Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: June 2019

Hello and Welcome,   This is the Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: June 2019. A Flog Communication.   June is the month that the vines typically flower, and they did. It was a pleasant month, with some absolutely amazing weather during bloom. We are expecting a full fruit set, and then some, so we may need you to check your roller bag. Note: Wine flies free on Alaska Airlines flights out of Portland. Of course you, or your designated handler, will need to accompany it.

This outrageously fantastic weather means we are most likely sitting on about twice as many wine berries as we can optimistically hope to ripen. But that depends on the months of July, August and September – if we can hold out that long. Ernie’s block 2 midnight naked rain dance has been less and less effective each passing year. However, it does seem to keep the deer fascinated. Maybe he needs some new moves.

And we have equipment maintenance redux with our newfound best friend Ray the welding man. Ernie picked up on checking his lug nuts each and every farming day. But what have we here? Yep, it’s a case of broken spokes. But only 4 out of 5.

Have you ever noticed that when you start a project everything is exciting and new, but as you work your plan it can become a shlog? Never enough time to wrap it up completely before the next big thing comes along. If Ernie just spent a little more time mowing that day, why he could have snapped that last spoke. Sometimes it is good not to finish. But thanks to Ray and an afternoon of welding, it is not only as good as new, it is significantly more better!

And June means wires. Miles and miles of high tensile wires. And humans to tuck those shoots and raise those wires. Fortunately, the weather was quite moderate, mostly topping out in the 70s during the day and a chilly mid 40s at night. Makes you appreciate a steaming cup of morning accelerant and a cold post-shift beer. The diurnal cycle of caffeine and ethanol, what kind of world would we have without it?

And it was Dena’s birthday. Happy Birthday Dena!!

Next up is hedging and 5 sets of oil changes. Let’s talk about hedging. The concept here is that you trim off the shoot tips so the vines redirect their energy from growing longer and longer shoots to ripening their wine berries. So that we in turn may cluster pluck them from within the safety of their catch wires and ferment the sugar out of them. That is what we want. The vines just want to ripen their seeds and make new little vines. We can take cuttings and graft new vines. A medieval form of cloning if you will, but sometimes the old ways are the best. Just ask Dolly the sheep.

Vine Row Before Hedging

Vine Row After Hedging

And we have two sets of numbers to report on. The first comes from Vinous Media, where Josh Raynolds, Oregon’s correspondent, published his much anticipated and long overdue report on Oregon Pinot Noir. Our entire Pinot Noir portfolio (one exemplar each) spanning 3 vintages, 2013 – 2015, was reviewed. While they were a tight grouping, 92-94 points is a good group to be tightly grouped in with.

Now, on to the farmin’ numbers!

June’s high temperature was 98.8 degrees recorded mid-month on the 12th around 4:12 pm. The low temperature for the month was up from May’s 34.3 degrees to 43.0 recorded on June 8th at around 1:00 am. It was quite a time to be up viewing the stars and recording temperatures. Too early (and cold) for the first rain dance.

Once again, the diurnal shifts in the first half of the month were wider and produced a higher average temperature of 64.83 compared with the second half of the month at 61.53 degrees.

Degree Days for June were 406.4 with the first half of the month registering 229.5 and the latter period 176.9 Degree Days. The growing season to-date Degree Days stand at 806.7 for 2019 compared with 784.3 Degree Days for 2018. Clearly, we can see the breakaway in Degree Days from the last growing season beginning to manifest itself.

Climatically speaking, the big surprise was the blast of artic air, and corresponding 0.35 inches of rain that came toward the end of the month. Nice to have that in your back 40 going into summer, as it could be the last measurable precipitation we receive until a harvest window opens up. Total rainfall for June 2019 was 0.40 inches compared with June 2018 accumulation of 0.91 inches.

That’s what it was like at our house.

Kindest Regards,

Dena & Ernie