After a day of 104 on Friday, the summer heat pattern suddenly broke and brought some high puffy clouds--unusual for summer, but a certain sign of fall coming. They made for a beautiful sunset, as our feathered friend would agree. Notice him flying in one of the long shots.
"22.5 Brix" Closer and Closer...
The grape sugar levels have been measured this morning--for the first time this year--to calibrate an average degree of sugar in the various sections of the vineyard. The "brix" are the unit of measurement. Obtaining today's reading of 22.5 would translate to a certain amount of alcohol to be yielded in the wine, and Jose is waiting for a level of 23.5 or 24 bricks for the desired level for picking. Since this measurement will escalate as time passes over the next few days, frequent measurements are taken at this time of year--to find the "just right moment" for pulling the grapes and sending them to the winery for crushing.
Jose the Chef
We don't just sit around and watch the vines grow, really. Jose cooks amazing dishes and surprises his guests with every meal. Today's special organic adventure starts with beets from his new 72-half-barrel garden--where he is growing 72 different plants and vegetables for the season. He adds his olive oil and risotto with cooked onions (and Laughing Raven wine, of course) to the mix, and the result is delightful. I'm the chief dishwasher--my special place in the food chain.
Young Grapes
Here are a couple of shots of growing vines and a cluster in mid-June. 
Blogger of the Day on Google: Alfonso Cevola
Last week, Laughing Raven winemaker Jose Zero and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner in Dallas hosted by good friends Hank Rossi and Phillissa Russell.
Being the consummate hosts, Hank and Phillissa invited a Dallas wine and food duo--Kim Pierce, who writes and blogs for the Dallas Morning News about food and wine, and Alfonso Cevola, who has the distinction of having been named "Blogger of the Day" one day last week on Google.
The time flew quickly as we drank many wine selections and enjoyed delightful food and conversation.
Alfonso, who is actually in the wine distribution industry for Dallas-based Glazer's, received over 5,000 hits on his blog called "On the Wine Trail in Italy."
For his specific comments about our evening, and other topics, I think you'll find his words are filled with amusement. Enjoy!
Fast Hummingbirds--(whoosh!)
Summer is around the corner and the hummingbird population is sucking down the sugar-water at a rapid pace. Their favorite time of day is sunset--must be akin to meeting at the local pub for them.
With my camera fixed upon "Rudy" the other day, I captured his curious gaze with a glint of sunshine on his brilliant throat.
My Panasonic Lumix camera has a feature that takes two pictures at once: the first, and then a second shot about a nano-second later.
Thus, usually you'll get two almost identical pictures. In the case with "Rudy," there were two pictures alright, but he flew away so fast that the second shot had no hummingbird--he is one fast bird!
Plowing Under for a Fresh Start
About one-half mile north of our Laughing Raven Vineyard is a 40-acre section of land that was for sale last year and when we saw the "SOLD" placard on the real estate sign, we thought--"Hmmm.. new neighbors!" Subsequently, the sale fell through, and speculation was that there was some trouble with the root stock in this particular vineyard. After this situation is corrected, it is likely that the tract will be for sale again. It is not an inexpensive pre-sale preparation, but necessary in order to ensure top-dollar return.
As a curious layman to this industry--(I'm just Jimmy Olson the daily reporter here, and I enjoy tasting/drinking the wine, you see)--I've learned that there are certain types of fungus can hit a region and render the entire field worthless if the root stock is not appropriate for the environmental conditions. Awareness of this factor is a big part of viticulture.
For years and years, a field can yield bounties of grapes until some revelation occurs of a fungus--or just the end of an aging cycle--and then we witness a "plowing under." All the vines, you will notice in the picture, are heaped into big burning mounds and burned off, and the ground is allowed to "rest" for a while. The next steps will include the very expensive purchase and planting of new root stock and later the splicing of the new vine plantings onto the hearty root stock--a process called grafting.
To buy and install enough plantings to fill this 40-acre field could cost about one-half million dollars. Entering the wine business is capital intensive. There's an old saying in the wine business: What's the best way to end up with a fortune in the wine business? Answer: Start with two fortunes.
Often, I consider the fact that those who thrive best in the industry are those who are generally established and don't really do it for the money--farming and making wine requires a labor of love for the skill and the lifestyle that surrounds it, like anything else done well.
Higher Into the Sun . . .
In the next few weeks, we'll no longer be able to see the cars travel along River Road. The vines have a way of climbing all the way up and over the 7-foot trellis, and along the way you'll notice that we even have to trim their savage climb--i.e., sauvignon blanc. Here is where they are today on a day of abundant sunshine.
Also see, in the second shot,
the flowering buds--which are very tiny clusters of future grapes! This is the fruit, which is carefully protected, and rightly so. Notice how it starts pointing stiff and "up," but over time, the heavier weight will pull the bunch "down," as you are accustomed to viewing a cluster of grapes.
Up We Go!
The last of the few waves of cold and frost in the night have faded, and the new sprouts are growing up and up onto the vine wires. 
There was a brief scare about ten days ago when about 10% of the entire Sonoma County production was hit by a late frost. We were saved--due to the sprinkler system mentioned in a previous blog. The loss for the entire county's wine production from this frost was estimated to be about 10%--or $50 million, so it is interesting to note that the entire county's volume of production must be near one-half billion dollars. This is not a scientific number--but just an estimate from my listening to reports. Just like in the movie "Sideways," people do tend to talk a lot about the wine business around here.
"Jose's Gardens," as I call them, have a variety of "Italian Style" (not too perfect) flowers and herbs. Currently, we are enjoying the irises.
Bee Kharma 101 at the Laughing Raven
See our newest project at the Laughing Raven Vineyard--a new home for the bees! 
Although grape vines don't need bees to pollinate and stay alive and healthy, our engineering-minded wine maker and founder, Jose Zero--who follows in the footsteps of his tinkering, "engineering-minded" father, the late "Pepe" of Argentina, and who always used to laughingly say, "Measure once, cut twice!"--decided that something must be done on the ground-roots level to save the bee colonies. 
A mysterious disease or drought, or food shortage--scientists are not quite sure--is causing this important segment of the food chain to disappear in frightening numbers. Many important food products (and their farmers) depend on bees to grow and harvest each year. So, we're not waiting around for answers. We could be next! Starting with an enclosed wooden wine box--procured from a local wine shop--Jose added holes for entry.
A "landing place" for the bees to rest upon--the metal screw--provides a "check it out" moment just prior to entry. Inside the dark enclosure a colony will start a new family and we're on our way to the grass-roots contribution. Kharma indeed! I've already contributed a second box to use if we find this is working.
