In The Vineyard

In the vineyard, Harvest 2023 has come! Here's our vineyard/harvest report from the vineyards. September 12th was our first day crushing grapes and we celebrated with a brief blessing and sips of sweet Sauvignon Blanc juice from our Road I Vineyard. We like to take a moment to appreciate the bounty of nature which is the backbone of all we humans create, ferment, and enjoy. Harvest represents the culmination of a year’s work, from pruning through bud break and frost season, flowering and fruit set, veraison, and ripening. 

You can read more about "veraison" in this recent post from Molly Frey. 

We are excited to bring fruit into the cellar and transform it into wine, a process that is straightforward scientifically but evokes alchemy and magic when the finished product is released. The winter months brought dozens of inches of desperately needed rainfall to inland Mendocino County, totaling 70+ for the season. Dormant grapevines love lots of water and cold temperatures. Early 2023 also brought much more snow than average. The cold temperatures delayed bud break and we sailed through frost season (when tender buds and shoots are susceptible to frost damage) with mild temperatures. Our overhead sprinkler frost protection systems didn’t get used much. Wet soils also delayed tractor work such as mowing, under-vine tillage, and cultivation, making early spring a slower season than normal for vineyard crew members.

Summer has been clear and warm, with relatively mild temperatures except for a few heat waves in the triple digits. Growers were expecting harvest to be greatly delayed due to the cold spring, but the grapes caught up. Usually, grape ripening in California progresses from southern AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) and moves slowly and steadily north. This year Mendocino is ripening before or alongside southern AVAs like Sonoma, Napa, and even Lodi.

Grapes aren’t the only fruit crop that loved all the winter water. We are jamming, basking, and baking in the glory of peaches, plums, pears, and apples. The olive crop is looking robust as well. This last month has been spent catching up on the maintenance of machinery to be used for harvest, irrigating vines as needed, and having a little downtime before the hustle and bustle of harvest. We thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about what we are up to and wish you all a healthy and prosperous Autumn. Cheers from the vineyard!

April Amelioration! Report from the Vineyards, Spring 2022

Flowering lupines, olive trees and budding organic Zinfandel grapevines at Frey Vineyards

April Amelioration!

Early in the season it looked like we were set to get average rainfall with heavy storms in October and December.  Those early rains got cover crops jumping out of the ground and brought us a good portion of the way towards our needed rainfall.  Things were looking good!

That changed with record dry conditions in January and February.  The dry spell sent cover crops into flower and stalled growth earlier than usual.  We went forward expecting a very dry spring and rushed through work that is often done in April and May.  Late winter made for wonderful working weather but was concerning as two of our normally wet months were as dry as summer.  We hardly had any pruning rain-out days and are far ahead of schedule on vineyard tractor duties because of workable soil conditions.  Pruning just wrapped up this week, as early as ever due to fair weather through the winter months. 

Unexpectedly, the rain gates opened in April with the “April Amelioration,” as meteorologists have dubbed it.  With our most recent storms this week we are approaching average annual rainfall for Redwood Valley.  The doom and gloom of our dry winter have given way to saturated fields and flowing streams.  The groundwater combined with longer days is giving a new growth flush to remaining cover crops.

Wet April conditions have helped to quelch the fear brought on by record breaking spring heat waves.  February and March both saw 90 degree days, causing early bloom in many fruit varieties.  This caused problems later as late February brought a cold event that damaged fruit set in plums, peaches and almonds across the state.  Gladly, grapes were still dormant at that time and should move forward unaffected.

Bud break on all varieties came right on schedule, middle to late March.  All of the vines are happy and healthy and growing strong and enjoying the water this week with more rain in the forecast.  Expectations are high for an average to above average crop after last year which was the smallest harvest seen in decades due to drought conditions in our region.

Although we feel relief from the recent weather, the sporadic and unseasonable patterns illustrate increasing unpredictability in farming conditions.  Plans for new plantings have been delayed because of water insecurity.  We are starting another growing season without water from the Redwood Valley Water District irrigation, which was cut off last year and has yet to become available again.  We are limited to stored water from on-site reservoirs for frost protection and irrigation through the season.

Despite these difficulties and insecurities we are grateful to be growing grapes here for another season.  April showers bring May flowers; we are looking forward to abundant grape flowers next month!

Frey Syrah grapes, Spring 2022
 

Gnarly ancient Cab vines with moss!
 

Budding organic Syrah grapes
 

Syrah grapes budding out

 

Harvest Report, 2021

Harvest started earlier than usual in 2021, due to the smaller than average crop.  Low yields were the result of an extremely dry year, but these low yields produce concentrated flavors.  Fruit quality was exceptional across the board, the fermenting wines smell and taste rich and fruity.  We had an all-star harvest team both in the field and in the cellar.

Crop estimates were low this spring and yields were down by around 50%.  We were lucky to start partnerships with more organic growers throughout the state who helped ensure we have enough wine for the season.  We are looking forward to a more bountiful harvest in 2022.

The weather was in our favor throughout the weeks of picking.  Early on there were some very hot days but the grapes held up and we had no damaging rains or frost before the crop was brought in. We were blessed with clear skies in our region all summer and avoided the threat of smoke taint from wildfires.

Since the harvest was small and quick there was plenty of time to finish spreading compost and planting cover crops before heavy rains fell in late October.  An atmospheric river washed over the lands, bringing several inches of rain, ending the threat of fire season, swelling dry creeks and filling ponds.  Now warm weather is ushering in a “second spring”; you can almost feel the grass growing.

We haven’t had a killing frost yet and are busy building this year's compost piles and tidying up for dormancy.  The vines have a chance to soak up sunshine and rain before losing their leaves.  They’re making good use of the wet and mild fall weather, storing carbohydrates in their roots for a strong bud break and full crop next season.

The olive crop was riper than usual and came in earlier than ever with a decent crop.  Oil is milled at the local olive mill in Hopland, the hub of olive processing in the county.  Growers large and small bring their olives to be pressed at the Terra Savia facility.

We thank the land for continuing to support us from the ground up, and are grateful for rains to hydrate soils and end the threat of fires for the season.  Aside from the drought conditions, 2021 has been an excellent year for fruit in Mendocino County. We look forward to sharing these wines and wish you all health and well-being.

More Than Just Grapes

Yoki Frey and Carolyn Brown trimming olive trees in the vineyard.

Over the years we’ve shared lots of details on the ins and outs of growing grapes and the seasonal flow of work in the vineyards.  This drought year is moving things ahead in the vineyard in full force.  Pruning is wrapping up this week and cultivation and frost protection are ongoing.  But this time around I’d like to share about more than just grapes.

Long before Frey Vineyards was the busy enterprise that it is today, many dwellers of the Frey Ranch were deeply involved in gardens and farming of their own.  When my grandparents Paul and Beba bought the ranch in 1962 they were following an impulse to be more self-sufficient and have plenty of fresh air for their large and growing gang of kids. The home ranch used to be a sheep farm, as was much of Mendocino County.

The grapes sort of arrived by default.  In the late 1960s local agencies were searching for a site for a large reservoir and there was speculation that it might be built in the little valley here at the bottom of Tomki Road, at the headwaters of the Russian River.  That never came to pass but the grapes were planted to increase property value in the event that the land would be acquired by imminent domain.  The project did move forward a little southeast, and today Lake Mendocino (low as ever!) covers what used to be several homesteads in Coyote Valley.

Here on the ranch the first vines were planted in the early 70s.  At the same time there was a lot of work towards getting gardens and orchards going.  Paul, Beba and the kids raised hogs and chickens, peacocks and many fruit trees were planted. Starting in the 1970s the Frey siblings and their partners grew many amazing gardens.  My earliest memories revolve around the stone foundation of the greenhouse my dad built, just a stone’s throw from the winery; the garden was rich and fertile with mulberries, filberts, pears and apples.  My mom’s garden is still there, although only the foundation of the greenhouse remains.  I was given my very own garden bed to plant what I chose: peas, cockscomb amaranth, cucumber and daisies.  My mom Katrina and her best friend had a small perennial nursery, following in the footsteps of my great grandfather Johnny who ran a nursery in Vermont.

Jonathan Frei, my uncle, started some of the earliest plantings of crops besides grapes, establishing Peach Tree Lane, the first olive orchard, and has experimented with medicinal herbs, blueberries and a plethora of native and drought tolerant shrubs and trees.  My younger brother Johnny Frey Jr latter added even more olive trees along the vineyards.  My other Uncle Luke Frey and his family also have cultivated beautiful biodynamic gardens and fruit trees.

Over the years as the family has branched and grown, several beautiful gardens and orchards have arisen, and the ranch is a great place to share produce.  Now, with the wine business and vineyards humming along and relatively stable, the enterprise is working with a little diversity to break up the monotony and monoculture of grape growing.

The help of Carolyn Brown, deeply experienced garden teacher, beekeeper and plant lover has been wonderful.  Carolyn has installed an orchard in the riparian zone of a seasonal stream at the Road I ranch where figs, plums, peaches and nuts are thriving at 4 years old; olives line the fence and entry road.  She’s also designed and will install beautiful native and edible landscaping around the new winery.

And while we continue vineyard care and development, each new planting is accompanied by an area for other crops, native and habitat plantings.  Winemaker Paul has mastered the art of using baby vine irrigation for summer crops of winter squash, melons and veggies and we’re excited about the prospect of future plantings of cork oak, hazelnut, walnut and prune plum, hedge rows and sunflowers.

Grapes are wonderful after all, but humankind cannot survive on wine and raisins alone.  Happy Spring Everyone!

Jonathan Frei

Sourdough Starter Guide

As we look ahead longing for cool rains here in California my mind turns to the cozy season ahead and fresh, homemade sourdough bread. 

Simply stated, sourdough starter is a stable culture of yeast and lactic acid bacteria in a flour and water mixture.  Yeast strains present in sourdough starters are usually species in the genus Saccharomyces or Candida.  The bacterial component is most often a strain of Lactobacillus, and there are many different strains.  The beauty of making your own starter is that the specific strains of yeast and bacteria in your kitchen and their proportion to each other will be unique and yield one of a kind flavor. 

You can use any kind of flour you like.  I started with all-purpose wheat flour but have slowly transitioned my starter over to a gluten-free baking mix flour.  The possibilities of which flour you use are limited only by your tastes and imagination.

Starting and maintaining a starter can seem daunting, but it is really quite simple.  All you need to get going is a handful of grapes, and a cup each of flour and non-chlorinated water.  While grapes aren’t necessary for getting a sourdough starter established, the yeast naturally present on grape skins will help kickstart the fermentation and get you off in the right direction. 

Here are the steps:

1) Mix 1 cup flour and 1 cup water together in a glass jar.  A quart canning jar works well.  I prefer wide mouth for ease of feeding.

2) Rinse the grapes but do not scrub them, we want the yeast on their skins to enter the mixture.  Roughly chop the grapes and mix into the water and flour slurry.

3) The next day, pour off and discard a cup of the mixture, (discard as few grapes as possible) and replace with ½ cup fresh flour and ½ cup water.  This is called “feeding.”

4) Repeat step 3 daily.  If liquid pools on top of your starter, simply mix it in.

5) After about a week your starter should smell tart, sour or tangy and have visible air bubbles. 

6) Once established it will not require daily feeding and can be kept in the fridge resting for a few weeks.  It’s a good idea to feed it every week or so for the first 6 months and after a long period of rest it may require a few feedings to become lively again.  Your starter will grow stronger over time and can last a lifetime. 

With all raw home fermentations I like to go by the old adage, “the nose knows.”  Trust your own sensory analysis; does it smell, taste and look good?  If it has a smell that is just downright yucky, or if you see active mold growing, discard and begin again.  I’ve never had this experience with sourdough and if you do not neglect your starter, you should not have any problems.

Once you are ready to attempt a loaf look online for one of hundreds of recipes.  When I first experimented with sourdough bread many years ago I read several recipes that dictated how long I should let the dough sit, how many hours to the let the bread rise and so forth.  I followed the directions faithfully and got a few nice loaves, but then things fell flat.  What was missing was my own observation.  Now, instead of using prescribed time periods for the various steps, I use my eyes, nose and hands to guide me.  It has become a much more intuitive process.  I hope you have fun and enjoy the process. 

Try your bread with your favorite cheese and favorite Frey wine. It should pair just fine with any of our wines!

Harvest 2019 Vineyard Report

After a busy spring of working the soil and tending to our 300 acres of established grapes, 16 acres of Chardonnay were planted at the Road D Ranch.  This was a large project that began years ago with the removal of a neglected vineyard from the previous owners.  The vines were removed, the field was ripped and smoothed, compost applied, cover crop seeded.  This spring the spacing for the vines was laid out, stakes, wires and irrigation were installed to support the baby grapes and finally the young vines were planted.  They put on good growth after planting.  It bodes well for a healthy vibrant vineyard.

Harvest started off in early September and a touch of rain freshened the air and gave the plants some ripening energy.  It looked like a great year for “hang time,” when the grapes get to linger on the vine and develop more flavor and complexity even after they are sweet enough to pick.  We anticipated a slow and steady harvest.

A frost on October 10th changed the plans.  The unexpected cold snap brought temperatures of 27 degrees, a month before our usual first freeze.  The leaves of the vineyards perished over-night, leaving little new energy to ripen fruit further.  Luckily the hanging fruit held up well until it was harvested.  The harvest crew worked several long days and compressed what would have been a month of picking into less than two weeks.

Following the early cold snap, unusually warm and dry weather has kept vineyard activities bustling even after the last grapes have been picked.  Cover crops have been sown.  A mixture of bell beans, winter peas and winter grasses are awaiting rain to germinate and grow.  Indeed, everyone in northern California is awaiting rain.

Grapevines will have a fall flush of root growth after they lose their leaves and enter dormancy, so the vineyard crew has been irrigating in some vineyards to give the vines a chance to take advantage of the warm weather while it lasts.  Again, we look to the skies for rain, to green up the landscape, freshen the air, and let winter groundcover get established before it gets too cold.

The dry weather has allowed for several acres of old vines to be removed at our Colony Ranch in order to make way for new plantings of various red varietals next year.  The vines were removed with an excavator and piled up in order to be burned.  Old stakes and wires were removed by hand.  Later, the field will be ripped and disked, compost spread, and cover crop sown.  Next year the vineyard layout and planting will take place in early summer. 

There is an abundance of bird life in the neighborhood, with great blue herons, kite hawks, snowy egrets and songbirds keeping the vineyard workers company. 

We hope this season finds you all in good health and spirits.  Best wishes from all of us at Frey Vineyards.

Wild Edible Greens

Eliza Frey with wild mustard in Frey biodynamic Cabernet vineyard.

After weeks of rain and the chill of the polar vortexes, spring is arriving in Mendocino County.  One of my favorite spring pastimes is taking to the fields and gathering wild spring greens, or edible weeds – a tonic to the body and the spirit.  With their beautiful shapes, shades of green and wide array of flavors, they make a wonderful addition to springtime cuisine.  Wild edibles spice up any salad or sandwich, add layers of flavor and texture to stir fries, deepen the flavors of soup or provide a unique garnish for any dish.

Wild edible plants connect us back to the abundance of Mother Nature, and to our ancestors, who relied on foraging for survival.  Wild plants don’t need humans to help them grow, and there is something beautiful and complete about their ability to get what they need and thrive on their own.  Gathering wild greens is easy and fun as long as you follow some common sense guidelines.

Make sure you know what you are eating!  Never eat any plant without first knowing that it is edible.  Many wild edibles have close look-alikes, so make sure you are well informed before ingesting any new plant. The information below does not include identification details for the listed plants.  A great way to make sure you’re being safe is to find a friend or neighbor who is knowledgeable and invite to come forage with you.  Local foraging classes and groups are popping up all over the nation. There are countless websites and books about gathering wild plants, and a quick internet search can connect you with plenty of resources. 

Edible weeds are only healthful when harvested from areas free of chemicals and pollutants.  Avoid harvesting from chemically maintained lawns, near motor roadways, non-organic farms or in areas where there may be high dog traffic.  After harvesting wild greens, make sure to wash them thoroughly.

Never harvest an entire stand of wild plants.  A general rule of thumb is to leave at least 2/3 of any given patch untouched, allowing the species to complete its life cycle and reproduce, and ensuring that there is plenty for wildlife.

The abundance and variety of wild edibles varies greatly among different climates and regions.  While the varieties listed below are available and abundant for Mendocino County, California, in spring, your location will ultimately dictate what you have access to and when.

Here are a handful of my favorite green treats to gather on the Frey Ranch in late winter and early spring:

Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)

Miner's lettuce, an annual flowering plant, is also known as Indian lettuce, spring beauty, and winter purslane.  Native to the west coast of North America, it prefers cool wet areas, and in inland Mendocino County it is available from Late January to April.  Fleshy stems lead to rounded rosette leaves that cup the morning dew.   White or pink flowers develop on a slender stem that grows out of the center of the leaf.  It is abundant at the edges of our vineyards, in shady areas at the forest’s edge.

It is best picked when fresh and green, before flowering.  The stems are crisp and juicy, and the leaves are tender with a mild watery flavor, well suited as the base of a salad, or used as a substitute for lettuce in any context.

Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Chickweed is a low growing annual that reseeds yearly and emerges in late winter, as rainfall and warmer temperatures allow germination.  Its tiny leaves climb wispy mats of stems in semi shaded edge areas and sunny fields.  As it matures tiny white flowers form at each leaf node.

It has a pleasant, mild flavor and is a great substitute for sprouts on sandwiches and in wraps.  It is also lovely in salad.  It gets slimy when cooked so try enjoying it raw.  For larger, leggy plants, you may want to use only the leaves, as the stems can be a bit fibrous.  Chickweed doesn’t store well, and is best eaten within a few hours of harvest.

Common Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale subsp. vulgare)
This is the most common variety of dandelion, although there are thousands.  Dandelion is a perennial plant native to Europe.  In California jagged leaves re-sprout from taproots in the late winter.  In wetter climates the greens can be harvested throughout the growing season.  A thick, fleshy stem develops and forms bright yellow, multi-petaled flowers that eventually turn into globes of fluff that scatter on the wind with our wishes.  Dandelion’s nutritional value eclipses most of the fruits and vegetables you can buy in the grocery store.  It is recognized as a tonic to the liver, kidneys, blood and digestion.

Dandelion has an intense bitter flavor that is somewhat of an acquired taste.  The entire plant, including the leaves, stems, flowers, and roots, is edible and nutritious, packed with vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamin, riboflavin, beta-carotene and fiber.  Due to their intense flavor, greens are often cooked, and are delicious with a bright lemony dressing.  The flowers of dandelion are also beautiful and pungent before they start to form seed heads, great as a garnish or sautéed with garlic.  Dried and roasted roots can be ground and brewed as dandelion coffee, and are an ingredient in traditional root beer.

Wild Mustard (Brassica Spp.)

Wild Mustard is found all over the world and mustard and its cousins radish and turnip have been grown since ancient times.  Here in Mendocino County the spring brings an explosion of color as the bright yellow flowers fill the vineyards, delighting bees and foragers alike.  Mature plants can be up to 4 feet tall, but they are tastiest when harvested young.

The mustard flower is a beautiful garnish on salads, with a rich pollen-like flavor and gentle heat.  The greens need to be harvested young, as they get spiny as the plant reaches maturity.  They are a wonderful addition to any stir fry, chopped fresh in potato salad, or served wilted with a vinaigrette dressing.

As flowers drop and the plant forms seed-pods, the tender green pods can be harvested and pickled.  As the plant finishes its life cycle the mature seeds can be harvested and ground into mustard.

Sheep’s sorrel (Rumex acetosella)
Sheep's sorrel is a low growing perennial herb in the buckwheat family is native to North America.  It makes its home in disturbed soils and spreads from seeds and fleshy, horizontal roots. Clumps of green arrow shaped leaves form at the base of the plant, which redden as the plant grows and forms upright flower stalks for tiny reddish-brown flowers and seed pods. 

Tender green leaves have an intensely tart lemon flavor that is a great accent in salads and soups, and adds pop to pesto.  Its seeds are also edible and can be eaten raw or cooked.

Winter Pea Shoots (Pisum sativum)
While winter peas are not wild in our vineyards, they are part of our annual cover crop mix.  Peas are legumes that fix nitrogen into the soil.  They grow tendrils that help them climb amid ryegrass and bell beans and have fleshy silvery leaves that form in whorls along the rigid stem, and they form beautiful edible pink flowers as temperatures rise.

Harvest the top 2-4 inches of the pea shoots to enjoy their distinctly sweet and nutty flavor that is wonderful raw or cooked.  Try them sautéed with garlic and olive oil or in place of spinach in your favorite soup.  The flowers are tender and mild and gorgeous as a garnish or salad ingredient.  Consider adding them to a winter cover crop for a delicious supply of late winter greens!

Happy Foraging!

 

Additional Resources

Books
The Wild Wisdom of Weeds by Katrina Blair
Wild Edibles by Sergei Boutenko

Websites
Native plant Societies – connect with your state or local group.
Foragesf.com – offering foraging classes in the San Francisco Bay Area
Ediblewildfood.com

The vineyards live on!

We had a mild spring, which makes life pleasant for farmers and grapevines.  Cover crops grew thick and luscious; the cool weather allowed them to build a lot of biomass before flowering.  As they are incorporated into the soil they add rich organic matter.  Mild weather is also good for the flowering of the vines.  Grape flowers are very delicate and extreme weather in either direction can affect the vines’ ability to set a good crop of fruit.  Grape flowers are also very fragrant, an ambrosia of delight!  Sweet, almost tropical scents of grape flowers have been wafting through the fields.  Most varieties now have set clusters but the Cabernet is taking its time and looks to be setting a good crop.

The rains this season were late and far apart which made for good vineyard working conditions throughout the winter and early spring, with fields not too wet and muddy.  Frost season was also mild this year, so workers got enough rest to work through the days.  This allowed the vineyard crew to get a head start on cultivation and weed control and to stay on schedule despite extra work on fencing, irrigation and frost systems that needed repair after the fires last fall.  A new frost pump was installed at the Easterbrook vineyard and as summer heats up work is underway to replace destroyed drip and filters.

Until bud break this spring it was hard to tell exactly how many vines had burned last fall.  Now that leaves and shoots are out we finalized our dead-vine count at around 7 acres.  Vines that didn’t die are doing fine with expected vigor and timing.  We will be working on replacing dead vines as the season progresses.

Ground is being prepared for new plantings of Cabernet and Chardonnay at our Road D vineyard.  There are many steps to be completed before the young vines can be put into the ground.  Soil is ripped and disked, then smoothed.  Next, the irrigation system is laid out for both summer watering (to help the young vines) and spring frost protection.  The grid of the vineyard is laid out by hand using cables marked with spacers, then stakes are set.  Wires are installed to hang the drip hose and train the young vines as they reach their established height.  Finally, the watering system is completed and the vines can be planted.  After they are established it will be 3 years before any grapes are harvested.  During their productive life they need much less watering.

Chardonnay for this planting will be grown from cuttings made this winter.  Cuttings are a form of vegetative propagation, a technique used by humankind to cultivate grapes for thousands of years.  While the vines are dormant, healthy wood that grew the previous season is selected and cut to about 18”.  The pieces are chosen based on girth, vigor of the parent plant and bud spacing.  Two buds are left at the tip of each cutting and the rest are removed, which encourages the cutting to root at the bottom. These cuttings are bundled and buried in moist sand.  

These vines will be on their “own roots” as opposed to being grafted onto a rootstock.  Own-rooted vineyards are uncommon due to the risk of damage by pheloxera, a soil-borne louse that can kill grapevines when populations in the soil are out of balance.  We don’t worry about this in our organic soils as we have plenty of healthy soil microbiology that will compete with phyloxera and keep it from causing damage.  We will begin planting soon.  The cuttings were stored in a cool dark place for the last several months and are now pushing roots and shoots, eager to get planted.

As springtime rolls into summertime, we are busy!  We are looking forward to a summer of good ripening weather and a harvest without the challenges of smoky grapes and disruption form natural disasters.  Keep your fingers crossed for us.  Cheers from the crew!

Here are some more photos from Spring, 2018.

Bird resting on organic Chardonnay vine.

Thermometer used during late-night vineyard frost patrol.

This oak tree makes a good perch for birds that hunt insects in the vineyards.

Syrah and Petite Sirah: Similar Names, Distinct Wines!

Frey Vineyards likes to offer customers a wide range of organic and non-sulfited wines.  Among other things, this has led us into producing both Syrah and Petite Sirah wines.  The similarity in the names leads many to lump them together.  In reality they are distinct varietals with unique histories, characteristics and flavors. 

Syrah and Petite Sirah are both technically French Rhone varietals but Syrah enjoys a much richer and storied history.  Syrah is one of the parent grapes of Petite Sirah, and one of the most widely planted French varietals, while Petite Sirah, although developed in France in the 1860’s, is almost non-existent in Europe!

Syrah is a Noble grape variety and firmly rooted in French winegrowing.  Its origins are ancient and legends of its beginnings abound.  Syrah may have been referenced by Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder.  Some believe it was brought to France by a crusader returning from his journeys and planted in Hermitage, one of the regions famous for its Syrah wines.  DNA profiling in 1999 found Syrah to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France: Dureza and Mondeuse blanche, grown for at least 2,000 years.  Syrah is a primary component of Côte du Rhone and Châteauneuf-du-Pape blends in France.  In Australia it is Shiraz, the most cultivated grape Down Under.  Syrah is the seventh most planted grape in California.

Flavors and styles of Syrah are greatly influenced by climate and growing conditions.
French Syrahs are known for subtle flavors of leather, tobacco and “animale,” an almost indescribable flavor hinting of animal, sweat, man or raw meat.  Yum!  Australian “New World” Shiraz wines are fruit-forward, spicy and full of jammy plum flavors.  California Syrahs vary depending on growing region, and here at Frey Vineyards our winemaker Paul Frey always says it is his favorite to work with.  Our Syrahs offer a marriage of the two styles: full-bodied, with forward plum juiciness and a subtle finish of rich earthy tobacco and chewy tannins.

While Syrah and Petite Sirah both made their way to California in the late 1800s, original plantings of Syrah were wiped out by the root-eating Phylloxera louse and weren’t reintroduced until the 1950s.  Syrah has gained wide acceptance and is now a common grape, still far behind Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, but with over 7,000 acres in production.  Petite Sirah plantings in California are older than most other varieties, but it is not widely planted with only an estimated 2,500 acres today. 

Unlike Syrah, the origins of Petite Sirah are clear.  Petite Sirah was originally named Durif for the viticulturist Francois Durif whose nursery first produced the grape in the 1860s.  Durif was bred from a nursery cross-pollination of the noble Syrah grape and Peloursin, an obscure varietal that is now almost extinct in France.  For the first century of its existence Durif was seen as nothing more than a useful grape for strengthening weak blends, as it has lots of tannins and color and good acidity. 
 
Durif made its way to California in the late 1800’s where the name Petite Sirah gradually overtook Durif, due to the fact that it is generally less vigorous than Syrah and the berry size is smaller.  Local Mendocino County growers commonly refer to their Petite Sirah blocks as their “Pets.”  The high skin to juice ratio makes Petite Sirah an inky and full-bodied wine, relatively high in acid with characteristic spicy and peppery tones. Here as well, it was a blender, a common component in field blend plantings where vineyards are planted out to several varieties that are harvested, fermented and aged together.  Petite Sirah was not yet embraced as a varietal wine in its own right.  That changed in the 1970s and 1980s when California was a hotbed of winemaking innovation and experimentation.  Winemakers began to prize Petite Sirah for its unique flavors and cellaring ability and it is now grown throughout the state.  In the last fifty years, the grape became more established in the hotter climates of California, Australia, Israel and Mexico than its native Europe.

Frey Vineyards’ Petite Sirah is grown in a relatively cool section of our Redwood Valley Home Ranch, with afternoon shade and cool breezes blowing down the Enchanted Canyon of Mariposa Creek.  Our Petite is medium-bodied, with a subtle herbal bouquet, plum and blueberry flavors, and a lingering tannic finish with a touch of spice.

Syrah or Petite Sirah are both well adapted to our hot and dry climate in Inland Mendocino.  They are full-bodied rich wines with lots of flavor and color.  We encourage you to explore their uniqueness and similarities and look forward to many more vintages of each of these outstanding wines!

Cheers and Happy Springtime!

Vineyard Report, Fall 2014

Harvesting Frey Organic & Biodynamic Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

Due to a warm spring and hot dry summer conditions, the 2014 harvest started 2 weeks ahead of average.  The first three weeks were very busy because all of the white varietals got ripe at the same time.  September and early October were hot, and all berries reached optimal sugar levels ahead of other years, so clusters were allowed to hang and reach physiological ripeness, with nutty seeds, non-bitter skins and gentle tannins.  We got some much-needed rain during harvest, but it wasn’t enough to alleviate drought conditions or damage fruit.  Across the board, the quality was exceptional and yields were near average.

Vineyard Manager Derek Dahlen at the weigh station.

Frey Vineyards is now farming a new ranch here in Redwood Valley!  The Walt Ranch is planted with Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet and Petite Sirah grapes and was managed organically by veteran grape grower Tony Milani for the past 25 years.  Tony passed away in March and we look forward to carrying on his tradition of organic grape farming on this beautiful land.

Adam Frey rescues a Pileated Woodpecker.

This year we had visits from several wildlife friends: deer, fox, turkeys and woodpeckers, who live in the adjacent forests and venture out night and day to feast on grapes.  We have a mama bear and 2 cubs visiting our apple and fig trees, nightly.  Adam Frey rescued a wounded Pileated woodpecker at Road D Ranch and nursed it back to health. Although they eat valuable fruit, we are happy to be surrounded by forests that provide habitat for healthy populations of wild animals, no matter their occasional nibbling!

Moving into November, cover crop seeding, Biodynamic horn manure spraying and compost spreading are nearly completed for the season.  We are getting some nice rains this week to enliven the soil for the horn manure and ensure good germination of the cover crops.  The grape leaves are turning to fall colors and the vines are headed for dormancy for the winter.  The vineyards and their keepers are looking forward to a lull until pruning begins after the winter solstice.  In the meantime, we are praying for more rain. Please join us in that endeavor!

We look forward to sharing an excellent 2014 vintage with you soon. Cheers!

Harvest 2014 is over!