Amalie Robert Estate Vintage Update: Bud Break 2026
Hello and Welcome,
Bud break in the Willamette Valley signals the start of another wine growing year. While we did start farming at the turn of the century, we didn’t start growing wine until Vintage 2002. That was our very first Cluster Pluck! And you know, that would make Vintage 2026 our 25th winegrowing year! We are living the dream, so you don’t have to!
After you have done something for 25 years, you can’t help but learn something, if nothing other than what NOT to do. What we have learned is that after bud break, there will be something else to break. And the longer you are at the agrarian endeavor, the sooner that mystery is revealed to you. But until then, you are on a need-to-know basis. And you don’t need to know, until you want to use that piece of equipment. That’s when you need to know, and then you know. You know?
And the other thing we have learned is that there is a difference between 25 years of experience, and one year of experience 25 times. Put another way, there is a reason, in fact 25 reasons, that Ernie looks the way he does. Been there and had that done to him. Farming be thy name…
We choose to focus on the positive. Bud break occurred on April 7th, a little earlier than “average” in Vintage 2026. The wild Montmorency cherry trees bloom at about the same time we see bud break in the Pinot Noir. And that is a natural marker intrepid grape growers look for in new potential planting areas. If the cherry trees are getting frosted when they bloom, it is probably not a good place to grow Pinot Noir (or cherries).
The BIG MOVING Picture
So, we monitor the vineyard for frost. It has never really been a problem for us, or the previous farmer who grew cherries. Notice we did not say “worry about”. And that is because we have seen that movie before. If it doesn’t frost, we do nothing different. If it does frost, we assess the damage and adjust our farming plan accordingly. There now, be happy. It’s beer-thirty.
And to throw down a marker, on-road diesel is running just under $7.00 a gallon here in Willamette Valley wine country (for comparison, jet fuel is now about $4.80 a gallon – no road taxes). There is just as much domestic diesel as there was a couple of months ago at $3.50 a gallon, it’s just that now there is “worry” factored into the global price of oil. What if this? What if that? Waft The Fruit!
Meanwhile, farmers are farming, and they run on diesel. Our Italian Stallion tractors burn about 3 gallons of diesel an hour. Long-haul truckers, who transport most everything that is not grown in your own backyard, and some things that are, have to price the cost of energy into their services. And that is how the “Fuel Surcharge” was born. Of course, it is a temporary phenomenon but will most likely outlive us. And anything imported carries with it its own bedanglement of tariffs and surcharges.
This recent graphic from the Wall Street Journal shows a few worldwide markets for gasoline. This is a pinch point for the nonfarming population including wine consumers. Note that the Federal taxes are baked into these markets, your state and local taxes may vary significantly.
In the United States, the average Federal tax per gallon of gasoline is about 60 cents. On the other side of the pond, we see Germany at $4.93 per gallon in Federal taxes. For reference, a $30 bottle of wine is $150 per gallon, and a regular drip coffee at Starbucks will run about $20 to $25 per gallon – your mileage may vary.
What about the vines? They are oblivious. They don’t notice or if they do, they just don’t care. They are busy plotting an explosive growth phase hoping to catch us unawares. Our job is to harness all of that explosive growth in the trellis and hedge some sense into them. Then show us the wine berries!
They try each and every year to test our mettle. But this year, just maybe. There was that year when the front wheel (not tire) broke on the hedging tractor. Or that other year when all the hydraulic cylinders on the hedger failed in unison. Personally, we give them a 2 out of 5 chance this year.
That’s what makes farming sooo interesting. You are on a need-to-know basis. You just never know what tomorrow will bring with it. Maybe hell is coming to breakfast. Or it will rain, or it will not rain. And then you adjust. That’s Dena’s job. The question is not if, but how much adjustment does Ernie need.
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
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