Budbreak early across Paso Robles vineyards
Early March budbreak at Tablas Creek. Photo courtesy of Viticulturalist Jordan Longborg.
First few weeks of new season growth sets wineries to frost watch
–Early grapevine budbreak across the board has Paso Robles wineries on the edge of their seats as they remain on high alert for frost during the Spring growing season. The first tender buds of the growing season are always an exciting time for regional growers with the promise of the harvest ahead and the wines to come.
Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Communications Director Chris Taranto said the overall report was that budbreak was up to three weeks early for the 2016 season. “With early budbreak everything happens a little earlier like flowering, fruit set, veraison and harvest,” he said.
Last year was about three weeks early and 2014 was the same although you can’t really compare seasons, he said. “2015 was tough as it was a cool Spring, which had its own challenges and diminished crop sizes up to 60-percent across the board…2014 was actually a good vintage with a cool spell towards the end and a longer harvest.”
Taranto said a few vineyards in the Paso Robles American Viticulture Area (AVA), suffered from frost damage but a as a general rule they would be watching for frost up until mid-May.
“With the increased rainfall it will help to leech the ground of built up salts which have not been flushed from the ground in previous years,” he said. “This will help improve the overall health of the vine…More water for the soils is good all round especially the calcareous soils which are porous and retain water, which is especially helpful for dry farmed vineyards.”
Paso Robles grows over 40 different types of wine grapes as a result of its diverse micro-climates and geographies. The AVA is split into sub-appellations with their own unique climate. The Paso Robles Daily News surveyed vineyards and wineries from various appellations on early budbreak, frost and seasonal growth.
Adelaida District
Early budbreak in the Halter Ranch vineyards. Photo courtesy of Assistant Viticulturalist/Cellar Worker Nick Painter.
Halter Ranch Vineyard Manager Lucas Pope who manages 280 acres of vineyards that reach an elevation of 1,750 feet said across the board everything was waking up early. “Our season is about five days behind last year, which was the earliest year so far, we saw budbreak about the second week of March,” he said. Their vineyards had frost damage, but it wasn’t significant, Pope said. “We will probably see about five percent of vines affected by frost..Grenache and Syrah on the tops of our hills generally break bud early.” Assistant Viticulturalist/Cellar Worker Nick Painter added that their first blocks were about 10 to 14 days away from going through bloom.
Recent frost at Halter Ranch in the Adelaida appellation. Photo courtesy of Assistant Viticulturalist/Cellar Worker Nick Painter.
Tablas Creek Vineyard Viticulturalist Jordan Lonborg said as far as this year is concerned the only varietal that is not in full budbreak as of Thursday, Apr. 14 was the head trained Mourvedre block as well as some Mourvedre on trellis. “As predicted Grenache and Grenache Blanc followed closely behind the Viognier (which was in full budbreak by March 7)…By Apr. 1, 75 per-cent of the vineyard was pushing…As of Wednesday, Apr. 13, we are looking at around 90-percent, which is pretty crazy considering that in 2013 budbreak didn’t even occur until the first week of April,” he said. “Like many of the vineyards in the area, we suffered during the frost event which occurred on the mornings of Mar. 29 and 30…Both days we had below freezing temps for over three hours…On the Mar. 29, the temperature actually hit 29 (appropriately) and stayed there for close to an hour… Unfortunately, in areas of the vineyard where there is no frost protection, we suffered quite a bit of damage…The Grenache definitely took a hit.”
Jason Haas added that those three weeks of cool weather in the beginning of March put things on pause, and it wasn’t really until it warmed back up at the end of the month that most of the other things got going. “That likely saved us to some extent during those frosty mornings on Mar. 29 and 30, since it was mostly the Viognier, Grenache, and Grenache Blanc that were out, while most of the later varieties were still mostly or entirely dormant,” he said. “As Jordan notes, everything is out, and we’ve still got another month where we have to worry about frosts…But each day we make it forward helps our chances measurably.”
Creston District
Chateau Margene Proprietor, Viticulturist and Winemaker, Michael Mooney said budbreak had been up to one to two weeks early in his vineyard. “Cabernet Franc was first and Cabernet Sauvignon was about one and a half weeks behind,” he said. “There have been no frost issues…it is looking pretty good for the rest of the month but you never know with mother nature,” he said. “We dual prune in our vineyard starting in early January we leave eight to ten inches of growth and come back as late as possible in March to do a second pruning, which shocks the vine and delays budbreak which is very effective for us.”
“We have nine acres so we are able to provide a personal touch with our vineyard, which reaches a 300 foot elevation,” he said. “There is a huge difference in temperature from the bottom to the top of the hill, about four to five degrees, any frost concerns we have will be at the lower end…We are looking forward to budbreak ending, training the vines and the harvest ahead, but we are taking it one step at a time.”
El Pomar District
AmByth Estate’s Gelert Hart said budbreak occurred on Tempranillo and Sangiovese before anything else. “Very early, about Mar. 5 to 10,” she said. “Most other varietals like our Syrah, Grenache Noir, Mourvedre, Counoise, all popped about the same time, around Mar. 10 to 20…Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Viognier showed around the same time but slowly, they also seem to have the least amount of growth since then…Being dry farmed we can see the potential from this year’s rain being much more growth then last season but will they produce fruit like they have before? We’ll see…grape set is already moving in…As for frost, we are lucky being on top of a little nob of a hill with the Templeton gap bringing slightly warmer air it seems when the temperatures drop around us…We did not seem to get affected by any freeze during budbreak this year…We have to deal with wind and shatter up here which Thursday, Apr. 14 night and Friday, Apr. 15 in the morning were extreme.”
Paso Robles Estrella District
Operations Manager Ryan Newkirk who manages 400 acres of vineyards including Eberle Winery vineyards in the Estrella District and 500 acres of Steinbeck Wines Vineyards in the Geneseo District said budbreak was more in line with normal growth than last year. “We still have concerns with frost and will be watching this until about May 1,” he said. “In the Estrella region frost can be more of an issue with the way the cold air seems to move…And in some of our Steinbeck vineyards we had about 50 acres of vines affected with moderate to severe frost damage.”
Paso Robles Geneseo District
Mindy Allen from Custom Vineyard Application who manages Cass Winery vineyards said the Viognier was the first to bud on Feb. 24, shortly followed by the Marsanne and Grenache. “There was four inches of growth when we experienced the three days of frost…Fortunately, Cass Winery has overhead sprinkler frost protection which saved the crop from damage…We had many vineyards that experienced upwards of 70-percent damage in their whites…With the rain received, it was important to keep the vineyard mowed to reduce the long grasses holding the cold moisture…Although we all expect a shorter crop again this year, the rain received has helped and we have high hopes for great quality in 2016.”
Steve Cass added that the vineyard is in a low lying alluvial plain so many of the red varieties had not broken bud when the frost hit. “As Mindy says, the frost protection system was turned on for the whites that were out and they are all out now and roaring.”
Paso Robles Highlands District
One of Shell Creek Vineyards Owners Steve Sinton, who has 125 acres of vineyards in the Highlands District said budbreak was a little early but not terribly early. “We have had a few earlier budbreaks during the drought…We have been frost protecting in the vineyards and we had a long night three weeks ago where we ran the sprinkler system.” Sinton said it is pretty early to say whether the early budbreak is unusual but the season is looking positive with a lot of good sunny days.
Paso Robles Willow Creek District
Budbreak at Venteux Vineyards in the Willow Creek appellation. Photo courtesy of Cellar Club Manager Ryan Bonner.
Venteux Vineyards Winemaker Scott Stelzle said this year was just about perfect as far as budbreak. “We seem to be far enough along weather-wise where we hopefully won’t see any frost that would threaten the young buds,” he said. “The Winter/Spring rain has been great for us, particularly in the Sierras as the reservoirs fill and the snow pack will melt all summer long and help fill underground aquifers…Our water table sits about 60ft below the surface so it can be heavily influenced by rain and run off…We just mulched our cover crop and tilled the vineyard, so any rain we can eek out now will really help to get everything settled for the summer ahead…In 2015, we had issues due to early budbreak which gave us problems with our Syrah and Petite Syrah…Luckily, our Mourvedre (typical late bloomer) came in later and was a full, beautiful crop…But we lost a lot of the 2015 Estate Syrah and Petite Syrah due to some cold snaps and bad weather after early heat caused early bud break…The buds were too fragile and many of them died which stunted growth and affected our overall yield.”
San Juan Creek
Budbreak at Clayhouse Wines. Photo courtesy of Winemaker Blake Kuhn.
Clayhouse Wines Winemaker Blake Kuhn whose Red Cedar Vineyard has sections within two of the appellations, San Juan Creek and Paso Robles Estrella District said they are currently about two weeks ahead of schedule. “We broke out around Mar. 18,” he said. “We have had some cold nights and have been on frost alert for two rounds…On Thursday, Apr. 14 at night we hit 34 and Saturday, Apr. 16 will be closer to 32 and we will be on high alert…Growth is strong and vines look great after some decent rain.”
San Miguel District
Locatelli Vineyards and Winery Winemaker Louis Gregory said they had their first budbreak about four weeks ago. “There have been no frost issues as yet, there was frost but I haven’t noticed any major damage,” he said. “So far it is going well, I don’t see any problems other than no more rain.” Gregory said that toxins in the soil had built up over the last three years of drought and even with the good rain recently this year he would like to see more to wash out some of the toxin build up to help with vine health.
Santa Margarita Ranch
Margarita Vineyard Manager Jaime Muniz said budbreak was normal and even throughout the vineyard. “We have had minimal frost issues,” he said. “It is hard to tell with budbreak, we are just waiting to see how fruity the vines are…We have had a lot of budbreak but that doesn’t determine how much fruit we will get.”
Templeton Gap District
ONX Wines Associate Winemaker Jeff Strekas said budbreak had been a little early this year but not out of line from previous years. “The winters haven’t been getting cold enough so we aren’t seeing full dormancy, Paso Robles is a high frost risk area anyway so early budbreak extends the time we are worried about the vines,” he said. “Budbreak has been pretty uniform across the board and about one to two weeks ahead of where you want it to be,” he said. “We have had a couple of frost events so far which have touched a little all over Paso Robles in terms of damage, anecdotally Grenache has been the most affected…We will just have to wait and see what happens.”
Paso Robles 11 Viticultural Areas.
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