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Calwineries Blog

News from California Wine Country - 11/28/07

Open House at Newton Vineyards

On December 1st, Spring Mountain’s Newton Vineyards will be hosting an open house from 1 – 5 pm. They will be pouring large format wines as well as some library selections. In addition to the wine, there will be some gift ideas for the holidays, including packages, accessories and books. The event is free to Newton Vineyard wine club members, and is $20 for everyone else. To RSVP, call 707-204-7622.

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California's 2007 Grape Harvest Slightly Larger Than Last Year

According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the state’s 2007 grape harvest weighed in at 3.2 million tons, up a bit from 3.1 million tons last year. It is still substantially smaller than 2005, which weighed 3.5 million tons.

Because of inconsistent temperatures and weather patterns, grape picking was sporadic in 2007. Temperatures were warm through August, but September saw some rain, forcing many vineyard owners to delay picking their grapes until things had dried out a bit.

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UC Davis Viticulture and Enology Recieves $12.5 Million Gift

The UC Davis Viticulture and Enology Department received a donation of $12.5 million that will fund projects in dire need of money. This donation came at a very important time in enology and viticulture research, as Australia is spending more than five times than the United States.

The donation was made my one of the Napa Valley’s oldest wine families. The Rossi family has been growing grapes in the Napa Valley since 1905, when Fred and Rachel Rossi purchased St. Helena Ranch. The Rossi’s sold their grapes to some of the most famous producers in the Napa Valley; Robert Mondavi Winery and Krug Winery.

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When Weather affects Harvest: A Winery’s Response

Harvest can be a beautiful time for winery owners, viticulturalists and winemakers. When conditions are right, the fruit comes off exactly as planned, and the vineyard staff can exert full control over the entire process.

However, when conditions take a turn for the worse, like this year, it can ruin a years worth of hard work. Right around harvest time in the Napa Valley, a storm front blew through that dropped temperatures and even rained. Cold and rain can devastate a perfectly good crop of fruit.

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