Tom Scott Vineyard Newsletter - Spring 2014 - Barn Burner Cabernet Sauvignon
Dear Friends,
 This year began with a lot of stress, before we even pruned a single vine. As we entered the second year of severe drought conditions, we had to consider alternative farming strategies to produce a crop without water. We are luckier than many, as we have wells that would allow us to irrigate our vines to mitigate vine damage and hopefully produce a healthy crop. As we approached our pruning start date of February 14th, we had come up with a plan in response to the drought. We would prune our vines back harder than usual to reduce shoot growth and crop, then irrigate the vines at the time of bud break (when green growth appears) and irrigate them again at set (when the crop is forming.) Giving our vines these two big drinks at the time of critical development would help insure a healthy crop. Never in 14 years have we considered such a plan.
This year we also modified how we physically prune the vines. Every year we evaluate vine growth, determine what to cut, cut everything except the fruiting canes, remove the cut canes and then tie down the fruiting canes, all as a single process. This takes about 6 minutes per plant, with both of us working on the same plant at the same time. As many of you know from walking the vineyard with us, Tom always works the South side of the plant and Lauren always works the North side, but we work as a team moving from one plant to the next. Last year, Lauren's rotator cuff vigorously complained after pruning about 1,000 plants. This year we were determined to work smarter, so we could continue to work! The first and most important thing we do in pruning, is evaluate each plant and determine how it should be cut for the coming crop. Through pruning we are attempting to balance the vineyard, one plant at a time.
 The most time consuming and physically difficult part of the job is pulling all of the cut canes from the trellising and hauling them out of the field. So, this year we evaluated the plants and cut all the canes, leaving only the fruiting canes and two bud spurs on each plant. When we'd finished the entire vineyard, we had a farming crew come in and remove the canes from the trellising and haul them out of the field. We then went back through the vineyard and tied down all the fruiting canes, a delicate and important job. We did the smart work and the delicate work and got help with the hard work! Total labor time for us was 3 minutes to discuss and cut, 30 seconds to tie down. We finished our work about 10 days ahead of our usual schedule.
So, our new method of pruning worked well and should allow us to continue to work in the field, balancing our crop and our wine.
 Just as we were considering putting water on the vineyard, the rains came! They brought this season's rain total to 14 inches, about half of a normal year's rainfall, but enough to take the vines through bud break and set. It looks like we may not have to irrigate early after all. But we will watch the vines carefully, as last year we had a heat spell in late June and combined with the lack of rain; it overly stressed some of our plants. We want to avoid anything that will overly stress or damage our vines, even if it means a little water before veraison.
We feared that due to the lack of moisture in the air, our frost season might be a long and hard one. Cold dry air often leads to a hard frost. Our frost alarm sounded four times in March but we never faced a hard frost. We had no alerts in April, and if it continues quiet through May; we will have had a short and uneventful frost season. Another potential problem solved by a little rain.
 Another result of the dry conditions and warm winter appears to be an earlier than usual bud break. Dry soil tends to absorb and hold warmth from the sun easier than moist soil. The moisture slows down and cools the suns effects. The warmth in the soil signals the plant that spring has arrived (even if it really hasn't,) and the plants are stimulated into growth. This year many growers, including us, have noticed an early bud break. As a result of early bud break, we may well experience an early harvest.
While we love the experience of "living in the now," it's clear when dealing with a vibrant, living crop that we must be aware of the influences of yesterday, today and tomorrow. All our decisions must remain flexible and responsive to conditions, because as conditions change we must be willing and able to change as well. One of the advantages of being a small operation, is that we can make changes quickly, which is a real advantage when dealing with Mother Nature!
• We are very excited about our 2011 vintage; it tastes incredible. Our release date is October 4th, -- we'll keep you posted on that.
• Our 2011 large bottles will go on sale later this month; watch for the announcement. If you have a reserved bottle or bottles, be looking for our email...
• As much of the country dealt with freezing weather and closed airports, we had a quiet and warm winter. We're happy to see everyone is out and about, and coming to visit us, to walk the vineyard and taste Barn Burner. We're never too busy to stop and enjoy a glass of wine with friends.
• On June 4th, Barn Burner will be featured at the annual "An Evening With NatureBridge Gala" in San Francisco. NatureBridge brings environmental education programs to children and teens in nature's most majestic classrooms - our national parks.
 • Friday, June 6th we will be offering tastes from our 2012 vintage at Auction Napa Valley 2014. Ours will be one of 100 barrels available for sampling, with 10 cases offered up for auction. Come taste our wine and bid on a case, it's great fun and many wonderful causes benefit. We are also offering an E-Lot (#453) as part of the Auction, check it out. We're looking forward to welcoming the highest bidder into our home for a visit. The lot includes, wine, tour, tasting and lunch, just you and 5 friends with Tom and Lauren. Click the ANV logo for details. Should be an incredibly fun day!
• And lastly, don't forget to open a bottle of Barn Burner on Mother's Day, a gift from Mother Nature herself!
Warmest regards,
Tom and Lauren Scott
www.tomscottvineyard.com
www.tomscottvineyard.com/wineshop
info@tomscottvineyard.com
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