough faith to begin a winery, Hillcrest, which is still in existence today.

Now, nearly 500 Oregon wineries later, we know Richard was obviously right. But what gave Richard the chutzpa to take on the world? 

Janis Miglavs, Oregon The Taste of Wine, Roseburg, Oregon

Old vine Cabernet Sauvignon at Hillcrest Winery vineyard, originally established by Richard Sommer in 1961 near Roseburg, in the Umpqua wine region, Oregon.

Vineyard Light: Where is your seat on our tiny spaceship?

We travel huddled on a tiny spaceship hurtling through vast darkness.
                    Found in Janis Miglavs' Vineyard Journal

Morning clouds hover over Zerba Cellar's Cockburn Farm vineyard near Milton-Freewater in the Walla Walla AVA, Oregon. Considered rising star on the global wine stage, Walla Walla is in south eastern Washington, yet some of the best vineyards in the Walla Walla AVA are actually in Oregon. Owners Cecil and Marilyn Zerba have tasting rooms in both Milton-Freewater and Dundee, Oregon.

Vineyard Light: Meet the former Director of the Universe.

 Philippe Girardet, Owner, Girardet Winery, Roseburg, Oregon
"If you are a perfectionist, the grape can drive you crazy."

Born and raised in Switzerland near the headwaters of the Rhone, Philippe Girardet grew up working in his great uncle’s vineyard. He immigrated to the USA to work as a design engineer at Cal Tec in the 1960’s. There he met and married Bonnie, who also happened to like European wines. While on a vacation in Oregon the two wandered into Umpqua Valley, where they decided to plant a vineyard and build Girardet Wine Cellars.

"Grapes want to be wild, you know. Perfection is a nice goal but you have to get perspective. There is a point that you have to let go, let life take its course. 

"I resigned my post as director of the universe."

A hen house on wheels parked in the 35 acre estate vineyard provides a hint that the Girardets use sustainable farming methods.  While there are at least 14 different varietals in the vineyard,  Philippe likes to brag about his Old Vine Baco Noir.

Vineyard Light: Why build a stone chapel in your vineyard?

"The vine represents life." 
Mike Sauer, grape grower, Red Willow Vineyard, Yakima Valley AVA, Washington, USA

Mike Sauer, grape grower, Red Willow Vineyard, Wapato, Washington, USA. Red Willow Vineyard is part of a 4th generation family farm.

"There is a cooperation between the vine and humanity. In Catholicism at the Eucharist, the priest says, “The fruit of the vine and work of the hands.”

"One of our grapes makes the communion wine at our little reservation parish here in White Swan. So when I go to church, it somehow comes back to me this is the fruit of the vine and our hands are involved in producing this."
         Mike Sauer, grape grower.

 

Red Willow Vineyard, with its stone chapel, sits in the far western end of Yakima Valley AVA, within the Yakama Indian Reservation.

Red Willow Vineyard is one of Washington's oldest and most famous vineyards. The state's first Syrah was planted here in 1985. The vineyard is located in Yakima Valley AVA, which is the oldest, largest and most diverse wine growing region in Washington state.

Small stone chapel on top of Mike Sauer's Red Willow Vineyard, Yakima Valley AVA,  Washington.

Why Ethiopians put Coca Cola in red wine.

 While dining in an upscale local restaurant in Ziway, Ethiopia, (dinner US$1.49), I noticed the waiter serving red wine to the well-dressed trio at the next table. The waiter properly pulled the cork, and with a quick flick of his wrist, he poured out some of the wine onto the floor. Setting the wine bottle onto the table, the smartly-dressed waiter then popped the cap on a Coca Cola bottle and poured the contents into the vino bottle to replace what he had discarded. Then he served the mixed wine.

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Being a curious worldwide wine lover, I asked the waiter about this Ethiopian mixed drink. He replied, in a manner that subtly implied the whole world did it this way, “Ethiopians add Coca to red wine to decrease the alcohol content. And we add Sprite to white wine.”

Is this an idea for worldwide-designated drivers?

 

These are bottles of Red Wine and White Wine produced by Ethiopia's only winery prior to the French arriving several years ago as mentioned in a previous blog.

I dreamt of wolves flying above the vineyard.

When I was looking around in the Hyland vineyard one night in the hills above McMinnville, Oregon, I had the feeling that there was more going on than I could see among the Müller-Thurgau.

Can 100 wine people provide insight into life on earth?

Proposed cover my latest book adventure, Vineyard Light, 100 Life Lessons from the Vineyard. I'm looking for Light in a Windowless World.

Some say the deepest insights come during tsunami-sized personal crisis. My wife’s cancer provided that opportunity. A thread of hope pulled a boulder of fear at each step, the suspicious mammogram, the confirming biopsy, the hope-we-get-it-all surgery, waiting in oncology with a room full of dark-eyed women all wearing pull-down caps. We are but small specks in something very immense and mysterious. I wondered how others experienced their pilgrimage through the big unknown.

Inspired, I decided to take a different kind of biopsy. I wanted to take a core sample of humanity from one hundred vineyard workers, winemakers, and winery owners around the world. I hoped this sample could provide an X-ray snapshot of what it means to be human at this moment in history.

Thus every contributor becomes a collective hero, reflecting on his/her personal navigation in minute increments the course of life on spaceship Earth. Vineyard light is a metaphor for the light that shines from the wisdom of travelers who have worked in the vineyard.

But why choose a view from the vineyard? Perhaps rows of vines are to me what Walden Pond was for Henry David Thoreau, a park bench from which to watch life and the universe. Perhaps it’s the same reason that Noah planted a vineyard as soon as the flood subsided. Perhaps the same reason Jesus and Mohammed used the vineyard in their parables. Vineyard roots wander down through at least 7,500 years of human history. What a better perspective on human existence on our planet.

The day is waiting to happen.

Can a teenager help create great wine in Napa?

When I told Jean Hoefliger, winemaker at Napa Valley's Alpha Omega winery, that my attempt at blending wines produced olfactory manure piles, he sympathetically invited me to a personal blending lesson. "It's not rocket science," he reassured.
So on the appointed day, there we were with 4 bottles of 2009 Napa wine and 6 empty glasses each neatly arranged in front of us. Jean introduced the wines in terms even I understood: Merlot the sensual female, Cabernet Franc the energetic teenager, Cabernet Sauvignon usually the big masculine macho guy, and Petite Verdot the mysterious extra mask. When tasted, each of the components provided some interest, but none really shined.

That's exactly why Jean blends. (Pretend you're a Frenchman when pronouncing his name.)

But what percentages to blend? OK. My guess: 20% of the female (I like women), 25% of the teenager, 50% macho Cabernet Sauvignon–which wasn't really super manly in 2009 and 5% Petite Verdot.

We tasted my blend. Wow. My nose got a pleasant workout trying to identify all the aromas, much more complex and interesting than any of the individual components. But my poor palate felt like it was going over a Himalaya-sized washboard, not exactly a scenic drive through Napa Valley. And the tannins grabbed my tongue like a Sumo wrestler coated with sharp needles and he wouldn't let go on the finish.

Jean explained that the aromas would change over time, but not the complexity. So we want to maintain those. Let's cut back on the teenager and increase Mr. Cab Sauvignon. But won't Mr. Sauvignon's famous stinging tannins just increase that Sumo-sized tannic grip? No. Jean explained that adding tannin to tannin softens them. I confessed skepticism. But I did know that after being stung with nettle, stinging oneself again in the exact same spot actually pulls out the itch-causing toxins. Could the same be true for tannins?

But I took the professional winemaker at his word about tannin in tannin. So my reconfigured formula was 15% female, 15% CF teenager, 65% Mr. CS big guy and 5% mysterious PV mask. Jean was right. The Sumo tannic needles had lost their stinging grip. And my little taste buds were no longer bumping over a 28,000 foot washboard.

I had to admit, it was a better effort. But the finish was still too short for a great wine.

I suggested some 5% changes, then felt like an ax man. The pro agreed to changes, but used a much gentler touch. He cuts the feminine Ms M by 3% to 11%, increases the teenager by 2% to 17%, keeps Mr. Macho at 65% and increases mysterious PV by 2% to a total of 7%.

We taste.

Wow. How did he do that with those tiny 2 and 3% changes? The rainbow of aromas were still there, the palate had an interesting journey and the finish was extended without stumbling off a tannic cliff.

My come-aways from Jean's patient teaching:
1) Clearly identify each individual in the line up at the beginning. Characteristics change from year to year.
2) To mellow tannins, add tannin. (Can two wrongs make a right?)
3) Experience counts. Jean knew that the aromas would change characteristics but not necessarily in number.
4) I can trust my own nose and palate.

Thank you, Jean for the lesson. But you don't have to worry about competition from me.

Biodynamic. Is Truth stranger than we can think?

Here's another highlight from the Vineyard Light book I'm creating.
Before we plow ahead, first, a simple definition for those who are not familiar with Biodynamic farming, which is gaining popularity among vineyard owners. It sprouted in the 1920s, when Rudolf Steiner, yes, the very same founder of the Waldorf School, developed a rigorous farming system that’s organic agriculture–which prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides–combined with an overlay of Steiner’s holistic philosophy and the use of nine preparations in miniscule doses applied according to planetary cycles.
So what's this planetary cycles stuff? And what the heck would the guy who developed a learning system know about farming? Some vineyard managers think it's pure voodoo, but more and more are adopting the techniques around the world.
That's Doe Ridge Vineyard pictured below. The part on the left is biodyanmically farmed, the part on the right farmed with more traditional techniques. (I organized a taste off between wines from the two parts. The results: surprising.)

The truth isn’t just stranger than we think, its stranger than we can think.
Niels Bohr 19th & 20 century Nobel Prize winning Danish physicist

I had an interesting experience with Matthew Baker, my BD consultant. Most of the biodynamic preparations are buried in the ground for a period of time to compost. When I told Matthew that I had buried some nettle in a clay pot out in the oak savannah, but had forgotten exactly where,he said, “lets go down and see if we can find it anyway.” Within a minute of walking through the field, Matthew said, “Kevin, it’s right there.” It was fascinating, the vetch and the grasses were all a foot higher in this circular area where I had buried the clay pot. Nettle is a stimulus. While it is also considered to be antifungal, its really used to stimulate plant growth, to move the plant from one physiological phase to the next. So if you want to encourage the vines to bloom earlier, you would spray some nettle on them. Kevin Chambers, owner/grower Resonance Vineyard and chief executive of Oregon Vineyard Supply, McMinnville, Oregon

So what do you think?

And I saw these vines dancing naked at night.

While photographing at night in the Bien Nacido vineyards in Santa Barbara County, California, I captured these vines dancing naked under the starry night. And I was told vines were conservative.

Can doubt and boldness coexist?

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
German writer and polymath
How is it that I can start a marathon-like Vineyard Light book project so boldly, then, somewhere around mile 17, get overwhelmed with doubt? Will this project resonate with others? Who cares what a bunch of vineyard workers, winemakers and owners say about life, our planet, our character and spirit?
Forget it. For me, it's so much easier just to start another project.

What suggestions do you have?
How do you keep running with large projects?

Need your feedback on book idea?

For almost two years I've been interviewing and gathering material for a book I call Vineyard Light. (Originally called Lessons from the Vineyard.) To this point I've asked nearly 100 winemakers, vineyard workers and winery owners around the world what lessons they have learned while working with the vineyard. It's like taking a core sample or biopsy of our human character, spirit and life on earth as seen from the vineyard.
Why vineyards? The simple answer is that Vineyards have more than a 5000 year relationship with humans. The more complex answer asks why Jesus and Muhammad both used the vineyard in their parables. And, after a cataclysmic flood, why would Noah plant a vineyard as soon as he stepped off the boat?

My book vision is to combine quotes with photographs on the layouts. Below is one possibility:
About one-half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day. World Summit on Sustainable Development

"Our people are very, very poor. Not enough food; we struggle for survival. In those kind of times, you really cannot think about how to do something beautiful, you only think about how to survive. So for a long time most Chinese people struggled to survive. In 1980, I was very poor. When you are young and you are very, very poor, you are very afraid. But you have chances. And then as you get the money you feel safe. I worked very hard to make money. This is very popular here in China.

"Then when you are successful making some money, you really can consider other things. We make a lot of money here in Shanxi Province; we take a lot of profit from this place, but we left lots of pollution.

"Now, I really feel guilty. First, I am a very educated person. Second, I travel everywhere and I can compare here to other countries. I like to think that you feel guilty, if it is like this, so dirty, even if everyone makes a lot of money.

"I know that dirty pollution is not natural. Human beings create the pollution. Even if we start doing something now, we need a long time, a lot of effort and a lot of money to re-clean the environment. It is not easy to become clean. Today if I am rich, I can build a very beautiful village here, but if the window can not be opened, and we cannot be outside, we can’t enjoy it.

"Still many rich people continue to pollute. I believe most of them do not get it."
Mr. Chan Chun Keung, Industrialist, owner Grace Vineyard Winery, Shanxi Province, China

I would appreciate any feedback.