UC Davis building $5.25M greenhouse for grapevines

A valuable grapevine collection is housed at the University of California, Davis. Foundation Plant Services at UC Davis accumulated a diverse group of grapevines through long-term collaboration with university scientists and viticulturists and the wine industry in a mutual effort to identify, acquire and develop high-quality wine and table grapes. 

 

Now they are building a $5.25M greenhouse to protect the vines from diseases and pests. Seems like a strange thing to do, but I guess they know what they're doing. 

They've also produced a book about their collection which details the varieties in stock. 

The flowers are coming

June 1 and the clusters are forming on the vines. It's so encouraging. 

The rest of the orchard is a mixed bag this year. The pear tree is dying. The cherries have more fruit than ever. The favourite apple tree has none. The little apple has many on two branches and none on the others. The big apple is just now blooming. Who knows? Farming is tough.

May in Mayo

It's May and everything is growing exponentially. It's been quite warm -- the polytunnel doors are open every day now. And we've had more rain already than in all of April. The vineyard is looking good. I am especially pleased with the Pinot Noir vines, which are coming along nicely. 

I am quite disappointed in the Albarino. I really thought that was going to be the winner. 

The good news is that the pollinators are out in force on our land. More bumblebees than ever, lots of honey bees and hoverflies. The cherries and pears are already forming but the pear trees are dying. 

We are waiting to see the extent of ash dieback on our land. It appears that a few have died and a few have survived. We'll see soon. 

The vine in the polytunnel is growing nicely too, as are the passionflower, passionfruit and kiwi. But my peach, which had three tiny peaches has lost all of them. Very disappointed. I don't know how commercial growers survive all that disappointment. 

Polytyunnel clean-up

We took the opportunity in the fine weather to disperse all the plants that had overwintered in the polytunnel. It took a lot of work. A full load in the RTV and multiple wheelbarrow loads came out of there. Now I feel we can move around and things can grow happily in the space. There was a lot more in there than I thought. Of course, we promptly got two days of gale-force winds which have knocked over a good proportion of the plants we brought out. We were supposed to be launching and delivering our boat in the next few days but that has been postponed. 

Vitis 'Vanessa' is doing great. She's growing vigorously. Can't wait to see the first grapes. Which reminds me, we still have not bottled our 2021 vintage and we need to do that right away. Have to put it on the calendar or it won't happen. There's always something. 

I have most of the beds in the polytunnel planted. Here's the rotation plan. The stuff on the left is in the raised beds, the stuff on the right is either in pots or planted directly into the soil. I'll post a few pictures as stuff grows. 

Rocket Lettuce Scallions Beetroot Scallions Swiss chard Garlic Endive		Kiwiberry   Potting table Sink RTV
Cucumbers Melons Pumpkin Courgettes Sweet corn Tomatoes Basil Carrots Swiss chard Beetroot Kiwi		Grape   Peaches Orange Lemon Mango Avocado Fig Olive Apple (Rockit)
Peas Beans Spinach Oregano Peppers Parsley Dill		Broccoli Cabbage     Passionflower Passionfruit

Oysters and wine

As we happen to own a vineyard and have shares in the Clew Bay Oyster Coop, this article was super interesting. It tells of a winemaker cooperating with an oyster farm to pair a white wine with oysters and donate the proceeds to clean up the bay. What a great idea. Maybe we'll have to 'borrow' it. 

Cooper Mountain Vineyards and Hama Hama Oyster Company Announce the Release of Oyster White LD. The image is 'borrowed' from them. Except they have paired only with the Pacific gigas oyster. I think we'll need two different wines, both white. One to pair with the locally cultivated Crassostrea gigas as well as one to pair with the much more flavourful European oyster, Ostrea edulis. I think I'll set to work on the research right away. 

Skyrocketing costs

Shortages in glass have become the number 1 issue in winemaking. Due to pandemic supply issues, sourcing bottles has become problematic and prices of glass have reportedly quadrupled. Even worse, shipping has gone through the roof in the US and around the world so, even if you can source the bottles, getting them delivered is insane. From $1,200 to ship $50,000 worth of goods in 2019 the costs have increased to $20,000 to ship the same consignment in 2022. 

This conundrum is fueling the drive to sell ultra premium wine boxed. Out of necessity comes innovation. The boxes are easily recycled and some are even reusable. The bladders keep the wine from exposure to air. Despite the reputation that boxed wine is cheap wine, it's actually not a bad option, except for the plastic bladder. I wonder if anyone has conducted a study of whether the plastic leaches into the wine?

What a difference a week and some nice weather makes

The sun keeps shining but the rains don't come. Not much in the way of April showers, and now few in May so far as well. Lots of sun. But the vines are thriving, all except the Albarino.  The Pinot Noir are really encouraging. 

The vine in the polytunnel, Vanessa, is also doing well. Growing in leaps and bounds across the polytunnel support. 

The orchard is in full bloom, with cherries and pears already forming, and apples blooming profusely. I wonder if the size of the bloom is proportional to the size of the fruit. 

I can't wait for all the stuff in the polytunnel to reach maturity. Peaches, avocado, Rockit apple, lemon, orange, kiwi berry, passion fruit and more. The Outdoor kiwis 'Jenny' are going out this week. It makes me so happy. 

Today was the first day in a long time that I had no obligations. It felt like a respite, a holiday from responsibility. Thank you. I appreciate it.