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It’s Hot and It’s Dry!

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It’s no secret California is in the midst of a very serious drought, and for us as farmers; this is something we have to deal with every day. Over the course of our 30 plus years making wine in Paso, there have been many tough years but this year is proving to be the most challenging we have ever faced.

Due to multiple years of below average rainfall, the soil is very dry making it difficult to efficiently water the grapes. When the soil is this dry it tends to quickly suck away any water it comes into contact with. This makes it challenging for the grapes to get the water they need before it is gone. At this point we are taking it day by day and closely monitoring our vineyards to make sure we are using water as efficiently as possible.

Like last year, we will most likely experience an early harvest season. The hot, dry weather promotes ripening and by the looks of it around here you would think it is already August. It is too early to predict with any certainty but I would guess we are going to have an early harvest with smaller yields. The last two harvests produced significant yields so a small year is something we can definitely deal with if it comes to that.

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The most important thing we can take away from this drought is knowledge and appreciation for the dynamics of nature. It has always been our goal to farm as sustainably as possible and to work with Mother Nature. We have been fortunate enough to have many amazing harvest seasons and you can’t take any of them for granted. We are constantly learning, improving and growing with the hopes of continuing the Paso wine making tradition.

As always, I will keep you posted on the upcoming harvest and we will continue to keep our heads up and give it all we’ve got! “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” and we are one tough bunch of Beavers!

Cheers,

Luke