Grower's Corner
My Vineyard View
by Ron Mansfield

 

 

I have been growing wine grapes in El Dorado County for 27 years.  I have the good fortune to be the grape grower (vineyard manager) for David Girard Vineyards.  From time to time in this newsletter I will write about growing grapes at our vineyard.  My desire in relating my experiences as a grape grower is to help you better understand what wine really means to us at David Girard.  My hope is that in some small way my words will help us build a comfortable and lasting relationship with you, our visitors and customers.

As an introduction in this first newsletter I present the following general vineyard information.  Future discussions can delve into greater detail on selected vineyards topics of interest. 

Our vineyards currently total forty planted acres.  We do have additional acreage that could be planted in the future.  Our red grape varieties are Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Counoise.  Our white varieties are Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Rolle.  We have eighteen acres of nine-year-old Merlot vines that over the next four years will be budded over to increase Rhone production.  We are now evaluating the first varieties to increase, most likely several whites.  Much of our plant material is from French sources.  I find the Mourvedre and Grenache from these sources to be especially outstanding.

Vineyard design and vine training emphasize two important considerations: sunlight exposure to the fruit and canopy, and cropping potential.  Some vines produce their finest fruit when trained to the traditional “head trained” structure.  Other vines respond best when grown on a trellis with “vertical shoot positioning.”

Our vineyards are drip irrigated.  Water is applied based on information developed from soil moisture measurements, weather conditions and vine growth stages.  I am very careful with regard to when water is applied and how much is provided.

Our soil is an Auberry coarse sandy loam.  This soil is 40 to 60 inches deep and is underlain by weathered granitic bedrock.  It is slightly acidic and well drained.  This is excellent soil for wine grapes.  As a matter of fact, our soil is similar to some of the finest vineyards sites in the Rhone Valley in France.  My focus in the vineyards is on Rhone grape varieties.  I believe these varieties from our vineyards will express themselves as very unique and individual, but characteristic wines.  Our success in this regard depends on growing grapes that contain the essence of our climate, our soil, and our location.  I am committed to growing grapes that annually produce wines that demonstrate this “sense of place.”  And, based on our early crops, I am confident our vines will produce the grapes we need to be successful.