photo by Andrew Brosig and published in Killeen Daily Herald

Enjoy your Sunday paper today, we’re on the front page of the Business section of the Killeen Daily Herald!  Okay, the section starts on page C7 and our story continues on page C10, so not exactly the biggest news story, but it’s a nice summary of what we’ve been doing lately and it’s accompanied by some great pictures.  If you can’t run out and buy a copy, check out the story at http://kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?c=10 and then go to http://kdhnews.com/multimedia and find the slideshow for Salado Winery Co. to see more pictures.

It happens that our friend Scott Simon owner of the Texas Cheese House is on page B1 of today’s paper as well.  He was the Adelea’s Farmers’ Market Saturday selling cheese.  You don’t have to wait until next Saturday to buy his cheese though, we’ve got it 7 days a week!

Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!  If you get thirsty, we’re open Sunday 12-6 & Monday 12-6.

harvest time

We’ll be harvesting sangiovese and merlot on Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 7 am – 11 am.  We will continue on Sunday 7-11 if there are too many grapes for Saturday.

If you have favorite prunners, bring them, otherwise we have extras for you. 

Please bring your favorite hat, sunscreen, bug spray, and sturdy shoes. Come for the fun and camaraderie!  Kids welcome. 

Beware of the wasps, fireants, mosquitos, and be prepared for the heat.

Thanks for your continued interest in Salado Winery Company!

 PROSPECTIVE WINEGROWER WORKSHOP FROM AgriLIFE EXTENSION

The Prospective Winegrower Workshop is a one-day educational program designed to provide an overview of the unique requirements and risks associated with the establishment and operation of a commercial vineyard in Texas.  These workshops are offered through the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

FEE: $125, lunch is provided ($200 per couple)

 REGISTER ONLINE: http://agrilifevents.tamu.edu

 The Prospective Winegrower Workshop serves as a prerequisite for application to the Texas Viticulture Certificate Program, offered by Texas Tech University and Texas AgrilLife Extension.

 2010 CALENDAR:

June 10th – Childress, TX – instructor: Dusty Timmons

July 19th – Stephenville, TX – instructor: Fran Pontasch

August 6th -  Houston, TX - instructor: Fritz Westover

October 12th – Pittsburg, TX – instructor: Fran Pontasch

November 18th – Fredericksburg, TX – instructor: Penny Adams

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You Are Invited

6th Annual Vineyard Blessing
Sunday, May 16, 2-4 pm, 21724 Hill Road, I-35 Exit 279, Salado

Come help us bless our vineyard so we will have a good harvest this year!  Witness the ceremony at 2:30 pm then enjoy the reception & food.
 This event is not to be missed!

Friends & family are welcome.  Children can enjoy being outdoors.  Pets on leashes are also invited. 

Casual Attire.  Everything is on the grass, so we encourage you to wear sandals or sneakers, sun block, and perhaps bug spray.  This event will be held rain or shine. 

We’ve got a large tent to house the free food and cash wine bar.  Following the blessing, the cake will be cut and served.

February 18-20 – Texas Wine & Grape Grower Association – Annual Conference

Where:  Dallas area.

Registration & information:  http://www.txwines.org

February 24 – Advanced Pruning Workshop (High Plains)

Where: Reddy Vineyards, 2127 Tahoka Road (US HWY 380), Brownfield, Texas 79316

Time: 10:00 a.m. to Noon

Fee:  None

Registration: email fawestover@ag.tamu.edu

February 26 – Advanced Pruning Workshop (Gulf Coast)

Where: Alta Mira Vineyards, Anderson, TX

Time: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Fee: None

Registration: email fawestover@ag.tamu.edu

March 2 – 2010 Texas Pierce’s Disease Symposium

Where:  Flat Creek Estate, 24912 Singleton Bend East, Marble Falls, TX

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Fee: $40 or $50 on site

Registration & information:  http://agrilifevents.tamu.edu

March 8 – Prospective Wine Grower Workshop

Where: AgriLife Extension Office, 3033 Bear Creek Drive, Houston, TX 77084

Time:  8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Fee:  $125 or $200 per couple

Registration & information:  http://agrilifevents.tamu.edu

March 9 – Vineyard Design & Development Workshop

Where:  Grohmann Farms, 1101 Sedan Road, Weimar, TX 78962

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Fee: $50

Registration & information:  http://agrilifevents.tamu.edu

March 12 – Grape Disease & Pest Management Workshop

Where: AgriLife Extension Office, 3033 Bear Creek Drive, Houston, TX 77084

Time:  3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Fee:  None

Registration: email fawestover@ag.tamu.edu

Other dates to save (more to come later):

April 30 – Newsom Grape Field Day, High Plains May 14 – Davies Grape Field Day, North Texas June 01 – Hill Country Grape Field Day, Hill Country

harvest time

Go to Killeen Daily Herald, then to “Multimedia“, from there, choose “slideshows” then choose “grapes” or if that isn’t a choice, then look in the “archives” and it’s filed under September 2009, “grapes“. 

There is a multimedia presentation by Steven Doll.  He made the recordings and pictures on Saturday, August 22nd.  If your speakers are on, you’ll hear me and Tyler discussing the vineyard.  It’s a very pleasant 2 minute escape from the real world, so enjoy!

If you would like to order any of the pictures, go to https://www.kdhnews.com/forms/ordering/photo.aspx

It’s time to HARVEST the red grapes (merlot, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese)

Time:  7:30 AM – until finished (okay, whenever you roll out of bed, but I’LL be out there early BEFORE it gets too hot)

Date:  Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Location:  21724 Hill Road, Salado, just take I-35 exit 279, half mile up the hill from interstate

Bring:  Sunscreen, bug spray, big hat, pruners (optional-we’ve got plenty to lend)

Dress comfortably.  I recommend shoes and socks because I always manage to stand on an ant mound and don’t notice until it’s too late.  It’s kind of late for chiggers and should be too dry for mosquitoes, but you might want bug spray.

Watch out for wasps, spiders, mockingbirds, ants.  This year I haven’t seen a single snake in the vineyard, so no worries.

Hope you can make it, if not we’ll have more chances next year!

Happy Grape-Pickers!

Harvest season is almost here!  This year we netted for birds & trapped 4 raccoons (and one bobcat by accident) and so we actually have some grapes to pick.

Time:  7:30 AM – until finished (okay, whenever you roll out of bed, but I’LL be out there early BEFORE it gets too hot)

Date:  Sunday, August 9^th, 2009

Location:  21724 Hill Road, Salado, just take I-35 exit 279, half mile up the hill from interstate

Bring:  Sunscreen, bug spray, big hat, pruners (optional-we’ve got plenty to lend).

Dress comfortably.  I recommend shoes and socks because I always manage to stand on an ant mound and don’t notice until it’s too late.  It’s kind of late for chiggers and should be too dry for mosquitoes, but you might want bug spray.

Watch out for bees, spiders, mockingbirds, ants.  This year I haven’t seen a single snake in the vineyard, so no worries.

Hope you can make it, if not we’ll have a few more chances in a week or two!

I took samples of the grapes this morning in order to attempt to project when the grapes will be ready to harvest.  I wish that I could harvest them now, as the birds and raccoons keep trying to take some, but it appears that we’ve got some weeks to go.  My method is to pick random grapes within a variety, mash them up in a baggie, then taste the juice and measure the sugar.  The sugar is measured in degrees Brix and the goal is to get a number 24.0-26.0. 

(If you’re reading this on the blog, you can click on the pictures to see close-ups.  If you’re reading this on facebook, that feature probably will not work)

The cabernet sauvignon has the furthest to go, as you might notice in the picture, there are bright green seeds.  The cab also tastes the most green.  The flavor reminds me of the green apple jolly rancher candies I sucked on as a kid.  Very tart!  The Brix was 20.0 degrees, but these grapes need to loose the tartness.  I think it might be 4 weeks before these cabernet grapes get soft and gentle flavors.  No one wants a cabernet sauvignon that tastes sour!

The sangiovese are going to have to hang a while longer as well.  Though they are a favorite of the local raccoons, their Brix is only 18.2.  Their seeds are mixed, brown and beige with a little green.  In the picture you might notice that all the skins are not very dark yet.  The taste was like an apple.  Starting to smooth out, but if the brix does not get higher, it will be tough to make much alcohol (2 degrees Brix typically produces 1% sugar).  I think these grapes are probably once again destined to be a blush.

The chardonnay is closest to harvest with brown to dark brown seeds.  The skins are starting to get a golden, almost transluscent look.  The grapes had a very tropical flavor, specifically pineapple & mango.   Chardonnay grown in a hot climate typically picks up a tropical flavor.  Think Yellow Tail from Australia, not chardonnay from France.  I think we might harvest these grapes on Saturday, August 8th.  The brix is only 19.5, but the number is similar to last year and it shot up in August quickly last year.  I had the irrigation water on yesterday, and if I don’t give the vines any water for the week before harvest, then I’ll be able to get the brix up.

Then there’s my merlot.  I suspect this is the best grape for me to grow.  The brix was 21.4 and I’ve got plenty of green in the seeds so I’ve got a few weeks to get that number up.  Hopefully it will not be too hot, and more importantly, I hope the raccoons don’t discover this sweet treat!

raccoon

She might look innocent, but this girl weighed 25-30 pounds and I suspect she gained that weight eating my sangiovese grapes!  It took a few nights to figure out what else she might like to eat so we could lure her into our trap.  She turned up her nose at crusty crackers (I guess those grapes are a lot sweeter) and she wasn’t suckered when I threw some extra grapes in the trap either.  Finally I remembered Les Constable’s advice from Brushy Creek Vineyards.  He suggests baiting the trap with a hard boiled egg.  That was it–I found her Wednesday morning in the trap.  She was so heavy, I could hardly carry her to the car.  She was then entered into the Vineyard Witness Relocation Program.  I took her to my home and released her there.

I’ve spotted 3 other raccoons so I tried the egg trick again on Wednesday night.  Well her friends are smarter than me, and they figured out how to get the boiled eggs out, without setting off the trap!  So here I am, 2 master’s degrees and these dang coons are outsmarting me. 

So last night we tried a partially open can of smelly cat food.  That worked!  We found a small female raccoon this morning in one of the traps.  Raccoon # 2, she too was moved under the Vinyeard Witness Relocation program and she was  released in the same place as the first one.  They’re probably buddies, so maybe they can hang out again and talk about the beautiful vineyard they once knew. 

Meanwhile, we’ll be trying to trap the other 2 raccooons that we spotted and any others who move into the area.  We’re trying to save enough grapes to make it to harvest in August.  Hopefully we’ll round up all those devilish racccoons soon.