The Petaluma Gap Wine Growers Alliance
Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance Newsletter
Issue: #5February 2013
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
P-Gap in the News
Random Wine Facts
Member News
Winter Wine Soiree 2013
Grower Spotlight

 

 

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Clary Ranch 
Upcoming Events

Wine & Chocolate at Keller Estate

Saturday and Sunday, February 9th and 10th 11am - 4:30 pm

$20 per person; Complimentary to Wine Club Members

Click for more details!

 

Foraging Class at Devils Gulch Ranch
April 6, potluck lunch then ranch tour; $50/person
For more info: [email protected]
 
Dialogue Dinner with Steve Fowkes
Saturday, February 16th in Nicasio, featuring products from Devils Gulch Ranch and other local farms and vineyards
  
Pigs and Pinot
Dry Creek Kitchen, Healdsburg
March 22nd and 23rd
Graduates from the Devils Gulch Ranch School of Porcine Flavor will be participating.
  
Marin County Wine Celebration
May 11, 2013 at Escalle Winery in Larkspur, CA
Save the date, details to follow!
  
Outstanding in the Field
May 25 & 26, 2013 at Devils Gulch Ranch
Save the date, details to follow!
 
P-Gap In the News!

 

  

Random Wine Facts

A "nose" by any other name . . .

The term bouquet refers to the total scent of a wine. Aroma is the scent of the grapes. When wine tasters want to describe the bouquet and the aroma together, they use the term nose.

Member News
  
Devil's Gulch Ranch Devils Gulch Ranch is a diversified family farm, in Nicasio, Marin County, where Petaluma Gap Vice President Mark Pasternak has been farming for over 40 years. In addition to growing winegrapes. Mark and his wife, Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak, DVM, raise and sell rabbits, pigs, sheep, and asparagus both retail and to many well known restaurants throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and California. DG Educational Services (DGES, a 501c3 non-profit), was founded in 2008 to provide agriculture and nature educational programs for diverse communities, both locally and globally. Mark and Myriam have been working in Haiti since 2007 providing agricultural education, mostly for rabbit production, but have recently become involved with coffee producers. Devil's Gulch Ranch now offers locally roasted 100% Haitian single origin coffee direct from the mountain forests of Haiti. For more coffee info, please see www.haiticoffee.com. You can find vineyard-designated Devils Gulch Ranch Pinot Noir produced by Sean Thackrey Winery and Dutton-Goldfield Winery.
Winter Wine Soir�e 2013 was a Blast!

 

CrowdDid you miss it? Nearly 200 people enjoyed an evening of great Petaluma Gap wines poured by a dozen local wineries and growers, paired with delicious food and hors d'oeuvres catered by Sally Tomatoes at Petaluma's Mystic Theatre on Saturday, January 26th. Raffle prizes included VIP tastings and tours at local wineries as well as several bottles of great Petaluma Gap wine -- including some pre-release and library wines! After the wine tasting, the H.O.T.S rocked the house with live music. In just its second year, the Petaluma Gap Winter Wine Soir�e has become a must-attend January event!

 

Food TableTasting

 

The HOTS    Dutton-Goldfield

Grower Spotlight :  Armagh Vineyard
Vineyard Data

Armagh Vineyard- Owners: Jim and Gayle Crayne

- Size and Location: 11 acres on
  Chileno Valley Road, planted in 1997

- Varietals (clones): 6 acres pinot noir
  (667 & 115), 4 acres chardonnay
  (95), 1 acre syrah (Noir)

- Trellising System: vertical, cane
  pruned

- Spacing (row x vine, in feet): most of the pinot is 7x4; rest of the pinot,
  chardonnay, and syrah is 8x5
  

  
History and Interesting Facts

The Armagh Vineyard name originates from County Armagh, Ireland, from which Gayle's grandfather emigrated and started a dairy in Pt. Reyes (which is still being run by Gayle's family, the McClures). The Chileno Valley property where the vineyard is located was a sheep ranch purchased by Gayle's father, Ron McClure, in 1976 from the McDonald family. Currently the acreage surrounding the vineyard is grazed by replacement heifers in the spring from about March to June, run by Bob McClure (Gayle's brother). In July when the grass turns brown, the heifers are returned to the McClure Dairy in Pt. Reyes where they produce organic milk for Clover.

 

When evaluating the Chileno Valley property for use as a vineyard, the Craynes took soil samples to find areas with the best soil for wine grapes. Because of high magnesium levels, they had to till in 10 tons of calcium per acre before developing the vineyard. When asked what they like most about being wine grape growers, Jim admits he's "always been amused by machinery" and enjoys doing anything in the vineyard that involves being on the tractor. Gayle likes meeting and working with so many interesting and wonderful people who share the common interest in the wine business including the people involved with the Petaluma Gap winegrowing community.

 

Of course, like any other type of agriculture, wine grape growing also has its challenges. For Gayle, the biggest challenge is the weather. Whether it's not enough winter rain to fill the dam they use for irrigation, frost late in the spring (they have frost protection on only one block of pinot), rain during flowering, or not enough summer heat to ripen the fruit, every year is unique. For Jim, his biggest challenge is labor. Because vineyard labor is very seasonal, there is no guarantee of having available workers from season to season. Currently, the biggest competition for labor is blueberries because it's a year-round crop. Remaining viable is important to the winegrowing business and every year has challenges with regard to rising costs.

 

Gayle and Jim bottled their syrah under the Armagh Vineyard label between 1999 and 2006, while they sold their pinot and chardonnay to a number of different wineries over those years. The 2005 pinot noir from their vineyard produced by Savannah-Channelle (Tony Craig, winemaker) won Best Red at San Francisco Chronicle 2008 Wine Competition. Currently, Jim and Gayle sell their pinot noir and chardonnay to Flowers Winery and their syrah to Wind Gap Wines. You can purchase the Armagh Vineyard 2005 and 2006 Syrah at Petaluma Market, Lombardi's BBQ, Vine & Barrel, Willabeesor contact Gayle directly at [email protected].