In case you missed this, please click through the link below to take a short survey that will help Kamyar Aram, UC Cooperative Extension Specialty Crops Advisor for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in deciding on future programs and services.
Please follow this link to take the survey.
There is a new newsletter for sharing news, resources, and events for crop producers in these counties.
You can follow this link to subscribe to the Diablo Region Crops Newsletter.
Officially, the end of the growing season for 2023 vintners is over. And what a year! It was the best of vintages, it was the worst of vintages… For some growers and winemakers, this was a remarkable year for quality, and for others not as good. 2023 started late with exceptional moisture and delayed bud break. However, the growing season went along without any major heat waves or disruptions for an excellent extended growing season. I hope you had a good season.
Every year, the LWGA collects member information about your harvests. We would like to know what your gross weight yield in pounds (stems and all) was per varietal. I will accumulate this information anonymously by varietal and have a comparison spreadsheet from prior years to see how we’re doing.
Please send me your information soon so that I might be able to share this information with everyone very soon for an anticipated vigorous discussion.
Thank you!
Daniel Howsepian 5powderhounds@gmail.com
925-858-7000
SAVE THE DATE!
December 3, 5-8pm 2023
LWGA member holiday party. The official invitation with RSVP link will follow later this month
The Board of the Lamorinda Winegrowers Association is establishing a new committee to develop the educational topics and plans for future member meetings. This will be a great opportunity for LWGA members to get more involved. The time commitment for this committee should be fairly minimal.
The Board encourages anyone who is interested to join this committee. If you are interested or have any questions, please email Gerard van Steyn at gerardvs1@gmail.com or David Hicks at dh1780@yahoo.com
The next member meeting which will be this Sunday, starts at 3pm not 4pm, as previously announced.
It will be in the parking lot behind Wine Thieves – 3401 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Lafayette. The weather should be perfect, so please come to share in the excitement about the quality of grapes and wine this year!
Dear Grape and Wine Folks,
Our next meeting will be on Sunday October 8th, 4pm in the parking lot behind Wine Thieves- 3401 Mount Diablo Blvd, Lafayette, CA. What a great growing season we have had this year!… none of the crazy heat waves of previous years. (It seems like it has been a unusually cool year, but I was recently reading that it actually was a normal temperature year, unlike the silly hot temperatures of the last few years. Grape quality should be excellent this year!)
At this meeting we will have an open discussion about the grape growing year. Everyone will be encouraged to talk about their grapes, their viticulture and their harvest (actual or projected). If you have questions, or tried something new that worked or did not, you can share that with the group, and even ask for input. If you had any problems or issues, this meeting will be a great opportunity to bring them up to discuss with the group. And folks can summarize their harvest as in the quantity and quality of grapes, and even pH and TA, particularly if it was different than previous years. There is even some talk about making this a full harvest dance and let loose party… ok that was me, just suggesting 😉
Please park on Mount Diablo or another side street. And it was great to see everyone step up with tasty food and appetizers at the last meeting. Let’s continue this as our new tradition, because who doesn’t like good food, with good wine, and good friends?! Oh and bring a bottle of vino to share with the group, chairs and warm clothing, in case it cools off. Party hats and harvest party attire and party attitude is encouraged.
Members,
The board has heard from a number of members that they are having performance issues with hired vineyard managers. The issues include not timely spraying for PM and/or bird netting installed or either not being done at all. Additionally the handling of trapping for coons and skunks and not having crews available for harvest.
Your board wants to understand any and all of these types of potential problems. There is little folks can do this year but we need to discover the number and types problems and find solutions. One potential solution is to pool and collectively retain a provider for a group of our membership
Please let us know if your vineyard management provider HAS NOT performed to your satisfaction, and on the other hand if your particular provider HAS performed please let us know that as well?
Please email you response to Dave Ray at: Dave@reliezvalleyvineyards.com
Thanks, David Hicks, President
LWGA Colleagues,
We at Captain Vineyards are offering our grapes this year as our winemaker Sal Captain has a knee injury. We might have not met some of you yet, so here is a little bit about us.
We’re a founding member of LWGA and I served 15 years on the board. We operate a micro boutique (~350 cases per year) family vineyard and winery rated 5 stars on Google, Yelp and Trip Advisor. In 2005, we planted six red, French varieties, naturally grown and dry-farmed on our Moraga hillside in clay loam soil.
Below is an approximation of the amount available, and producing an expected 6 tons this year:
Petite Sirah – Est. Tons: 3.0 Vine Count: 1200 Clone: 03NM Rootstock: 3309C
Petit Verdot – Est. Tons: 1.5 Vine Count: 700 Clone: 400 Rootstock: 101-14
Cabernet Sauvignon – Est. Tons: 0.9 Vine Count: 200 Clone: 169 Rootstock: 420
Cabernet Franc – Est. Tons: 0.5 Vine Count: 700 Clone: 214BE Rootstock: 3309
Pinot Noir – Est. Tons: 0.8 Vine Count: 700 Clone: 115BE Rootstock: 101-14
Grenache – (negligible) Vine Count: 50
We’ve won county and statewide recognition for our green and sustainable practices.
NBC “California live” at Captain Vineyards
Please contact us to arrange a visit to our vineyard/winery to discuss details and logistics!
Cheers!
Susan Captain
Email us: sara@captainvineyards.com, Call or Text us: 415-960-7053
Greetings, dear wine folks!
Our meetings would be even more enjoyable, if we all got into the habit of bringing something tasty to share. Good wine and good food, after all, are meant for each other!
So please bring an appetizer, warm dish or dessert to share to the meeting tomorrow, July 30th 3:00 to 6pm PM at Daniel and Annemieke Howsepian’s home, located at 3345 Hermosa Dr. off Reliez Valley Rd in Lafayette. Ph # 925.828.7000
Hi, my husband and I are wondering if anyone in the LMGA has had any experience with the green laser for deterring birds from your vineyard. Manufacturer is the Bird Control Group out of the Netherlands.
Thanks so much,
Karen and Todd Watson
Wine Spectator News