Salisbury Vineyards

May 2007

With the late April showers, we have just under 10 inches of rainfall to date with little chance of much more. The predicted El Nino turned out to be El Sequia - The Drought! If we don’t get any “May Surprises”, then we are looking at the driest winter since 1988 -1989 that produced less than 8 inches. The previous 16 years we averaged close to 24 inches with the highest at 44 inches (‘97-‘98) and the lowest at 12 inches (‘’01-’02).

We have drilled a 680 foot well on the east end of the ranch, near US 101, so that we won’t impact See Canyon Creek which traditionally, even before much development according to the “Old Timers”, goes underground from the San Luis Bay Drive Bridge over to San Luis Creek in front of Sycamore Mineral Springs in dry years. We are allowed to irrigate half the vineyard from our well next to the creek but with fines @ $13,200 per steelhead fingerling, we are not taking any chances and will abandon the bottom well until we have an average rainfall year and the creek is fully flowing again. This fits in with our sustainable farming practices, to work with nature using what we have, as organically as possible, and not impact our environment.

Speaking of organic, we are often asked why we do not produce an organic wine. Winemaking is a distinct two-fold process - the growing of the grape and the making of the wine. There is a big difference between the terms “organically grown winegrapes” and an “organic wine’ because they are completely two different operations. An organically grown vineyard must not have any non-organic chemicals applied usually within a 3 year period and is certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers which has very stringent guidelines.

Outside of a light application of NPK fertilizer that we run through our irrigation twice a year and a few fungicide additives that we mix with our organic mineral oil used to combat Powdery Mildew, we are very close to being organic. Hopefully, within a year or two with the advent of some reliable organic fertilizers and fungicides, we will be 100%. To date we have never used an insecticide and have eliminated herbicides.

The problem with organic wines boils down to Sulfites. Sulfites are not harmful or unhealthy but must be mentioned on the wine label because 5% of asthmatics are sensitive to them. Europe has no requirement (under 100 ppm) for a warning label because sulfites are just a common food preservative that prevents spoilage in the bottle from bacteria and the wine oxidizing after fermentation. Although some sulfites (mostly up to 40% and must be noted on the label) are allowed in organic wines, most purists demand none added. Sulfites kill any leftover yeast cells that may start fermentation again in the bottle which would turn the wine brown and leave stale fruit smells.

There are many chemicals in the vineyard, even with organic grapes, that are carried into the winemaking process. Fermentation removes most of them and the final filtration of wine before bottling gets the rest. It is Federal Law that there are no chemical residues allowed in bottled wine - safer than bottled water! Therefore, drink more wine and use the bottled water as a chaser to dilute the miniscule sulfite if you get headaches! Works for my wife, Maridel!

There have been many blind taste tests with fresh organic and non-organic wines and most experts can’t tell the difference except with the older organics which are often spoiled. If you buy an organic wine, drink it quickly. Our thinking is that if you drink our wines then we should try to produce them from as clean of an environment as possible and not a chemical wasteland. That is why our vineyards “look messy” and not a monoculture of just grapes on bare land. Our native grass cover crop, which we are now just starting to chop, has gone to seed and will be available to spout with the first Fall rains. The grass is a haven for good bugs that we rely on to combat the bad bugs and it holds on to the little dirt we have and prevents soil runoff into the sensitive creeks. We know most people buy wines based mostly on taste and quality so our sustainable approach to farming is just an added bonus.

Don’t miss the SLO Vintners Association’s “Roll Out the Barrels” week, May 3 to 6. On Thursday, May 3, we have “Barrels in Mission Plaza” with wine tasting, music, food, and barrel making demonstrations. Winemaker’s dinners are on Friday. Then Saturday and Sunday is “A Passport to Wine Country”, which entitles you entry to 16 local wineries (Kelsey See Canyon, Per Bacco, & Salisbury Vineyards included) for food, music, reserve barrel tastings, and special discounts. Salisbury Vineyards will feature the band, Bluz Dogz on Saturday and on Sunday join us for our “Hair of the Dawg Pancake Breakfast” from 10 to noon - free for club members and passport holders. Both days we will pour our wines paired with bites from Chef Fabula & Pasolivo Olive Oil. Get more specifics & tickets at www.slowine.com or pick them up at our tasting room.