Unfortunately, we are going to grow grapes this year, again, in drought conditions. Current soil moisture levels, again, are well below historical averages, which means that ground water available for your vines is probably already very low, unless you already have started to irrigate your vines. Unless you know that your soils still have adequate water, most LWGA vineyards should consider commencing irrigation.

The youtube link below contains quite a bit of interesting information on soil moisture and makes the argument that insufficient soil moisture at bud break can negatively affect production and vine health for the entire growing season. The most interesting parts about soil moisture are near the end of this presentation.

Every vineyard has different soil depths and profiles and soil water retention abilities, so the following recommendations should be tailored to your experience to your soil water and irrigation needs. That said, for our vineyard, we have been using in ground soil moisture meters to determine when to irrigate and how much to irrigate. Following are my recommendations on irrigation for a drought year such as this year:

• If your vineyard had low production last year, it quite possibly was due to insufficient irrigation.
• First and foremost, look closely at your vines for signs of insufficient irrigation, such as tendrils that are flopping down or dried out. Also monitor for signs of excess irrigation. The LWGA website has previous presentations with visual guides for this.
• In a hot/drought year, your vines and landscaping will need more water. This may be 20 to 40 percent more water than a typical year.
• Start irrigation before bud break and as early as you see your cover crops beginning to turn yellow from lack of water
• Vines need more water as the growing season progresses. Increase the duration of your irrigation each month through harvest.
• Run extra irrigation before major heat waves, ideally 24 hours before high temperatures.

Very general heat wave suggestions:

• If temps will reach 95 degrees, give .2 to .35 gallons of extra water per foot of canopy length per day
• If temps will exceed 100 degrees, give .5 to .65 gallons of extra water per foot of canopy length per day
• Example: for 6 foot canopy length per vine, give 1 to 2 gallons/vine/day before 95 degree day, 2-4 gallons/vine/day before 100 degree day

In order to build Lamorinda’s reputation for top, and even world class wines, we need to be winning top awards at the highest regarded wine competitions. And even if one doesn’t yet win a top award this year, getting feedback about our wines from professional judges is invaluable to learning how to improve our wines in the future.

The Lamorinda Winegrowers Association Board recommends that all non-commercial and commercial members enter their wines into the upcoming Orange County Wine Competition. There are separate competitions for both categories of winemakers.

For non-commercial or home winemakers, the competition entry period opens April 1st and wines most likely can be dropped off at Oakbarrel Winemaking in Berkeley and possibly MoreWine as well. More details on entries and other details will follow. But at this time, please mark your calendars and figure out what to enter. https://www.homewinecompetition.com/

And LWGA also encourages every commercial winemaker to enter the Orange County Commercial Wine Competition. https://info.winecompetition.com/ Commercial wines must be entered and received by the Orange County competition by July 1st.

Let’s take LWGA to the next level! Over one thousand wines will be entered into the Orange County Wine Competition, and we should compare quite favorably.

Please correct your calendars? Thank you.

Just a reminder that we will be having general meeting as a wine tasting this Sunday behind the Wine Thieves building for all members. Come one and all, bring a bottle and something nice for snacks enjoy each others wines and we will be telling you all about our Lamroinda Wine Fare in May 1st. David Hicks

Hello Lamroinda Wine Growers,

I am David Hicks and as the newly elected President of the Lamorinda Board I want to introduce myself to our membership. But first I want to remind all of our members about the associations Wine Fare on May 1st from noon to 6 PM. Six of our local bonded wineries will set up tents and be pouring at least 19 different wines made from Lamorinda AVA grapes. The event will be held behind Wine Thieves on Mt. Diablo next to Jack in the Box. We will also have two different food trucks for lunch and snack selection. A special thanks to David Rey, a founding member of our association, for making the space behind Wine Thieves available to us for the event. Amy Schofeld of our board has put together a first rate program for our members, their friends and guests, and very importantly the wine appreciating public.

Tickets will go on sale first week of April. We urge you to buy your tickets early. $30 for members, $35 for guests, $40 at the door. Amy will be emailing asking members to loan us tables and chairs for the event so that we won’t have to rent. Please contact Amy at 510.227.9312 to make arrangements?

It has been a challenge these past two years with our enthralling “zoom” meetings and the endless delays Larry Thal has experienced getting his permits to build his Local Vines project just down the street from Wine Thieves which is now underway. A special thanks to thank Daniel Howsepian for his two years as president during this crazy and occasionally stressful period for his leadership patience and creativity. We are looking forward to resuming our social and educational events in the months ahead.

My background in grape growing and winemaking is a bit different in that even though I’ve lived in Lafayette since 1978 my vineyard and winery are in the Red Hills AVA on the shore of Clear Lake. From 2002 to 2005 I took the entire Vet and Eno extension program at UC Davis, planting my vineyard in 2003 and making my first wine in 2007. Over the last 15 years I’ve made most of the common varieties of wine with grapes from my own and other CL vineyards. [left the Pinot Noir to Bill English]. Even tried Botritus Sauve Blanc [Sauturne] and once made brandy. Having a residence in Lake County and being a member of the local grape growers association has been a educational grape growing bonanza for me. It is my hope to bring some of those benefits to Lamorinda growers during my tenure.

Our immediate focus in on our May 1 event which is quickly approaching. We urge you to bring your family, friends, neighbors and extended social circles to this fun and delicious Wine event. You will be getting several email blasts about the event so round up your group and come to the party. On behalf of the board I want to thank all our members for their patience and attention and we look forward to seeing all of you Saturday May 1, behind Wine Thieves.

Regards,

David Hicks, President

This Sunday we will hold our Spring meeting at Wine Thieves parking lot. The meeting will be mainly social and wine tasting, so bring a bottle, or more, of your best wine for all to taste. There will be no formal presentations. We urge you to bring an appetizer to share with all? We will be providing wine glasses. May 1st is our Premier Public Wine Tasting event to be held from noon to 6 right here behind Wine Thieves. We will fill you in on our event progress. Amy will be sending out several notices to membership about the event with directions on pricing and ticketing etc, so watch for her blasts. She will also be asking for volunteers to assist us in putting on the event. We will definitely need your help to pull this off. I look forward to seeing many of you there and have asked the rain gods to hold off till 8PM.

Regards, David Hicks, President

Hi all, another call out to see if we could borrow a few things for the AVAnniversary event May 1, particularly event chairs. Here’s the link, please sign up if can! Tickets will be available for sale shortly

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f4babab2aa3f85-lamorinda

Offered via the Wine Industry Network. If you are interested, register directly using the link

The 2022 Growing Forward Series kicks off with our first session focusing on disease. As bud break begins, one of the biggest concerns for grape growers is around grape powdery mildew (GPM). As the growing season progresses, another major concern is around the limited availability of irrigation water. 

This session, led by Bryan Rahn, CPAg/SS, CCA and president of Coastal Viticultural Consultants, Inc. (CVC) will provide information and best practices on GPM and soil moisture monitoring that lead to more efficient GPM treatments and irrigation water use. The session will include vineyard managers from Silver Oak Winery and Trinchero Family Estates to share their experiences along with the results of implementing the programs presented.

As with everything, all things must come to an end. I have been the President of the LWGA for the past two years, and I have reached the end of my term.

I am happy to announce that David Hicks will be the new President of the LWGA. As a grape grower, a fine winemaker, and a great socialite, he will have the the experience and knowledge to take the helm and move us ever forward in our quest to serve our membership and put Lamorinda Wine Growers Association on the map!

Welcome David Hicks to your new position!

I have been very proud to have served as President and I hope that I have helped, together with the board, to improve the vision and services provided in the past and for the future years. I will continue on the board to help make LWGA a positive force in our community. Thank you for the privilege.

Sincerely:

Daniel Howsepian

former President, LWGA

Hi all,

Our 5 year +1 AVA celebration is coming up on May 1. There are a few items that we would like to borrow rather than buy or rent. If you have any of the items on our event wish list, please sign up via Sign Up Genius.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f4babab2aa3f85-lamorinda

A separate email for on-the-day volunteers will be sent closer to the time.

We’re looking forward to the celebrations!