Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: April 2025
Hello and Welcome,
This is the April Climate Update and Photo Journal, Vintage 2025, from Amalie Robert Estate. Approximate reading time 1.25 ARB's (Adult Recreational Beverages); Pictures only 0.50 ARB's.
On April 16th bud break reminded us that time, and the vines, wait for no man. While the vines have had a nice sleep over since the Great Cluster Pluck, we have not been so fortunate. We even lost an hour on that dreaded DST. Farm equipment maintenance and repairs consumed most of the first quarter’s available time (and budget). No matter, the vines need to be fed.
The grasses and last year’s canes need to be mown, last year’s fall cover crop needs to be tilled into the soil, and a fresh spring cover crop needs to be drilled in. Mother Nature has a key role to play in providing the exact timing and specific amount of spring rains to facilitate soil work and germinate our cover crop seeds. There are a million things that could go wrong and some combination of them always do.
In This Communication:
The Big MOVING Picture
Traveling to the Willamette Valley?
Equipment Corner
What Does That Mean, and Why Should I Care?
The Numbers: Alright April, Let's See What You Got!
Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.®
Other Resources
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The Big MOVING Picture
It is said there is nothing common about common sense, but we are pretty sure it is common knowledge that the best fertilizer you can put in your vineyard is the owner’s footprints. And here is what Ernie’s footprints look like this time of year. He’s been there, done that and had that done to him. The next time you see Ernie, just remember, he looks that way for a reason.
The agrarian endeavor is the most polite euphemism for “digging in the dirt”. But working the soil is what it takes to promote vine health through soil fertility. The cover crops that we plant spring and fall are part of our vine nutrition program. Not everybody does it…
We grow these cover crops so that we can nurture our soil, and in turn feed our vines. These plants and grasses break down naturally when tilled into the soil and become nutrients for our vines. Cover crops also foster a very healthy population of beneficial insects to prey on pest insects (specifically mites) that would damage our vines. And cover crop roots help hold our topsoil in place during the fall rains. … but everybody should.
As we say in the agrarian endeavor, if it looks stupid, but it works, its not stupid. It’s farming. And it can be expensive, and take a lot of your time.
Traveling to the Willamette Valley?
Planning to enjoy traveling and exploring the Willamette Valley? There are two primary gateways to the Willamette Valley. Most people are familiar with Portland International airport (PDX) at the top of the Willamette Valley. However, there is a second gateway in Eugene (EUG) at the south end of the Willamette Valley. Both of these airports service the major carriers.
Insider Tip: Alaska Airlines offers a Wine Flies Free program from both PDX and EUG. You will need to acquire a wine shipper box as you tour the valley. When you check in for your flight, indicate you have a case of wine, and it will be checked for FREE on Alaska Airlines. BONUS: Many wineries will provide you a FREE wine shipper box with a 6 bottle purchase.
Interested in learning about the newest AVA? Download our FREE guide to the Willamette Valley AVA’s!
Amalie Robert Estate is open year round by appointment for vineyard tours and tastings. Request a tasting appointment with your preferred day and time.
Equipment Corner
It used to be Ernie spent more than a few lunch breaks driving to the farm store, some closer than others. This was usually after several phone calls (the beers would come later), to verify the parts were actually on the shelf, not just in the inventory listing. Dena, always trying to be the uplifting protagonist voice in Ernie’s head, would ask:
Dena: Did you get what you needed?
Ernie: I got what they had. Not what they said they had, but what they actually had. Which is not what I needed. Now I have to make it work. Just not sure which hammer to start with…
Amazon, Walmart and a host of other online vendors have significantly increased the breadth and depth of parts now available to the agrarian community. In other words, these parts are no longer languishing on some warehouse shelf in obscurity waiting for someone to find them. However, they are still covered with dust. Of course, if you are not maintaining your own equipment, then this is of little concern. The corresponding repair bills of major repair and maintenance, however, will eventually garner your attention.
The financial theory behind annual repair and maintenance is that you are extending the useful life of a piece of farm equipment. Up to a point, it is more financially prudent to repair a piece of farm equipment than it is to replace it. The key is to recognize when you have arrived at that point. And what replacement equipment is currently available.
Once you prepare the farm equipment for the upcoming vintage, deploying progressively greater levels of percussive maintenance, you get to use the equipment in a farming operation. The result of such farming activity is to reduce its useful life. The accounting terms that best describe the impact on said farm equipment include, but are not limited to: depreciation, impairment, disposition, and finally abandonment. While it is possible to trade-in used farm equipment, the value received is often less than the cost of disposal.
What Does That Mean, and Why Should I Care?
The enjoyment of fine wine and music share some similarities. When it is time to buy speakers, some of the best (honest) advice is: if you can’t hear the difference, then don’t pay the difference. Ernie was guided by this advice right out of college and purchased a pair of Vandersteen II speakers. And while this was over a millennia ago, those speakers are still the ones that we enjoy listening to every day.
When it comes to blending barrels of wine, we often employ “The Speaker Test” before we finalize a blend such as Amalie’s Cuvée. The speaker test evolved from another great piece of advice. To wit: Don’t buy the speakers you like the most, buy the speakers that annoy you the least.
Often times a speaker will come across as everything you want, except the high notes are a little tinny sounding. You think at first this will not bother you. But after a while you find that every time you listen to those speakers you look for it and find it. Sooner rather than later you will sell them back to the stereo shop… for 10 cents on the dollar.
When evaluating barrels of wine, we too are evaluating the different elements that present a harmonious expression. Similar to sounds, tastes are very unique to each of us. Sometimes the richness of a wine can overpower an out of balance level of acidity or tannin. Does the aroma, flavor and texture follow through and deliver without fail? If so, get the corks out, let’s bottle! If not, our blending trials are not quite finished.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what you experience, be it music or wine. But it is handy to have a reference point in knowing how that wine or music came to be. Some music, especially in the world of Artificial Intelligence is completely synthesized. It sounds nice and fills the time, but don’t look too close for any authenticity. Unless you are evaluating the underlying source code.
Wine is similar. Once a label is affixed to the bottle, you can do a little digging on your own. Some brands make this easy, others not so much. Did this wine come from someone’s estate vineyard, or was it surplus bulk wine manipulated in such a fashion to achieve a certain aroma, flavor, and texture profile? Either choice can be very satisfying. It then comes down to value. We have come to accept that price only becomes a factor in the absence of perceived value. And perceived value is at the sole discretion of the consumer.
The Numbers: Alright April, Let’s See What You Got!
April started off a little cool and rainy. This was helpful in working up the vineyard floor soil. Then Mother Nature turned off the water. This made working the soil much more difficult, reducing the useful life of the farm equipment, and increasing the repair and maintenance costs. The month ended with the soil ready to receive the cover crop seeds, but Ernie rolled the dice to wait for May rains before drilling it in.
April 2025 logged 163.4 Degree Days with a high temperature of 78.1 degrees Fahrenheit recorded on April 18th at 3:36 pm, and a low temperature of 33.4 recorded at 6:36 am on April 22nd. The first 15 days of April recorded 66.0 Degree Days, and the second half of the month recorded 97.4 Degree Days. While the second half of the month logged a higher Degree Day total there was more variability in the temperature. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that. It is just a farming observation.
Rainfall for the month of April, Vintage 2025 totaled 1.58 inches, with 1.36 inches falling in the first 10 days of the month.
Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.®
We are living the dream so you don’t have to. Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.® is a repository of our farming history at Amalie Robert Estate.
We have over 200 posts going back some 25 years. It’s all out there on Substack. You can visit the archive for FREE! If you want to see what we see on a more regular basis, follow us on Instagram @AmalieRobert.
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
Other Resources
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