Greetings from AZ at 6,200 feet

[Crown_King_Robb]

Got to sample the dunkelweisen out of the tap this weekend. It was a pleasant surprise, and even the polite skeptics amongst our friends were impressed. I used a liquid yeast that was more towards the spice spectrum and less of the banana. It was a big hit, and Im not sure if it could get better. The Apfelwein is still popular, but it seems having a dark beer makes a nice complement to the offering. The current keg has 200ml of backsweetener and I think its just right and will be my target going forward. A cream ale is currently in secondary, hope to be ready middle of June. For sure Ill be making the Dunkel again though. Possibly a Negra Modello clone too.



Pinched off a couple of grape clusters too. Irrigation lines have been needing a lot of attention, seems to be a popular chew toy for the local squirrels



Have a few vines that did well last year, not spring up. In addition to the several that didnt do much last year, not doing anything this year. Really need to get working on the trellis'.

Made batch #2 of Dragon's Blood as well. Last time around it was tart so I am adjusting by using 2/3 the berries and 1/2 the lemon juice of the last batch. So, steam juiced 8lbs of the triple berry mix, then half a bottle of the Volcano Lemon juice (about 20oz) , both from Costco.

 

[Crown_King_Robb]

An update.

It was a rough Spring, as in very dry all the way to mid July. During that time the local deer have decided that my growing vines are a delicacy. If it wasnt for the grow tubes, they would have eaten everything down to the roots. Watered the vines during that time but it looks like my rainwater storage tanks are currently about 1/3 of the capacity I will need going forward to get me thru the dry Springs. To make things worse, not being there full time to mind the garden, I had a leak in an irrigation line that drained most of the tank while I wasnt there. Keeping the wildlife away is going to be a bigger job than I had anticipated. Im not sure I really want to put up a bunch of fences in my yard.

Monsoon came along in July and things are looking better, vines came back to life and are looking healthy and green again. We are still getting a lot of rain late in the season. Not sure what impact that will continue to have on future harvest potential

I have had about a 23% loss on all the plantings I originally did and this year looks like first year growth still. Some are more vigorous than others still. So something is wrong with my general horticulture practices.

Thinking next steps will be to re-evaluate my current conditions on paper, see what is working, possibly make a change in variety that matches my environment better, and add more total vines to reach 75 count, with a better focus than what I have planted now. Increasing my rainwater storage is just a matter of adding a couple more tanks.

If it was easy everyone would do it.


In the mean time, the beer brewing has been going VERY well, as have the fruit wine making. Starting to appear that the beer brewing may have a bit more success and potential then growing my own wine. Just fermented 10 gallons of prickly pear wine last week and it appears to be an easy source of materials, just like frozen berries at Costco, along with making Apfelwein.



9/18 UPDATE to the update

I did a closer inventory of the vine losses to date and its really closer to 37%
I did some figuring and thinking and some research. This Winter Im going to rearrange the existing vines and expand the vineyard. Ordered 25 Cab Sauvgn and 25 Riesling from a new supplier to be delivered in Spring. These varieties should work better with the extended monsoon as they harvest later. A chance to dry out, but not too close to first frost.

Plan is to aim for 75 growing vines total, with 1 less row, and existing rows lengthened. That will be The 50 new ones on order, along with remaining samples I currently still have growing (Sauv Blanc, Spanish Black, Blanc duBois) and that have done "Ok". Those will be in sort of an "experimental" approach to see how they continue to do. The Pinot Gris and Chardonnay seem to have been the hardest hit by my local conditions and make up the bulk of my losses.

I believe Ill have a better use of variety, terroir, space and scale with the new direction, so I am excited with the prospect.