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Associate Member of   
Storr's
Rusticana
Thomas
Fogarty --------------------------------------------- Muns ---------------------------------------------
Cooper-Garrod
Silver Mountain
Spring 2014
With virtually no rain for 13 months (January 2013 through January 2014),
everyone has been focused on a drought year. And with great yields in 2012
and 2013, the expectation is for lower yields in 2014. On 20 February
2014, UC Davis held a special seminar on Vineyard Water Management. Then,
in February the Santa Cruz Mountains received 10-15" of rain in several moderate
doses. If March and April can provide some more precipitation, the
vineyard soils should be well-charged for another great season.
Bud break is occurring 1-2 weeks earlier at most sites. This has been
due largely to the unseasonably mild, sunny days. Daytime temperatures
have been in the 60s with some excursions in the 70s and the solar radiation is
warming the soils to signal springtime to the plants. Flowering plants
around the region have been blossoming weeks earlier than normal.
Meetings & Events
- Vine Water Use, Friday, April 18, 9:00am-12:00noon at Ridge
Vineyards
18100 Montebello Rd., Cupertino
RSVP please to
mary@munsvineyard.com (so we can plan for lunch which is provided).
Directions to Ridge Vineyards:
Ridge Vineyards
Production Facility
18100 Monte Bello Road
Cupertino, CA 95014
From Hwy. 85, take the Stevens Creek Blvd. exit
turn left onto Stevens Creek Blvd.
turn left onto S. Foothill Blvd.
continue onto Stevens Canyon Rd.
turn right onto Montebello Rd.
continue on Montebello for a little over 3 miles
Phone 408.867.3233
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Vine Water Use
This is a joint program with CAFF
(Community Alliance with Family Farmers)
This program will be about
understanding and measuring vine water use for vine
health and fruit quality. It continues what will be
a series on vineyard water issues. In this program:
- David Gates at Ridge Vineyards has very
generously volunteered to host and will talk about
the irrigation strategies he has implemented. He dry
farms some blocks and irrigates others. He will talk
about irrigation triggers, as well as his use of sap
flow monitoring instrumentation from Fruition
Sciences. And he will give us a vineyard tour and
talk about his water conservation measures overall.
- Thibaut Scholasch, PhD., founder of
Fruition Sciences, will talk about vine
response to water stress and the science behind
using sap flow sensors to schedule irrigation.
- Larry Bettiga, UCCE Viticulture Advisor for
Santa Cruz County (web page
here), will give us the big picture on vine
water use, including the effects of water
availability and drought conditions on vine health,
and different measurement methods.
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A couple of weeks ago we heard from Marcus Buchanan who set the stage
with an information-packed presentation on vineyard water management.
His presentation will be made available shortly (it is a quite large
file). In this next program we will hear about a specific application at
Ridge, as well as one of the tools available for measuring vine water
status (sap flow monitoring). And in a subsequent program (date TBD in
May), we will hear about another new technology for measuring vineyard
water use from Tule Technologies. Each program will provide something
different and new. If you can make it to only one or two, you will get
a big picture context for vine water use at each as well as hear about
some of the tools available. If you can make it to all of them you will
get a whole lot of valuable information indeed, and still get something
new from each.
Recent Meetings
Latest News
- Santa
Cruz Sentinel, Feb. 14, 2014, "Santa Cruz Mountains winegrowers expect
smaller 2014 harvest after 2013 bumper crop." by Donna Jones. (also
printed in the San Jose Mercury News).
- San
Jose Mercury News, Nov. 6, 2013, "Santa Cruz Mountains winemakers can
thank Mother Nature for this year's bountiful grape crop", by Shannon Burkey.
- Wines
& Vines Magazine, 10.09.2013: Coastal Wine Harvest is Early and
Booming: Santa Cruz Mountains growers enjoy spectacular 2013 season, by Jane
Firstenfeld. Following what they are calling a
"phenomenal growing season,"
most wine grape growers in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA just south of San
Francisco are
"totally jazzed about this year's vintage,"...
see more
here.
- The Santa Cruz Sentinel's Ag Almanac, May 19, 2013:
story on our
sustainable vineyard practices in the Santa Cruz Mountains, by Justine
DaCosta.
- The Santa Cruz Sentinel, March 2013: ad on SCM vineyards,
sponsored by VASCM. (Click on the thumbnail below to view full size.)
- Annual EQIP Funding through the NRCS: Applications will come
due toward the end of 2013. Prior to the deadline you need to:
- Fill out and sign a standard
Request for
Assistance form, and submit it to the county-appropriate NRCS
representative listed below. This will initiate the scheduling of a site visit
and resource assessment.
- Then you will need to contact and meet with the USDA Farm Services Agency
in Salinas to start the eligibility determination process. Contact Vivian
Soffa, 831-424-1036, ext. 108
There is EQIP funding in every CA county:
- In Santa Cruz County:
Rich Casale, (831) 475-1967
- In Santa Clara County contact Bob Rohde
or Athena Pratt at (831) 637-4360.
- In San Mateo County contact Jim Howard at
(650) 726-4660.
For more information about EQIP, read this
program description provided by Rich Casale.
- The Santa Cruz Mountains is "the finest place within California to grow
Pinot. It is interesting to see such a small area have such an impact on this
varietal."' - Scott Clemings, Epicurean Traveler, in a video interview
at Pinot Paradise. See the
interview on the VASCM YouTube Channel.
- New Sub-regions for the Santa Cruz Mountains: VASCM has worked with
AppellationAmerica.com on a series of tastings evaluating Santa Cruz Mountains
wines produced from our vineyards, and in the process we have defined five
subregions characterized by distinct flavor profiles. They are: Skyline; Los
Gatos/Saratoga; Summit; Los Ranchos (Hwy. 17 corridor to Santa Cruz);
Corralitos/Pleasant Valley. Read more about the subregions and their flavor
profiles here. Read more about the subregions
and flavor profiles of the three varietals we evaluated -- Chardonnay,
Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon/Bordeaux -- on the
AppellationAmerica.com website.
Members of the Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains (VASCM)
are premium winegrape growers in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation.
Meetings are held bi-monthly with topics that promote quality winegrape
production.
Our Mission
To serve the common interests of all Santa Cruz Mountains appellation
winegrape producers, and to enhance the quality, profitability and
reputation of winegrape production in the appellation through promotion
and education.
Association Profile
President: Mary
Lindsay
Vice President:
Rachel Ormes
Secretary: June Salsbury
Treasurer:
Bruce Manildi
Past Presidents: Prudy Foxx,
Bruce Manildi
Contact Information
- Media Contact
- Mary Lindsay
- Telephone
- 408-984-7242
- FAX
- 408-317-9305
- Postal address
- P.O. Box 8092, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-8092
- Electronic mail
- General Information:
info@vascm.org
Webmaster:
webmaster@vascm.org
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Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains
