The Lasting Concerns of Winemaking on the Edge

Full disclosure, I am not the person at Fox Run most qualified to speak about the following topic.  That person would be John Kaiser, our fantastic vineyard manager, who I also hope will contribute some blog posts in the future about the crucially important and often publicly overlooked work he is responsible for.  Nevertheless, the arctic air mass that settled over us this weekend and through tomorrow is what prompts the conversation and posting today.

By some accounts, the air over us and that radiational cooling last night represent the coldest temperatures this area has seen in five years or more.  No doubt these are dangerous temperatures, it does not take more than a few minutes outside for exposed skin to be frostbit, but for most of us it would be an exaggeration to say that it is much more than an inconvenience.  Here at Fox Run, however, we are talking about the weather and cold in far more serious terms - as is so often the case in an agricultural enterprise.

In the vineyard it is not just a question of how the low temperature will impact production for the 2011 vintage (a topic for another post entirely), but how the cold will immediately damage vines.  The real concern with low temperatures like those we have been dealing with is vine death, as lost vines become a mounting issue when the temperature drops below -5 degrees Fahrenheit.  Thus, where for most people this cold snap is bothersome for a few days and will be forgot with the next storm, in the vineyard temperatures this low are a serious concern into and beyond the spring.

Needless to say, we follow the forecast and temperature very closely this time of year when arctic air like this is descending on the region.  After emailing Peter midweek about the low temperatures predicted for this past weekend, I asked the same question many of you are probably thinking, "Can anything be done?"  The long and short of it is, frankly, no.  In some densely planted wine regions of the world, they use fire pits or even helicopters during harvest time to change the temperature by a few degrees to stave off an early-frost.  But when it comes to temperatures this cold, there is no real template and the heat would dissipate absurdly quickly.  This is truly winemaking on the edge.

Here at Fox Run we are fortunate to have some snow that will act as insulation against the worst of the cold, and also have hope that the brief cold snap two weeks ago completely shut down the vines so they are less vulnerable now.  Beyond this, however, Peter suggested praying to the deity of my choice as the only defense we have.  So the next time you are at Fox Run or elsewhere around the Finger Lakes for a visit and to see vineyards, take a look at some of the areas that are unplanted and bare of vine.  More likely than not, you're looking at a hollow where cold air gets trapped and settles during the nights.

By: Kelby Russell, Winemaking Team


Music of the Day:

• LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem; "Losing My Edge" (one of the most important, influential, and hilarious songs of the 00s for exposing the joys and troubles of the new music/information world the internet brought to listeners and hipsters):

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Cold and the Winemaker - Vol. 1

Before I was involved with the wine industry, colds were little more than a major annoyance with the occasional concern that they might become more severe.  The only good thing about colds, if such a thing can be said, were the times they also served as an escape from school - although even this was small consolation given the malaise they cast over a week or more.  All this on top of the boredom of having no one who dared get close enough to speak with.

Nevertheless, colds always seemed like an inconvenience that could only rarely interfere with the necessary work or school of the day.  That is, until last Sunday when I came down with my first head/sinus cold in quite some time.  The common drained feeling and resignation to my fate accompanied my football viewing that Sunday, but then I started to think ahead to work on Monday.  There was no doubt that (at that point) I felt well enough to go into work, but the complications of working in the winery while even feeling moderately ill started to dawn on me.

As my sinuses clogged up and I found myself unable to smell or taste very well, my utility in the winery rapidly dropped off.  Despite the best of intentions, there was no getting around the fact that sensory analysis of wines and tank samples would be fruitless.  With no aromas and therefore no taste to guide me, if a wine so much as tasted notably acidic or sweet to me I was thrilled at the sensation.  Had there been a wine loaded with chili peppers I am sure I would have happily drank it down in the desperate hope of blasting open my nasal passages.  Rare moments of clarity (nasal, if not from the medicine-head feeling) held much in common with the breaks of sun we get through the lake effect snow, clouds, and gray of winter: a weak affirmation of life's possibilities due to a heavy dose of remembrance for what was.

My major concern, however, was that I might spread the cold to others - especially Peter and Tricia who were still healthy and in possession of functioning olfactory systems.  With that in mind, I resolved to keep myself away from them and focus on making the best of the situation.  If I was unable to smell and taste very well, the least I could do was redouble my efforts in cellar work.  With the exception of setting up a filtration, most work in the cellar this time of year requires no direct tasting or even handling of the wine.  Behind a pair of rubber gloves and with nothing to distract me, cellar work became a much needed distraction from how I was feeling and a reason to stay moving and active.

I had never realized how large a problem a cold could be to someone's work, but now that I'm over it that won't be the case again.

By: Kelby Russell, Winemaking Team


Music of the Day:

• Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges; "Judges": http://www.npr.org/2011/01/04/132652486/new-mix-bright-eyes-g-side-and-more (scroll down the page to listen to individual songs, rather than the entire program, it is the third song).
• I heard this two days ago for the first time, off of the upcoming album to be released in mid-February.  Frankly, this artist is redefining what the saxophone can sound like as well as what genre it belongs to (rock? jazz? classical?).  Keep in mind that all the sounds are coming from the saxophone, even the percussive ones, and this was done in one live take without dubs or looping.

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