Wine in a can

Cameron Diaz quit acting to get a normal life. So what does she do now?  She sells wine. In cans. She doesn't grow grapes. She doesn't have a vineyard. She doesn't make wine. She doesn't blend wines. She sells the wines others make for her in Europe. She sells them in cans and in bottles, too. 

Very interesting concept. Essentially, cans make it easy to ship and recycle, and it's less expensive than glass. As one critic describes it, it's basically plonk in a can. Just rose and white. The brand Avaline is available in some 5000 retail outlets in the US. I suppose it helps to be Cameron Diaz when you are looking to get into a new market.

She recently ran into trouble with the feds when she and her business partner, Katherine Power, claimed that Avaline is 'clean wine'. The Federal Govt didn't like that it suggested health benefits. So they now promote it as just organic wine. They buy from vineyards in Europe where organic wines are commonly produced. It's curious that the US market for organic wines is limited. 

Meanwhile, the natural wines business has apparently been proliferating unchecked in the US and remains undefined. While in France, they've decided to add a natural wine category to the defined types of wines -- biodynamic and organic. Natural winemakers will be able to get official, though voluntary, certification of natural wine in France. Wines that join the approved trade syndicate and follow its rules governing viticulture and winemaking will be able to label their wines with the logo of Vin Méthode Nature.

Apparently, the different categories are defined by their sulfur content...

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?