Down on the Farm

by Bob the "Wine Guy"

In light of all that has transpired over the past several years, including the unusual weather here in California and a very wet winter farms have fared pretty well, with the exception of the dairy industry. Of note would be the impact on the quality of the more delicate tree fruit crops such as apricots, cherries, early plums and peaches. The rain and hail during the early spring left scaring on much of the cherry crop. (Who put the ape in apricot anyway?)

So you ask how about the grapes, Okay I’ll tell you. Grapes seem to be doing very well. The spring set was very strong, maybe the strongest in many years. This is a good indicator after bud break as to how things will look at harvest this year.

As we have watched the devastation of severe weather such as tornadoes, floods and droughts that have hit so much of the rest of the country, it accentuated just how very special the agriculture industry is here in California. It just points out how thankful we should be to be in this special place.

I have mentioned before that all states in the U.S. now produce grapes for wine production; however California produces 90% of all the wine grapes in the U.S. of A. It’s pretty cool to be a part of that. Temperature, rain fall amounts, soil conditions, and a highly efficient water infrastructure make California unlike anywhere in the world. (Yeah..us) Lastly, this little tid bit, California’s central valley again leads all other California growing areas and even many states in total farm revenues.

Holy moly, this was not true before Bob the Wine Guy and his Patty started growing their vineyard in the Cummings Valley… I’m just saying. So times are indeed tough but this year looks good for the farmers, stay tuned.

A fast thank you again to Tehachapi for a great event, this years Jazz Under the Stars was a big hit and another sell out. Here it is the wine word of the day; sweetness, a term often used to describe Bob the Wine Guy… just kidding. The real meaning is the impression of sugary taste in a wine, which can be due to the presence of residual sugar or to other sweet-tasting substances in the wine, such as alcohol.

Now another family gem…

Okay, so my Uncle Luca arrives at the pearly gates and sees St. Peter who immediately asks, “Have you ever done anything of particular merit?” (St. Pete must know the family) So Uncle Luca says, “Yeah I can think of one thing. On a trip to South Dakota I came upon a gang of bikers, who were threatening a young woman, and I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn’t listen. So, I approached the largest and most tattooed biker and smacked him in the face, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring and threw it on the ground and yelled. ‘Now back off or I’ll kick the snot out of all of you!’” St. Peter was impressed and asked, “So when did this happen?” Uncle answered, “Oh a couple of minutes ago.” Bada Bing.

'Til next time Bob the Wine Guy saying have a great week!

Send in those questions. I can be contacted through souzafamilyvineyard.com/contact.php
or by emailing wineguy@souzafamilyvineyard.com.