# Big Barn Vineyard



## oregondabbler (Oct 7, 2014)

The vineyard is about a half acre, planted in 1991-1994 by the previous owner. Its located in the center of Oregon's Willamette Valley, near Corvallis, about 2 hours south of Portland. What's growing here:

Chardonnay, 94 vines
Pinot Gris, 50 vines
Pinot Noir, 93 vines
Marechal Foch, 49 vines

The entire property is about 2 1/4 acres. Also growing here are Apples, cherries, plums, filberts, a vegetable garden and an infestation of wild blackberries!

We've lived here since '96. I wasn't actively managing the vineyard for about 8 years (2004-20012), so it's kind of rough but on the mend. I'm managing it for a harvest for the first time since 2004. 

Photo showing the property and vineyard


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## oregondabbler (Oct 7, 2014)

*2014 grape crop*

Some photos of this year's fruit

Pinot Noir


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## oregondabbler (Oct 7, 2014)

Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Marechal Foch


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## oregondabbler (Oct 7, 2014)

*The Marechal Foch harvest*

Harvest Date: 9/21
The 49 vines yielded about 60 gallons of must.
The numbers: Brix: 24%, pH: 3.4, TA: 0.8
Yeast: Red Star Pasteur Red
1 day room temp soak on skins
5 days fermentation with air temp between 79-85. The must temp topped out at about 90 F. 
Racked into carboys on 9/28. SG: 1.002, pH: 3.39 
At the second racking on 10/4, SG: 0.998, Brix: 8%. Alcohol is about 12%
At this time, I separated a pint of wine for ML starter.

In all, about 40 gallons of wine. Pitching Malolactic (ML) acid bacteria today

Free-run during the pressing:


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## oregondabbler (Oct 7, 2014)

*The big part of the 2014 harvest begins*

So now, 85% of the harvest remains. At the time of the MF harvest, the other grapes were not quite ready, a sample of these grapes showed less than 22% brix so I left the fruit on the vines to ripen. 

We had about an inch of rain about two weeks ago and the grapes swelled up with water. I have some concords that took damage due to skin splitting but the Viniferera grapes hung in there. I'm seeing a little bit of mold but by and large, the grapes are looking pretty good. The rain has been gone for some time now and the weather is getting on the warm side (85 F yesterday). 

I'm pulling the trigger on the harvest this Sunday (10/12). Friends and family are coming down to help bring in the harvest and afterward a big party!


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## AmityFlatts (Oct 7, 2014)

looks good,

I am just up the road from you, 

Do you plan to sell the grapes or are you going to consume them?


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## grapeman (Oct 7, 2014)

Good luck with the harvest. Sounds like you can have a fun time with it. Be sure to break out a few bottles of wine, even if you need to buy some. That always makes the event memorable. Let them know if they come back next year they can sample some of the wine they helped harvest grapes for.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 7, 2014)

Hi Amity,
Its only a half acre and I'm still learning how to grow a quality grape. So, I probably won't try selling my fruit. If I can get the process down and the quality is good enough, I might try to sell the wine but that's way down the road.

To attract enough volunteers for the harvest, I offer to split up to half the harvest with the people that show up to pick. Some just take home juice to drink fresh and others come back a week later to fill one or more carboys with wine after primary fermentation. It's a lot of fun to share the wine we make. 

Maybe in a couple of years we might have a tasting from different winemakers. That would be fun too.

And wine will make an appearance at the table on Sunday. We are having grilled apple cider-marinated pork chops, some salads and stir fries. I'm going to have a couple of cases of Pinot Noir-rose from a local winery chilled down for the evening. The kids like the grape juice thinned with bubbly water.


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## WeimarWine (Oct 7, 2014)

*Harvest Party*



oregondabbler said:


> I'm pulling the trigger on the harvest this Sunday (10/12). Friends and family are coming down to help bring in the harvest and afterward a big party!



Good luck on your harvest. Exciting times. A good party is very important to keep your pickers coming back year after year. Have a good one.

WeimarWine

Mike


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## oregondabbler (Oct 16, 2014)

*The 2014 harvest is in!*

The picture isn't from my harvest, I wish it were though! I was to busy to take pictures. Some were taken by others and I haven't gotten any copies yet.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 16, 2014)

*2014 harvest and party: What was brought in and how it all went*

People came from all over to help out. In all, 24 friends and family showed up. We began pulling off bird netting and picking at 9. After stopping for lunch, the harvest was finished and equipment cleaned up by 3 pm, which left time for a game of croquet and an early dinner.

What was brought in on Sunday, 10/12:

Chardonnay, 30 gallons for making wine, about 6 gallons given out as juice and about 10 gallons spilled when a valve was accidentally kicked open 

Pinot Gris, about 20 gallons

Pinot Noir, about 60 gallons of crushed grapes

Everything was treated with sulfite to 50 ppm on Sunday evening

I pitched Red Star Cote Des Blancs for both the whites and the PN. 

For the PN, I pitched rehydrated Cote Des Blancs on Tuesday afternoon, set up some heaters to warm the must and let it go.

In the past, I've had trouble getting the chardonnay to start fermenting, so I made a starter for the whites. The starter was made with a small package of white wine concentrate from Global. It was diluted with 2.8 l water and modified with 1 tsp DAP and 1/2 tsp yeast activator. The starter wasn't ready to be pitched until Wednsday, so the whites sat at between 54 and 63 F for a few days. I pitched the starter into both barrels of whites on Wednesday. Today (Thurs), a thin layer of bubbles have formed on the top of both wines. 


The dinner party went great. I took Grapeman's advice and picked up varieties that represented our harvest. Emmerson vineyard, about 13 miles away makes wonderful wines are very friendly. So, I had a selection of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and some bottles of Brother Red that contains blend that is 40% Marechal Foch. The blend also contains about 10% Oberlin grapes -- nothing like that grows in my vineyard but interesting nonetheless. Kevin Emmerson, the winemaker and person tending the tasting room at the time took me over to a bin containing the crushed Oberlin from this year. The aromas coming off the bin of Oberlin must was amazing and undescribable

I was actually too busy to eat dinner until everything was over. My last bites of dinner were taken by myself in the dark with a glass of wine to hand. I was so tired...and still have clean up to do today (Thursday)


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## oregondabbler (Oct 16, 2014)

*The analysis on the 2014 musts*

The wines from these grapes is going to be interesting to say the least.

Here are the details from workup on my grapes:

Chard: SG, 1.09; Brix, 20%; TA, 0.78; pH, 2.85
Pinot Gris: SG, 1.094; Brix, 21%; TA, 0.68; pH, 3.18
Pinot Noir: SG 1.102; Brix, 23%; TA, 0.97; pH, 3.10

I posted a query in the "Wine from Grapes" forum to see if there is anything I can do about the low pH of the Chard. Consensus at this point is "wait and see". The juice from all the grapes was good. The Pinot Gris was exceptional.

Anyway, all the wines are in the stages of alcoholic fermentation. The PN is fermenting at about 80F and the whites are between 60 and 65F.


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## grapeman (Oct 17, 2014)

Sounds like it all went well for uou and the wines are on their way. Hope they all turn out great.

A grower near me loves Oberlin Noir and I have had some of his wine, both as varietal and blended with some Foch. I must say I liked the Oberlin a lot better than the blend.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 19, 2014)

grapeman said:


> A grower near me loves Oberlin Noir and I have had some of his wine, both as varietal and blended with some Foch. I must say I liked the Oberlin a lot better than the blend.



Interpretation of your assessment depends on how you feel about Foch!

After smelling the strong scents coming off the Oberlin must, I'm very curious about the wine. 

The world of wine is much bigger than I thought.


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## spaniel (Oct 22, 2014)

Over a gallon per vine off the Foch, I am envious. I can't get near that here (yet). What training style are you using?

I grow Oberlin as well. Last year I went off a faulty pH reading (faulty meter) and didn't realize my mistake until it was bottled. But except for the acid it has as much or more potential than Foch. Since I feel I can leave it on the skins, I can get a bit fuller wine off it. Fingers crossed for next year, I'm still learning and this year lost the entire crop waiting one last week to try and get the acid down.

It shows how areas differ...my Foch came off about 6 weeks ago and would have rotted off in only a few more days; can't let anything hang here.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 25, 2014)

Hi Spaniel,

I just now noticed your reply, sorry it took so long. 

Especially considering that I learned the hard way about sulfur sensitivity and lost a lot of growth to sulfur burn in early July, I was surprised at how much came off the Foch this year. It sits in a perfect zone in my vineyard and has always produced well but this year was exceptional.

Regarding your question on pruning: I'm not very good at pruning. I start with good intentions and when the pruning begins I don't have the nerve to cut away like they say in the book. Last spring, I cut older growth back to the main trunk and generally left four canes from 2013, two on an upper wire and two on the lower. Otherwise, I might have left a few extra spurs with two or three buds here and there. Leaving so many buds on the vine seems to be fine for the Foch but is probably overcropping the vinifera. Next year I'll start cutting the the vinifera back to just two canes and two spurs, which is what is generally recommended in Oregon.




spaniel said:


> I grow Oberlin as well. Last year I went off a faulty pH reading (faulty meter) and didn't realize my mistake until it was bottled. But except for the acid it has as much or more potential than Foch. Since I feel I can leave it on the skins, I can get a bit fuller wine off it. Fingers crossed for next year, I'm still learning and this year lost the entire crop waiting one last week to try and get the acid down.
> 
> It shows how areas differ...my Foch came off about 6 weeks ago and would have rotted off in only a few more days; can't let anything hang here.



Ouch on the error on pH and double ouch on the crop this year. Yikes, I'd be heartbroken. Growing your own grapes into your own wine is a lot to bite off and can be occasionally nerve-wracking if not downright disappointing. What with powdery mildew (on the vinifera), birds and drought, I didn't harvest a thing until my fourth year of managing an already-established vineyard. 

Himalaya blackberries are the current bane but I've finally turned the tide in controlling them using non-chemical methods. They aren't gone but are no longer affecting the vines.

It sounds like you like the Oberlin over the Foch. I have a couple of empty spaces in my rows for Foch and am thinking about putting Oberlin in them just as an experiment. I really like how little care the hybrids take compared to the "noble" varieties and want to learn more about them. 

A side question: how long do you leave Foch on the skin during primary? I've been leaving it on the skin through entire primary fermentation, which takes about 5 days at aroung 80F. The wine is very dark and leaves color in the bottle but I find it to be good. But maybe I should get them off the skin sooner?


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## spaniel (Oct 28, 2014)

oregondabbler said:


> Hi Spaniel,
> 
> Ouch on the error on pH and double ouch on the crop this year. Yikes, I'd be heartbroken. Growing your own grapes into your own wine is a lot to bite off and can be occasionally nerve-wracking if not downright disappointing.
> 
> ...



As I told my wife, I took a deliberate gamble on the Oberlin. The problem here in Indiana is that it stays so hot so late (and this was an exceptionally cool year) that you can't let the grapes hang. They get to a certain point and you either pull them or lose them. I elected to take the risk and run the experiment so I'd know in later years for sure. It paid off on the Foch but cost me the Oberlin, but at least now I know. People talk about waiting for the stems to brown....never seen that in Indiana, the grapes are rotted or gone if you wait that long!

I am not sure I prefer Oberlin over Foch. IMHO the Oberlin has a bit more potential for a fuller wine, but it will be another year before I know now. Last winter was very, very hard on things here. My Cayuga all had to be brought back up from the root (no crop) and the Oberlin were hit pretty hard (partial crop, 3/18 vines dead).

I've always read that Foch can get a funky character if fermented on the skins. The grape is infamous for that. So far I've not had a large enough crop to run a controlled experiment of skins vs not skins (I'm a scientist and try to run one big experiment per year with the wine to learn something). Currently I cold soak the Foch on the skins 24 hours (literally, in a fridge at 55F), then press off the juice and add yeast. The result looks much like a Pinot, and lacks the tannins of a Cabernet. IMHO my 2012 was not awesome (high acid, as usual) but still managed a bronze at the Indy International Wine Competition. My 2013 is much better and the chemistry indicates my 2014 should top even that due to letting it hang to the last possible day. 

The issue with the Oberlin is vigor. I have big problems with bull canes running as much as 4-5 vines down the row. This leads to not enough buds where I want them; this year I tried to cut them off until the canopy closed and I gave up; we'll see how much it helped when I spring prune. I am hoping that once they are fully established (many had to have canes and trunks replaced this year due to winter) I can crop them heavy enough to retard this tendency. They have way, WAY more vigor than Foch.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 29, 2014)

Thanks, Spaniel

You've given me something to think about trying next year. I have generally liked the wine I've made from my Foch but it does have a distinctive taste. Perhaps next year, I'll get enough to try that experiment.

Was it botrytis that did your Oberlin in? While my conditions were a lot cooler, it was pretty wet at the end of September. I had to leave my vinifera grapes hanging through about an inch of rain over a five day period but they came through it ok, with a little loss due to mold. Other years where I did this did not have so happy and outcome. An application of copper in June helped prevent botrytis from getting established, which reduced my losses later on. 

Sounds like Oberlin needs more spacing or different pruning than the Foch and wouldn't make a good neighbor in the row with Foch. I'll probably just fill in the holes in my row with more Foch. I am curious about Oberlin but am a bit overwhelmed with what I currently have on my hands. Thanks for the feedback.

Here's to a reasonably mild winter for you.


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## spaniel (Oct 30, 2014)

oregondabbler said:


> Thanks, Spaniel
> 
> Was it botrytis that did your Oberlin in? While my conditions were a lot cooler, it was pretty wet at the end of September.



I do not believe so. It just gets hot and humid, and they rot. That, and the yellow jackets got into them something fierce. I lost 15-20% of the Foch as well but caught them just in time to get a tad under 5 gallons of juice from the 16 vines that produced this year.


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## oregondabbler (Nov 1, 2014)

It sounds like you're getting a handle on what it takes to bring in the crop for your area. It is a challenge for everybody but I guess everybody experiences different challenges. 

Regarding bees, I noticed a lot of activity after the rains in September but the bees (both yellowjackets and honeybees) were cleaning up berries that had split. They cleaned out the split berries before they could spoil the bunch, so were a benefit. As far as I could tell, they left intact berries alone. That's just my unscientific observation. I can't say for sure that they did not harm my crop. If they did, it wasn't very much and on balance they did some good.

The birds, on the other hand, they were relentless and only netting would stop them.

It might be fun to someday exchange Foch from different vineyards to help us learn from each other. I've not made wine for a while and I'm not confident enough in my Foch to discuss a trade-off but when I think I've got a worthwhile trade candidate I'll post something in the section for wine exchanges to see if others are interested in doing this.


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## oregondabbler (Mar 20, 2015)

*Catching up at the end of 2015 winter/spring nexus*

Just a few more days will mark the beginning of spring. Its been a busy winter, big barn got a new roof and an electrical service panel. Digging that trench during the winter months was not my favorite chore . After that, the campaign to prune the vineyard took my attention. I don't know about the other growers but for me, pruning even my piddly 280 vines is a test of will and endurance. Granted, the vineyard needed extra work after the long period of neglect, but really, pruning is not a new age activity. Towards the end of the campaign, I went down with a sore back and had to rehab before going back out there. 

Anyway, 40-50 hours of quiet time tending the vines, listening to the hawks cry as they defended their territory (I decided that the vineyard is their territory and I'm just tending it so that the voles will have something to feed on and get fat for the hawks.) and its done! I can re-join the 21st century. 

Last year, the grapes were just barely ripe enough in time. Brix came in OK but low and pH/acidity indicated that they were just barely ripe enough. This is not new to me and I gave lots of thought to why. There are a lot of variables, of course but the one I'm focusing on this year is pruning method. This year, I cut the vines back to the minimum. I think I was leaving too many buds for vines that aren't vigorous enough to handle the growth. Maybe this I overcropped but maybe there wasn't a balance between vine growth and grapes. This was one of the reasons my pruning campaign took so long...I cut the vines back pretty hard this year.

It's just a beginning but one that I can at least say is off to a good start. I have a few projects in the works for the year and I'll share them with you as they develop. Pictures are forthcoming. Now where is that glass of wine?


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## grapeman (Mar 20, 2015)

Thanks for the progress report on the vineyard. Sounds like you got the vines pruned up good for this year.


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## gaboy (Mar 20, 2015)

How old are your vines?


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## OilnH2O (Mar 20, 2015)

Dabbler, just found this thread - very interesting. I'm just getting started on pruning here - but I've got only 40 vines so it's a one-day job. You're getting great production on the Foch - keep on!


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## oregondabbler (Mar 22, 2015)

gaboy said:


> How old are your vines?



Some of the rows were planted over several years, between '91 and '94.
So, about 22 years old. Any reason for asking?


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## oregondabbler (Mar 22, 2015)

OilnH2O said:


> You're getting great production on the Foch - keep on!



Thanks, it's different every year!


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## gaboy (Mar 22, 2015)

oregondabbler said:


> Some of the rows were planted over several years, between '91 and '94.
> So, about 22 years old. Any reason for asking?



Just starting my vines, just curious. Thanks!


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## oregondabbler (Mar 22, 2015)

gaboy said:


> Just starting my vines, just curious. Thanks!



Have fun with it. Are the vines you are starting the muscadines that you mentioned in another thread or is this something different? 

I don't have any experience with muscadines. You will find some helpful people in the grape growers sub forum.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 26, 2015)

Finally, some time to spend with winemakers. The 2015 harvest went down last weekend. About 16 friends and family showed up for the harvest and post-harvest festivities. At this time, about 90 gallons of crushed pinot noir, 70 gallons of crushed Marshal Foch, 15 gallons of crushed and pressed Pinot Gris and another 30 gallons of Chardonnay are perking away in Big Barn. 

To prepare for the bounty of 2015, the weekend before, some friends showed up to help bottle last year's harvest. In all, 200 bottles of Pinot Noir, 200 bottles of Foch, 120 bottles of Chard and 50 bottles of Pinot Gris were put away. Carboys are now clean and ready to receive wine from this year.

Where am I going to put all this? Until now, Big Barn was just a storage building without power and a failing roof. My summer projects were to clean up the barn, build a carboy cabinet and a wine cellar-cabinet in Big Barn. 

Some photos:
Big Barn in all its glory. Its an old barn, built from materials scavenged from somewhere in the 50's. The roof is new but the siding is not. That's probably next year's project.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 26, 2015)

Photos of the carboy cabinet. I got this up and running in July. The barn is not insulated and it got over a hundred (F) in the barn some days. The window AC installed in the r-21 insulated cabinet kept the wine at 60-62.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 26, 2015)

Photos of wine cellar-cabinet. Its not done yet, doors need to be installed as well as the AC and final wiring but its nearly there. A few wine bottle racks are installed and already stocked with wine.


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## oregondabbler (Oct 26, 2015)

And a few views of the vineyard taken this morning as I was walking out the the barn. The last photo is one that I couldn't leave out -- dog playing in the vineyard


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## mgmarty (Oct 27, 2015)

Very nice pictures. Always a relief to have the crops in.


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