The Long Road to a New Vintage

It's amazing each year just how quickly the trellis fills with new growth. Once budbreak begins, it almost seems to happen overnight. You just wake up one morning, walk outside and Viola! It's full. In actuality, it took roughly two months, all of May and June for the trellis to fill up. Of course weather plays a big part in new shoot growth. Keeping up with suckering and spraying is always challenge for me between work and family responsibilities. This year, fruit set was rather poor especially on my Cabernet Franc and Riesling. I'm not quite sure why, but I believe I sprayed too close to bloom. I know that rain, cold, or damp weather can cause this, but that was not the case this year. So to compensate for the lack of berries in many clusters, I will not do as much cluster thinning or "green harvest" as it is called. This removing of perfectly fine clusters of grapes prior to, or just after verasion ensures that the vine's crop load will not be too heavy and thus cause a reduction in ripening and grape quality. Every year really does present it's challenges and these are reflected in the different wines produced from the same vines and same grape varieties each year. Hence that is why vintages will vary from year to year. One thing that never changes with each vintage, is how much I love to go out in my vineyard in the evening and just sit with a good glass of wine (Preferably made from my own grapes of a previous vintage). As dusk sets in and the birds settle into their nests, everything starts to quiet down. The crickets begin their hypnotic chant and a warm breeze rustles through the vines. A waft of oak, cherry, and tobacco rises from my glass and then: a sip of good wine. There are not many things as peaceful as this.

Budbreak -A time of new beginnings and WORK!

The vines broke bud back in May and from that point on they screamed ATTENTION, NOW!! I had sincerely intended on writing this post by mid-May, but my vines would just not have it. Like little children awakening from a nap, they began to cry for my constant attention and care. I began "changing" them weekly, that is spraying them with sulfur and copper to protect them from the onslaught of fungal diseases like powdery mildew and black rot. Then of course they need "discipline" and "training". You see grapevines love to push the limits as they grow, sprawling up and out, here and there, wanting to grow their shoots long. I, as any good grower would, need to keep them in line by setting limits. That is, by tying them to the trellis and keeping them looking neat by trimming their suckers and water shoots. Oh they fight, but eventually they settle down and when the trellis is full of a new healthy canopy of green, they have shown me that they still love me. Now, if only they'll cooperate right up till harvest. Well it is a labor of love you know and after all, they are still my babies.

Pruning, Vineyard Prep and more Waiting...

Well May is upon us and the vineyard is pruned and ready for this year's growth. I have my vines planted at very close spacings; 3.5x5 feet to be exact. I do this in an effort to maximize grape quality by limiting crop load. At these spacings I can only allow about 10-14 buds per vine using the Double Guyot pruning system, as it is called in France. Basically it consists of two short canes(last year's shoots) tied down to the bottom trellis wire. (see below)

(click on pictures to enlarge)
This system allows for VSP(vertical shot positioning) of this year's growth, and thus the maximum exposure to sunlight. There are many opinions and theories as to what will accomplish this best, but for me this is what has worked best after eight years of experimentation. The French have also made quality wines in this way for hundreds of years and many vineyards here in USA use the same method. Each vineyard though, must experiment and come up with the best system for your individual scenario. The buds are very swollen and about to break, budbdreak is arriving a bit late this year due to a cool spring. The forecast is calling for lot's of sunshine and warm temps for the upcoming week and this should get things rolling! It's a very exciting time of the year for a grower. The first variety to break bud in my vineyard is the French-American hybrid Marechal Foch. Followed closely by my Vinifera varieties Cabernet Franc and Riesling. My most recent addition, a German variety called Regent will be making it's first budbreak for me this year, so we shall see when it happens. I'll be adding some pictures of budbreak and early growth in the next week or so. We're off and running toward another vintage, hopefully a great one!

Wine Cellar Fever!

It's March 8th and I'm so frustrated with our weather report which is calling for the coldest weather of the year so far. A bone chilling -4 F is predicted for tonight accompanied by howling winds. These temperatures are far below the normal averages for this time of year, so much for global warming. It's definitely that time of year in the Northeast when you can't take the weather anymore. Everyone has "cabin fever". But for wine growers who would love to be outdoors tending the vines now, it's even worse. You've been spending all of your free time in the cellar racking, fining and bottling wines that are aging. You look out the window and see your vines buried under a layer of snow, the winds whipping and you just wonder why you live here. Out west and in the temperate parts of the country and world, pruning is well underway or long finished. Thoughts of a mild April breeze carrying the smells of spring fill our minds now. The feeling of the warm spring sun on your face, the smell of earth, grass and the fragrance of early spring flowers filling your nose as you prune away. We live for days like these. The vineyard looks so clean, open and neat after you prune. As the sun begins to go down and the spring air takes on a chill, that's the perfect time to get a fire going and start tossing in the pruned canes. Warming yourself by the fire with the sweet smoke from the burning canes in the air, is the perfect way to end a long awaited spring day such as this. Except maybe for the glass of wine that awaits you back inside. Oh well, those days will be here soon, just not soon enough for me!

Welcome to Backyard Vineyard & Winery!

My name is David Ruzzo. I have been making wine with my best friend Rich Schell for more than 15 years. I have loved wine as long as I can remember. My grandfather (Papa), an Italian immigrant used to make wine in the "traditional Italian" way every year. back in 1991 my friend Rich noticed a heavily laden concord grape vine that ran between my yard and my neighbors. I never paid the vine much attention, but one September day he said "we should make wine with those." Thus began the quest, how to begin, how to do it and so on. My grandfather had been dead for years and my father viewed wine making as a chore since he was forced to help Papa each year when as a teenager he would have rather been playing basketball with his friends. So Rich and I bought books, picked minds and did everything one could do in the days before the Internet, to find out how to make wine, and we did. We turned those Concord grapes into the worst batch of whatever we had ever tasted! That was just the beginning, we learned about varietals and started purchasing classic varieties imported from California and have made many vintages during our yearly ritual. When my father's oldest brother heard about my endeavors, he called and asked if I wanted Papa's Torcietti(winepress) and other equipment, since it was sitting in his basement gathering dust. I never knew it existed, but Rich and I immediately went and picked it up and we've used it ever since. It stands 5' tall and works great. It's my tribute to Papa and reminds me that my winemaking is genetic. Upon purchasing a fixer-upper home in 1999 I was surprised to find out that an overgrown extra plot of land came with it. I eventually cleared up the thickets and planted a nice large tomato garden. One day as I stood looking at my garden noticing just how much sun it received, when it suddenly hit me. I thought to myself "I think I'll plant a few grapevines here to make wine from." Little did I understand the implications of that statement. Living in the Northeast in upstate New York, I had no idea about what varieties grew and where. What types of wine were made form which grapes, and the word terroir, huh? As I began to research viticulture, I slowly realized I had bitten off more than I could chew. Nevertheless, I persisted and successfully planted 40 vines in the spring of 2001. "VillaRuzzo Vineyards" was officially underway. Since then I've added 50 more vines, removed two of the original 4 varieties, and learned the challenges of growing vinifera grapes in cold climates. I learned a lot and lost a lot, but I have realized my dream of making wine from my own grapes. It's getting better with each vintage and I continue to get excited with each budbreak and harvest. I have a lot to share, but a lot more to learn and that's what I hope to accomplish by means of this blog. I hope to create a place where home grapegrowers and winemakers can share their failures successes and tasting notes. Hope you'll share yours with me!