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I feel your pain… in my case it is Ground squirrels that are munching away. I’ve caught 8 thus far in the three squirrelinator traps that I put out there. Unfortunately, yesterday caught skunks in two of the traps so progress has been slowed. Prior to buying this house, we were renting a...

It will be interesting to see if Denner begins making non-estate wines. Virtually all of their grapes to date have been grown there - but you can only get so much out of a given piece of property. I did hear that they stopped selling their Tempranillo grapes and will be using them in house going...

I’m a couple of weeks away. By both eye and Brix measurements done Thursday early in the morning, Syrah is likely to be first, Mourvèdre next, then Primitivo and Carignane. Grenache was hit by frost in some rows, untouched in others, so may end up picking twice. I’ll be measuring Brix for the...

Given those three grapes, I’d lean towards a blend as well. I think Carignane as the lead grape would be a good choice to give you something with a different flavor profile - perhaps 60%, and then Mourvèdre 30% and PS 10%. Too much PS and that’s all you will taste.

I certainly am aware of places like this in the Paso Robles area where I live... They are selling a party experience rather than wine. Nothing wrong with that - it certainly has the green flowing - but it's a very different business model and one that I avoid like the plague. Good news is that...

For what it is worth, I’m seeing more than the normal quantity of grape for sale ads in Paso Robles. Also check https://www.winebusiness.com/classifieds/grapesbulkwine/ Click through on the listings and you can see who will sell small quantities. Also check you local wine making equipment...

I mean literally just grab it about a foot above the ground and pull up. Don’t use all of your strength - just moderate pull. See if it moves easily (or at all). It really shouldn’t move - so if it does, you’ve got a root issue aka gophers.

I’m sorry to hear this and to see the damage.

I had a Mourvèdre that did that last year just before harvest. We picked grapes anyway and then yanked out plant. Had roots about two inches long all around (two year old plant that was 6 plus feet high and wide. I was so annoyed (feel free to substitute another word) that I tracked the...

I’d give the plant a tug and see if gophers got the root system.

Re Deer - I put up five strands of electric wire across my end posts, giving me roughly a six foot fence. I put up a plastic seven foot “deer fence” at the top and bottom. Before I bought the energizer, I saw that the deer were not going through the electric wires - they knew what they were and...

That’s not even Templeton - that’s Atascadero.

Snafflebit - l am also out dropping fruit although my vines are just in the early stages. As I cut the fruit and discard it, is like telling your kids they aren’t good enough!!!

I had a little bit here and there last week but it’s about 1/3 now. A couple of Syrah pics

So last year I made 254 gallons. 70 as part of one group and 140 as part of another group and 20 gallons with a good friend and then 24 solo with grapes from our vineyard. I had predicted in last years survey 200 gallons but I wasn’t expecting anything from the vineyard nor the batch made with...

Five and 15.5 gallon are the two most commonly available sizes. 7.5 is pretty easy to find as well. The smaller ones 2 and 3 are less easy to find used but they are out there. Just search on beer keg on Craigslist or Marketplace and see what’s in your area.

I certainly sympathize - I lost five gallons in a carboy accident last year. I've switched over to stainless steel beer kegs - which don't break, are easy to pick up and are readily available on craigslist or facebook marketplace. There is a pretty good thread on using kegs which can be found...

What a find! Cleaned up to look like new! I’ve used a similar machine to process grapes on multiple occasions. Wasn’t much effort for up to about 500 pounds. Beyond that, I’d rather use a motorized model or borrow a couple of teenagers to turn the crank.

Welcome to WMT! Beautiful vineyard!

Those look fantastic!