Dear members: Perhaps you or maybe some friends of yours would be interested in my ranch: It contains a
mature vineyard, planted in quad method-four cordons per vine. In case the following url does not work, I have found if you do a Google search on the address, 1350 Bollinger Cyn Rd, Moraga, CA 94556, it comes up as a hit. The web address:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1350-Bollinger-Cyn_Mora... is the realtor/MLS address and contains a virtual tour section.

I have just received a very nice Thank You letter from the organizers of the St Mary's Summer Wine Festival thanking us for our participation. I am attaching the letter for the benefit of all members to read.

Bill Massarweh
LWGA - President
August 24, 2010

For those members who are interested in attending the final class at Captain Vineyards given on 8/24 and 8/31 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Pre-Harvest class Brix/ TA / PH testing. Please check attachment for registration.

I have fifty vines I want put net over. Other years I have just bought rolls at Home Depot of plastic netting. Are there betters kinds/option?

george fisher

I can report to the membership that the efforts to get all current members to renew their affiliation with the LWGA has been very successful, with but a few exceptions.

The attached Roster will show those few past members who have as yet not paid their 2011 Dues. Most of them have not been to meetings recently, and that usually is a tell tale sign that their personal lives may be getting the better of them. We will always keep the light on for them should they ever decide to come back into the fold.

Let me also announce that I will be tweaking this Roster a bit in the next week or so to categorize the information contained in it about the number of plantings in each varietal, as well as the primary interest of each member, whether it is in winemaking or not. One of the issues we still need to address is the square footage number of vines planted. Right now we only have the total number of vines. This is significant as most Appellations also define the their area by square footage planted, as opposed to total vines planted. But, I will get back to all of you on this a bit later.

With the crush starting in a little over a month, I thought I would post a checklist I made up last year to help prepare for winemaking. If anyone has any additions or corrections, let me know. Who knows, maybe in the future I will dress it up so it is more readable. In the meantime I hope it wil be helpful.

Bill

Sorry for sending again, but the attachemnts didnt go the first two times ---

I'm a little slow getting this out, but we had a meeting July 1 of those who expressed interest in a winemaking equipment coop. We agreed that this would work by cross-loaning equipment we own to the others. Since much of the equipment in the group is owned by Tom Morehouse and Bill Booth, we thank them for thier help and patience while the rest of us fill in some blanks and supplement with our purchases. I have attached a list of the equipment owned by those who attended the meeeting. Those who werent there but have equipment to share, please send me an email letting me know what you have. If you want to participate but I didnt get you on the list please let me know that too, with the equipment you have to share. I also attached our running rules, a list of equipment sharing etiquette.

Bill

We had a good session today on lab work you can do at home. I handed out a list of references to get instructions and other info on the procedures and equipment we discussed. By popular demand I added the link to an online calculator to determine how much metabisulfite powder or standard 10% solution to add to get the desired molecular SO2. The updated reference list is attached. The links work in Word, so no need to retype them.

Bill

Print this page PRINT »
E-mail this page E-MAIL THIS PAGE »
Close this window CLOSE THIS WINDOW »

News Headline July 2, 2010

Napa Grapegrowers Get Water Tips
Less irrigation, more monitoring could benefit vines and wine quality

by Paul Franson

Mary Maher

Mary Maher
Yountville, Calif. -- Although a wet winter has reduced the immediacy of saving water, for the long haul California growers can look forward to increasing restrictions on water usage and periodic shortages. To help growers deal with these issues, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers focused on irrigation at the latest of its sustainability workshops held June 29 at the new Community Center in Yountville. Steve Moulds of Moulds Family Vineyard, a director of NVG, set the stage for the seminar.

Five experts offered their views. Interestingly, one clear message was that many of today’s vineyard irrigation practices waste water -- sometimes to the detriment of grape yields and quality. “Growers typically overwater,” said Dr. Thibaut Scholasch of Fruition Sciences Inc. “We could irrigate much less, but we need to know how the plant is behaving.”