Byron winemaker Jonathan Nagy takes us into the barrel room where the recently harvested grapes are fermenting.
Barrel Fermenting Grapes
WATCH VIDEOS
A talented group of cinematographers captured the 2014 wine grape growing season through time lapse video, aerial videography and vineyard walks with local experts.
From bud break to harvest, tremendous changes in the evolution of a vine occur, so viewers are able to be a part of the experience along the way. Whether you live in a wine growing region or not, these engaging videos will bring you an insider’s view on the exciting developments occurring in the vineyard. Extraordinary time lapse videos capture weather phenomena and geographic conditions, as well as up close looks at vine growth, providing a rare look at things only experienced first hand by the wine farmers themselves.
Moving visuals like the ones featured here will make you feel like you’re right there with the vineyard crew.
Destemming Grapes at Foxen Winery
Foxen Winery co-founder Dick Doré shows us his new destemming machine as the first fruit of 2014 begins to come in.
Sampling Grapes in Preparation for Harvest
During an early morning walk with Ryan Carr we gather grape samples to test in preparation for harvest.
TIME LAPSE: Veraison
Veraison, pronounced “ver-AY-zhun”, is a French term that is used to describe the the onset of ripening, signaled by a change in color of the grapes. Veraison represents the transition from fruit growth to fruit ripening. Many changes in berry development happen during veraison, some very visible, as you can see in this time lapse video. Others are happening inside the grape berries, such as increased sugar levels.
Protecting Grapes From Birds With Netting
As fruit ripens, a walk in the vineyard with winegrower Michael Larner led to an interesting discovery and we learned how vineyards use netting to protect their precious crop from birds. To explore this further, we visited Riverbench Vineyard to see the crew applying the netting to their vines.
Michael Larner Explains Veraison As A Survival Mechanism
Winegrower Michael Larner explains a survival mechanism that wine grapes have developed to advertise their sugar levels to birds and other animals.
Historic Drought Hurts Dry Farmed Vineyards in California
Bill Wathen brings us back to Tinaquaic Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley, where a historic drought in California is hindering fruit growth. The possibility of extremely low yields brings up the concern of not making enough wine in 2014 to cover the cost of farming the Tinaquaic Vineyard.
Jonathan Nagy Explains Vertical Shoot Positioning
Winemaker Jonathan Nagy explains vertical shoot positioning (VSP) and other techniques employed by the vineyard team at Byron to take advantage of the unique climate of the Santa Maria Valley.
Heat Spikes Hinder Bloom at Tinaquaic Vineyard
Bill Wathen takes us on another walk up to Tinaquaic Vineyard to see how things are progressing after a severe heat spike during bloom. Dick Doré joins us, talking about the economics surrounding dry farming.
Preparing for a Drought Year
As the grape growing season kicks off, Winemaker & Viticulturist Bill Wathen takes us up to his Tinaquaic Vineyard, one of the only dry farmed vineyards in Santa Barbara County.
Steve Pepe on Frost, Farming and Running a Small Vineyard
Steve Pepe, owner of Clos Pepe Vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara County, talks about transitioning into life as a wine farmer.