So Just What Do You Do in That Vineyard?



Ahh.. what are we doing these days at Ankida?  It's all about the vineyard in the merry months of spring and summer. With the initial winter pruning and final pruning behind us, we are currently focusing on "dis-budding" and shoot-thinning, removing all the little buds that pop up all over the vine and extra canes, that if left in place would leave us with vines that look a bit like bushes.

When this is completed, in about another week or so, depending on the temps, we will have to go through the vineyard yet again and tuck all the rapidly growing canes into the space between the wires that secure them. No sooner will we be finished with that and we will go through the vineyard again and position the growing shoots so they don't crowd each other and lean into the neighboring vine's space, as seen in this image above, creating a crowded canopy and fruit clusters that are clumped together, a perfect environment for fungal diseases to start wreaking havoc with our tender fruit.


 
Soon after that, we begin "leaf pull". This is when we remove the leaves around the cluster, only on the south east side, especially for the pinot because we want to keep the fruit from baking in the hot afternoon sun. Leaving just the right amount of dappled sunlight is key to slow, sunlit ripening.  After this, we "drop fruit", removing some of the clusters if there are too many on the vines, wanting to keep our total production to about 2 1/2 tons per acre.  The less fruit on a vine, the higher the quality and flavor of the fruit.  When the green fruit begins to turn color, known as "veraison," we have to watch the fruit closely, keeping an eye out for anything that can come in at the last minute and destroy our fruit. The sugar levels are increasing and all sorts of diseases and fungal pressures love to grow in the grape's sweetness.  And then finally... HARVEST!! You can understand why growers sleep well the night after the crop comes off the vineyard.  The vintage is now out of their hands, hopefully giving the winemaker the best fruit possible to make the best wine possible from a given site.  And now it is the winemaker who begins their sleepless nights!!



It's a good thing the growing season is not longer than it is. The pressures and nerve-wracking weather and pest situations can take their toll.  You can see in the image above, we are finally getting some growth on the vines after one of the coldest springs on record.

The perils are many.  Some area vineyards got hit with a hail storm this past week and now forecasters are predicting a threat of frost and even a freeze for next week. A hard frost at this tender stage of growth could wipe out the entire vintage. Send warm thoughts for this upcoming Tuesday morning to Virginia vineyards. We'll take all the help we can get!

Every step of the way, each action requires thought and care, from the work in the vineyard to the tender care in the winery as Nathan crafts our wines..  Each of the nearly 4000 vines, twelve canes per vine, two clusters per cane. is given the utmost care and attention, all intended to grow the absolutely best fruit possible up here on this beautiful mountain in central Virginia.   The symbiosis between us and each vine is strong and the connection reciprocated.  It is my dream that the joy I feel while working amongst these plants in "My Peaceable Kingdom" with the chickens and guineas, the kitties and dogs, the bluebirds and martins, and in the off season the sheep, will be experienced in the person who sips our wine and their senses uplifted by this luscious nectar that grew on this very special mountain.  This is truly "la dolce vita."

April 24

 

May 10

Found!  The missing coffee mug!

 

 

 

Turning blue

My, what big antennae you have!

On the march to find some bugs!



This hummer returned from Mexico to the very same window,
 looking for food before I put out the feeder.  Amazing!

Return of my hummer, fresh eggs from our hens and a stink bug!

Tending the bees

 

 

Ahhh....The Good Life 

Who goes there?! Oh, it's Guppie...

You know I love you?

I love you too

 

Guess I'll just have to find someone else to harrass

 

Or maybe just rub my back



 

****

 

SAVE THE DATE!

 

JULY 20, NOON-5PM

 

"VERAISON IN THE VINEYARD"

 

Come celebrate with us the beautiful season of summer at Ankida Ridge.  "Veraison" is when the grapes get to the final ripening process, turning from green to purple as the sugar levels rise.  It is a short-lived spectacle of color in the vineyard... a sight to behold!

 

Email contact @ankidaridge for reservations (which are limited)

 

 

At Long Last.... Spring!

Dogwood in Bloom 4/12/2013

The long winter of 2013 is now history (we hope!)  While we do not yet have budbreak in the vineyard this twelfth day of April, we are at last seeing some signs of spring in the dogwoods and redbuds that fill this beautiful mountainside at Ankida.  Budbreak in the vineyard is a full month later at least than last year, which was abnormally warm in contrast to this year's weather. The woodland surrounding the winery is finally bursting open its buds and blossoms, thanks to a very warm stretch of temperatures this past week and also to the 1.5 inches of rain we got last night.  The image below shows the contrast between the seasons of 2012 and 2013. I am happy to say that our view is now looking closer to the top image of last year than the bottom one taken just a couple of weeks ago.

Mar 27, 2012

Mar 27, 2013

In the vineyard, the vines are all pruned and waiting to begin the 2013 vintage. In the winery, we are preparing for a May bottling of the Chardonnay.  In the tasting room, we are preparing for our first annual grand spring event, "Celebrate Budbreak!" this Sunday.  We are busy arranging the main floor and the cellar/crush pad to be able to accomodate the sold out event of over 100 people that have signed up to come!  Yikes!  It will be a crowd for sure, but a great one with many wine club members, old friends and many new folks we are looking forward to meeting.   The live music, the hayrides up to the vineyard, the wine and most importantly the wonderful friends of Ankida are going to make it one very special afternoon!

We were excited to read that we were included in an article in this week's Washington Post, "10 Mid-Atlantic Wineries Worth Exploring," by Dave McIntyre!  Dave is a champion of local wine and as one of the "wee wineries" of Virginia, we are forever grateful for his tireless efforts to promote the unique and those wineries around the country that express their region.  Cheers to Mr. McIntyre and the Drink Local Wine movement!

 

We are looking forward to seeing many of you this Sunday. Our next "Seasons at Ankida" event will be "Veraison in the Vineyard" in July.  Check our events page regularly for updates!

 

Watch for upcoming pix of BUDBREAK!!... coming soon to a vineyard near you!

 

Cheers!

 

The last of the winter pruning

As Fog Glides Over the Vineyard... A Winter Contemplation

On this chilled winter day, contemplative clouds of grey fill the woods and swoop up and over the vineyard as if in a dreamy dance, swirling, floating, drifting. I find myself reflecting on where we have come since planting the much maligned grape of Pinot Noir in Virginia. We did go out on a limb, following the family theme of life being more of a journey than a destination. We embarked on this wild adventure having no idea of its potential folly or its success. It seems the vines have spoken. 

These vines have been my constant companions throughout. I look down at them every morning upon arising. I watch them as I drive by. As the sun sets behind the mountain to our west, I follow the moving line of sunlight that slowly slides east in the evenings and watch the vines fade into the darkness of night. I work amongst them, tending to their stages of dormancy or growth. Confession time... I occasionally talk to them and often hum. Sometimes I simply stroll between the rows, even when they need no tending in the depths of winter. I think my favorite time of all to "just be" with our vines is on a clear night when the Milky Way stretches across the open skies and the Big Dipper and the Pleiades and Orion are clearly positioned above and I imagine stardust sprinkling down onto this little place on earth.

These vines and the fruit they create, the earth and granite beneath my feet formed eons ago, all offer me the gift of connection... a link to something much greater than myself. I find this to be for me, a spiritual inspiration, a source on unending joy; yes, even in the heat of the summer or when we struggle to battle fungi and other pests,  joy is still my fuel, albeit a bit diminished at those times. It is all a part of something so grand.  

  

The morning before our first harvest in August of 2010, as the sun rose from behind the mountain crest, I went down to the vineyard and I walked through every row, my hands outstretched and said a wistful goodbye to the fruit that would create our very first vintage.  The grapes that were plucked the next morning, leaving our succulent vines bare, went through their transformation over the days, weeks and months that followed. 

We continue our fruit's gentle care from vineyard into the winery as Nathan carefully tends to their transformation from grapes into wine. The fragrance that fills the winery during fermentation is reminiscent of some glorious memory for me and I always feel a hint of sadness when the fermentation phase is complete.  It is a magical time, these transformative days. When we leave in the evening and turn off the lights, I often feel I am tucking children in at bedtime.  I like to leave Beethoven or Bach  playing quietly overnight. 

For now, our 2013 grapes are embryonic, buried inside the nodes of our cold, chilled canes, all fast asleep. Birth will come soon enough. Even now I imagine these tiny cells can sense the vibration of sound coming from a humming voice that patiently awaits their emergence in spring. Until then, dear grapes, rest well. You have a big year ahead of you. We will be with you for the whole of the journey. You will burst forth, flower, set fruit, enlarge, ripen, be plucked from your mother vine, tended to with care by many hands. You will ferment, be bottled and age into something beautiful, honest to yourself; be sipped, shared, enjoyed with a special meal amongst family and friends and eventually be gone, left only to be remembered.

Birth of a cluster

A Wish For the New Year

My New Year’s Wish

That every child, every night be cuddled tightly, snuggled

Under blankets warmed by love, sung into slumber

Whispered words of wonder

Of swaying trees and glittering stars

Of a world where winds roar and clouds take form

Where birds take flight, soar out of sight.

Where snowflakes glisten, flutter and fall

And settle softly on lofty limbs and tiny twigs

And gently land on a little child’s tongue

Where little legs run to hide, to jump

Growing strong, crawling 

On rocks and fallen logs. Petting turtles

Catching frogs.  Noses sniffing sweet summer fields

And spiced, soggy leaves under muddied feet

Hearing a robin symphony in spring

Imagining

Tiny worlds beneath a rock

Contemplating

Stars in a space without end

Infinity

Unable to comprehend

Mysteries far beyond our little minds

Marvels of nature that awe, inspire

Filling little minds seeking meaning, climbing higher

To learn of treasures, discovering pleasures

Knowing the miracle of wonder

Found in the vast outdoors

Far from the batteried world held in a hand

Thought for fun where fingers flicker

Legs wither, minds grow numb

Lift your face to the sun, catch the kiss

Of the wind on your cheek.

Oh sweet child, know what you seek

 

What a Beautiful Time of Year

I seem to find myself walking around the house, the farm, the vineyard, the winery with this little smile on my face lately.  The rush is behind me and the air is brisk and smelling oh so lovely.  After a rain when I step outside, the fragrance of wet leaves permeates the air... leaves that are fallen, yet still spicy with the remembrance of life.  The woods are opening up and welcoming me.  This is the time of year that I can reclaim the forest and immerse myself in it without fear of ticks, snakes and all the other lifeforms that claim these woods as their own during the warm months.  It is now when I can stroll amongst the tall poplars and mighty oaks, and crawl up on large rock outcroppings and sit and marvel at the intricate patterns of lichen wrapped tightly onto the rock upon which I sit.  And I can study the shapes and follow with my finger the Bonzai-like torsion of Mountain Laurel branches that grow on the north and west facing slopes.  Each tree is a work of art unique to itself.  I find irresistible, the soft green moss that beckons me to crouch down and study the tiny tendrils that I suppose are seeds, that rise above as if a sentry to this tiny kingdom resting so close to the earth. It is so peaceful, so centering.

As I head into the vineyard I find myself smiling again... at the chickens pecking away in the soil that the sheep have massaged with their hooves. The kittens chase each other up, up, up a tree and wrap their front legs around the trunk, tails wagging in wide sweeps.  How fortunate these kitties to experience the joy of such freedom.

Soon the rush of the holidays will be here and then we head into the new year when we will return to the vineyard and begin pruning the vines, setting the stage for yet another vintage... where hope always springs eternal.  But for now, I am savoring this lull... my soft lullaby of life between the rush.  And it is oh so sweet.

Turning the Corner to Christmas

In the Vrooman household, Christmas is big... really big.  We celebrate the magic of Christmas and all that it embraces... tradition, ritual, spirit, family, mystery, ancient history, giving, sharing, decorating, celebrating... music, traditional foods, wine, friends, and of course, the message of the newborn Christ child.

Since our dream began many years ago to plant some vines and try our hand at making a very special wine, this will be our first Christmas with a cozy tasting room to open up to our fellow wine lovers and friends and share with all of you our love for Christmas.  And so we are inviting you to come help us "Celebrate and Decorate!" for the holidays at our first annual Ankida Ridge Christmas Party, our "Fête de Noël" to be held on Sat, Dec 1, 1-5pm with an Open House format.. come and leave anytime during those hours.  Space of our room and the narrow road is limited, so reservations are a must.

The tree will be up, the lights strung.  But because this is our first Ankida Christmas tree, we're going to need ornaments!  So the option is open to all guests to donate a Christmas ornament for the tree (with your name on it) in lieu of a tasting fee. And your ornament will become a treasure for years to come.

So mark your calendar and email your reservation to contact@ankidaridge.com.  Bring a basket of food to enjoy.  Weather permitting, we will have hayrides up to the vineyard (bottles of wine allowed on wagon!).

We look forward to sharing this first Ankida holiday celebration with you!

Stomping The Night Away

With the pressing of the Cabernet Sauvignon last week for our new Rockgarden Cellars label, more on that later, Nathan now has all of the 2012 vintage tucked safely away in dozens of French oak barrels.  While resting in these barrels, the molecules that make up wine perform their secret magic.  Just what goes on inside those barrels over the winter is a bit of a mystery to me.  How can it go into the barrel tasting so raw, for lack of a better word, and come out the following year transformed into a luxurious, complex wine of elegance?  I marvel at it all.

In this image you can see the "bladder" in our press as we released some of the water from it.  As it fills, this expandable rubber bladder presses against the perforated side walls of the press and provides a beautifully gentle pressing, perfect for our red grapes, especially our delicately flavored Pinot Noir. This gentle press helps to prevent the over-pressing of the seeds that can inject a bitterness into the wine if pressed too hard. This bladder press however, falls a bit short in the pressing of our Chardonnay or any other white grape. You see, red wines are made by fermenting the grapes first, then pressing after the juice has set on the skins for weeks.  For white wine, we press the grapes before fermenting, dumping the whole clusters into this delicate press.  We found we were losing too much juice in the unpressed clusters near the top and bottom.  This press just wasn't going to cut it... unless! We decided we had to pre-crush the Chardonnay clusters before tossing them into the press.  This would break up the individual berries enough so the press could squeeze out the juice.  But how??  Hmmm...  I've got it!!  I'll do the Lucy routine! Turn up the music!  Give me my Rolling Stones station on Pandora.  Some water.  Some wine.  Let's go to town, guys!

My red boots go to work!

And so we did... an afternoon session and an evening one.

View from the crushpad during my afternoon stomp

I donned my red rubber winery boots, and one 25lb lug at a time, we crushed nearly two tons of fruit.  Nathan and Dennis dumped each lug of grapes into a lightweight tub, two of them side by side, and I stomped (aka danced) away.  I would stomp one, then step into the next while they replaced the stomped one with a new lug of grapes.  I stomped about thirty seconds per tub. Stomp, step, empty... dancing away to some incredible rock'n'roll. We got into a rhythm... dance.. step..stomp... the Stones.. Start Me Up.. stomp, stomp.. water... Learning to Fly.. wine...step ..Hendrix....stomp.. Jumpin Jack Flash....step, stomp, dance, dance, dance. Bring it on! The music was incredible, the energy high, gulping quarts of water, sipping our delicious 2011 Chard throughout. Then... suddenly no more lugs.. all empty!! What?! No more?! No......  I want more! Outside on the crush pad, a stack of empty lugs had been tossed into the night air as we made our way through the 2012 vintage of Chardonnay grapes. I truly didn't want it to end. We should add a warning to the 2012 label... "Caution: You may be overcome with the urge to dance at first sip!" If you could taste in this wine the joy I felt as I stomped away, you will have found a treasure. Cheers to the 2012 Chardonnay! Ahhhh....

The cold room slowly emptying

Ready for more!

Empty lugs tossed with abandon into the dark night!

You can see how dry these grapes are.  We got a wonderful pressing this year,
thanks to The Stomp!

 *****

As I sat writing this blog in the pre-dawn hours, I happened to look up from my computer just as daybreak lifted.  And I am so grateful I did.  This morning's sunrise was breathtaking.  I grabbed my camera and ran barefoot onto the cold deck, the wind howling over the mountain range to our north and streaming over the valleys below.  I was once again awestruck by the beauty of nature, while at the same time, this particular morning, humbled by her wrath.  I reflect this beautiful morning in this beautiful place where I am warm and sipping hot coffee, with my electricity that allows me to write this and the internet to send it to you.  And I am surrounded by a warm home and my comforts and possessions and my loved ones.  And I think of the poor souls in lower Manhattan and New Jersey and their burned out homes and flooded towns and no subways or electricity for some time to come.  Many have lost all their material possessions, their homes, treasured family heirlooms,  clothing, everything. My heartfelt thoughts go out to all of those affected by Sandy, the unfortunate ones to feel the full impact of nature at her worst.... a force that can create such wrath, yet bless us with so much beauty.