From July through November, vineyards across the country are harvesting their grapes. It’s an exciting time, filled with hope and great promise. The date of the harvest changes from year to year, depending on the ripeness of the fruit. In warm, sunny years, grapes ripen quickly and need to be harvested early, before they begin to raisinate, or dry up on the vines. In cooler years with little sun, the grapes may need to stay on the vine considerably longer to achieve their maximum sweetness potential.
Grape sugars are measured in “brix.” Vineyard managers and winemakers work together to determine the harvest date based on the rising brix levels. If the brix are too low, the alcohol will be low in the finished wine and the wine may seem thin and acidic. If the brix are too high, the alcohol level in the wine will be overblown and result in an unbalanced or “hot” wine. Skilled wine producers keep a close eye on the brix as grapes begin to ripen and are ready to launch the harvest at a moment’s notice. Local weather also affects the date of the harvest. If a rainstorm is predicted, a vineyard may hustle to start picking grapes before the first drops of water fall.
The harvest at a big commercial vineyard is different from that of a small or family-run vineyard. Commercial wineries often utilize machines to harvest their fruit, especially in bulk wine production. Some harvesting machines literally shake the vines violently until the grapes drop off. It’s rough on both the grapes and the vines. Grapes are often bruised or damaged and there’s no way to avoid over-ripe, under-ripe, or green grapes from being included in the bounty.
Harvesting by hand is most common in small vineyards, and always used in organic vineyards, biodynamic vineyards, and vineyards with expensive, high quality grapes. When quality is prioritized over quantity, hand harvesting is the only sensible choice. While some vineyards hire workers for the harvest, many vineyards employ the hands and hearts of their communities. Local people join together and create friendly work crews to bring in the harvest. Volunteers begin picking the grapes in the wee early morning hours, before the harsh rays of the sun beat down upon the vines.
One California vineyard that makes use of local helping hands is Condor’s Hope in the beautiful Cuyama valley at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains. Established in 1995 in the northern extreme of Santa Barbara County, no fog or soft ocean breezes touch this rugged landscape. It is arid and dry, covered in native blue oak trees and golden chaparral. At an elevation of 2400 feet, the area enjoys what’s known as a “Mediterranean climate.” Hot summer days followed by cool evenings allow the grapevines a slow, even ripening process.
Owners Roberta “Robbie” Jaffe and Steve Gliessman have created in Condor’s Hope their own environmentally-friendly Shangri-La. Sharing a lifelong commitment to creating healthy food systems to benefit both the environment and the consumer, Robbie and Steve put their principles to practice with Condor’s Hope. The entire estate is off the grid and powered only by solar panels and passive solar heated water. In addition to five acres of grapevines, many rows of beautiful French, Italian, and Spanish olive trees line the landscape and provide zesty, robust cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil to members of the Condor’s Hope Wine Club and the local community.
Named after the endangered condor, North America’s largest flying land bird, Condor’s Hope, is a tribute to the 1992 reintroduction to the wild of the condor in the nearby Los Padres National Forest. Robbie and Steve believe the name “captures the hope embodied by their resurgence and the care of the environment needed for all of us to flourish.”
The vineyard at Condor’s Hope is organic and entirely dry-farmed, meaning without use of irrigation. This practice both protects and conserves natural resources. Traditional dry-farming is the norm in many parts of Europe where irrigation of vineyards is prohibited by law. The principle is that without irrigation, the vines (and olive trees) grow strong with extensive root systems that learn to search for groundwater deep in the soil.
The vines are head-pruned rather than trained out on wires and look a bit like small trees. Dry-farmed grapevines are hardy enough to survive even in years of extreme drought. In addition, the grapes produced through dry-farming have an intensity of flavor not shared by grapes from irrigated vines, which can become bloated and flavorless due to an overabundance of water.
Condor’s Hope produces anywhere from 250 to 450 cases of wine per year. Among the grapes grown on the estate are Zinfandel, Shiraz, Mourvedre, Mission, and Pedro Ximenez. Condor’s Hope winemaker, Ryan Stirm, deftly creates bold and savory, fruit-forward wines with the distinct herbal qualities of juniper, wild grass, and thyme. Most popular are the rich Zinfandel and spicy Shiraz. The zippy dry white Pedro Ximenez is made from a little-known Spanish grape normally used to craft sweet sherry. The resulting wine is unique and delicious.
When choosing a wine, why go with ordinary? California is replete with wonderful family owned vineyards that shower great care and attention to their wines from the ground up. Condor’s Hope is an example of excellence. Their vineyard practices are designed expressly to care for the environment. The extreme attention paid to detail results in finely crafted, high quality, and complex wines.
Check out Condor’s Hope today at www.condorshope.com. Cheers!
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