Amalie Robert Estate Climate Update: May 2024
Hello and Welcome,
It has just been a LOVELY spring in Willamette Valley wine country, Vintage 2024! This is really an exciting time in the vineyard. The vines are pushing out all of this new green growth. The cover crops have germinated and are lining the vineyard floor with their tiny leaves. The rains are tapering off, the sun is shining more brightly and the webbing between our fingers and toes is receding. All positive signs for Vintage 2024.
It is really amazing to think that in about 3 months' time we will be preparing for The Great Cluster Pluck! But we will. Kinda like stuffing 5 pounds of it in a 3 pound bag. But that’s the name of the game in the agrarian endeavor.
In This Communication:
The Big Picture
Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.®
The Main Story
What Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?
The Numbers
Other Resources
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The Big Picture
Miles and miles of trellis catch wires. It is often taught in a wide variety of disciplines that a good plan well executed is far better than a comprehensive plan that no one can fully understand or implement. Such is the case with raising trellis catch wires. We run three sets of wires to capture and control the vines explosive growth. Just turn up the heat and you can hear them growing. Fortunately, we are not behind… yet.
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 20 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.
Planning to enjoy traveling again 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.
Amalie Robert Estate is open year round by appointment for vineyard tours and tastings. Request a tasting appointment with your preferred day and time.
If your plans have you somewhere other than the Willamette Valley, the Big Blue Button can co-locate your wines with YOU. Celebrate National Rosé Day on Saturday, June 8th!
We suggest a UPS or FedEx drop point to allow you to pick up your wine at your leisure. It's better on the A-List. A-List members receive a 10% discount on any 1-11 bottle purchase, a 20% discount on a 12-bottle case purchase, and domestic ground shipping is always included with a case. Please email Dena for shipping options to Alaska and Hawaii.
The Main Story
Do you need to grow your own tomatoes to make a great salad? No, not really. But it does instill a sense of pride that you were able to accomplish this agrarian feat. Your ancestors (who invented the wheel) would be proud. BONUS: If you were able to harvest them before some blight, or nefarious animal took them from you. And they just taste better - at least to you, the grower.
As summer begins to unfold, we are all presented with agrarian challenges. Ours are in the form of 35 acres of wine berries, and the fuel, scheduled contract labor, and agricultural equipment required to grow and successfully harvest them. Successfully is the operative word here. Our first successful harvest was 2002. Our only unsuccessful harvest was 2020. We have been around the barn, both directions, and have a pretty good idea what’s coming up for Vintage 2024.
Agriculture is everywhere. From the so-called simple task of maintaining a healthy green lawn to tending a backyard garden or even foraging at the local farmers market where you can meet the person who grew your food. Self-sufficiency is very empowering.
Ernie had the great fortune to meet Charley Pride on a flight to Portland a few years back. It came to light that we grew and made wine in Oregon. Charley then shared a story about working the cotton fields in his youth with his father. And about his brief baseball career before he made it big as a singer. Then the stewardesses captured him for a round of selfies.
It was harvest time in the cotton fields for Charley and his father. When they finished picking their rows, the cotton was weighed and recorded. When they looked at the weights from each of their rows, Charley’s came up a little bit light. His father took him back into his row and pointed out where he had missed some cotton. And then showed him how to improve for the next row. The more cotton in the sack, the more money in your pocket.
“Even now, when I'm asked how I'm doing, I like to reply, Pretty good. I've got all my fingers and both eyes.” – Charley Pride
The point of his story to Ernie was that there is something to learn in everything you do. Do your best and take pride in your work. If for no one else but yourself.
What Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?
The wine industry at large, it seems, is facing some headwinds. When we visit retailers and restaurants, we are surprised at the seemingly infinite number of wine brands. Not just from Oregon, of which there are well over 1,000 now, but from all over the world. And we wonder, who are the people behind these brands?
Then we wonder who is going to buy these wines, and more importantly, why? Some wine purchases are simply a matter of convenience. For example, the only convenience store at your vacation destination has 10 wines that you have never heard of. Choose wisely.
Other times, you may be faced with more categorical choices. A crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc may be just what you are craving, and the grocery store you are shopping in for dinner has three. In that case, it becomes a commodity type decision, and the lower price often wins the sale.
Special occasions call for special wines. Of course, you may not be familiar with the 1,000+ wine brands and 11 AVA's in the Willamette Valley and ask your local retailer for recommendations. But your local retailer, as knowledgeable and helpful as they are, can only offer you wines that are brought into the state from the aptly named 3-tier system. This means wholesalers source wines from out of state wineries and sell them to in state retailers. Not all wineries are represented in all states.
Product differentiation is important, but can only take you so far. Using only Estate grown fruit for our wines from one of the smallest AVA’s in the Willamette Valley is a great way to start a conversation. And if that conversation is with a wholesaler in a faraway state, they may have all of the Oregon brands they can handle. In fact, they may be discontinuing some brands. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Interested in learning about the newest AVA? Download our FREE guide to the Willamette Valley AVA’s!
So we conclude, maybe success in the wine space is like getting elected (or convicted) – people need to know something about your brand. If it is positive, you are on your way to being elected. If it is negative, well, let’s not go there.
Once people have discovered your brand and are interested in trying it out, they need to have access to it. There are three ways: restaurant lists, wine retailers, and direct to consumer shipping. The first two typically require a wholesaler to import your wines into their state for resale. Fortunately for the third option, wineries are able to ship directly to consumers in most states.
And so Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means.® is our way of campaigning. Dena has begun a label redesign program beginning with our Book Club series wines. We both feel her front label design is quite elegant, so she worked on improving Ernie’s back label design. The first paragraph is consistent across all of our bottles. The second paragraph speaks to the wine. The QR code is the delivery vehicle. (Like French fries are the delivery vehicle for ketchup – think about that.)
The always present mobile phone is the enabling technology. Much like the toaster, which was invented shortly after the wheel, is the enabling technology for the Pop Tart and endless other consumer goods that could be served hot in just a matter of seconds. The modern day version of the toaster is the mobile phone. Take an image of the QR code with the camera, and you are connected directly to us and our archive of winegrowing posts going back over 20 years.
Some brands are a label on a bottle of fermented grapes, maybe from imported bulk wine. Other brands are a connection back to the people and the land. While there is room for both in the wine space, we believe the future of the wine industry will favor those wineries who can talk the talk AND walk the walk. And if it sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck… then most likely it will pair well with Pinot Noir. Check out our Culinary Inclination for Pinot Noir and roast duck!
The Numbers
We recorded 230.0 Degree Days for the month of May, 2024. The high temperature was 88.7 on May 11th at 3:36 pm, and the low temperature was 35.1 degrees recorded on May 8th. There was no frost damage. This brings the growing season to date Degree Day accumulation from April 1st through May 31st to 366.2 Degree Days. There were no flowers sighted during May, and we will just have to wait and see what June brings.
Rainfall for the month of May was 3.07 inches, about double the precipitation from April. The growing season to date rainfall from April 1st through May 31st is 4.60 inches. We’ll call that good as it charges the soil for the dry months ahead. This is important to us, as we do not irrigate. Dry farmed all the way!
The only fires we are watching this spring are in Canada. These fires are due north of Oregon. Based on the jet stream, have seen heavy particulate in the atmosphere that is blocking the sun’s rays. Hopefully, the fires are put out before harvest.
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
Other Resources
Visit our Website
Visit the FLOG Archive
Take the Amalie Robert Tour
Shop Amalie Robert Direct
Download your FREE Willamette Valley sub-AVA Guide
Alaska Airlines Wines Fly Free