WWOOF #3: Vine to Glass

We arrived at Cardoness Lodge after a frustrating search brought on by the wrong directions from Google maps. A 5-star lodge in the middle of wine country, Cardoness Lodge is a small, pristine bed and breakfast with just 3 rooms that are rented for over $300 a night. We were the only ones staying at the time and had a beautiful room with all the perks (comfy super-king bed, TV, DVD player, towel warmers, and our own little deck overlooking the vineyard). Sarah and her husband Neil run the lodge with the busiest time of year running November through May. Our time in the lodge was a nice break and allowed Steve and I quite a bit of privacy, but sometimes things seem better than they end up. The perfect pristine nature of our room meant constant worry about the dirt we drug in from the vineyard and the lack of common space outside the kitchen didn't allow for much quality bonding time with our host. With bad weather during much of our stay, we rotted our brains with too much tv and a movie nearly every night. We found that we much preferred the feeling of being a part of the family and lounging with our hosts after dinner, talking and playing games. However, we did learn quite a bit about the long, hard days of grape-growers.

Sarah and Neil's son Chris runs the vineyard. After a short career in finance, he retired at the age of 39. He told us that he had always wanted to work on the land growing something because in finance he worked with money which “isn't real, it's just numbers.” During his last years working for a bank in Singapore, he took correspondence courses through a New Zealand university to complete his studies in viticulture. While finishing his work in Singapore, he and his family bought a property in one of New Zealand's most famous wine-growing region and started a vineyard (they are originally from the UK). Although Chris had learned a lot of theory through his coursework, he said he has learned the most from his hands-on experience in the vineyard. He grows 4 varieties of grapes: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah (known in the US as Shiraz), and Viognier. A large portion of the grapes grown on their property go to a winery down the road, Trinity Hill. The remainder make wine for Chris's label Ash Ridge.

Chris believes that the location where you grow your grapes is the most important foundation for wine-making. The stony soil and dry climate of Hawke's Bay are perfect for vineyards. Because Chris believes in choosing a location and soil that is of the highest quality, he is attempting to convert his crop to organic. He believes that the herbicides and sprays used to kill the weeds and bugs are terrible for the soil and are doing him no favors for the future of his grapes. Chris said that most organic vineyards convert for philosophical reasons since an organic wine yields no greater profit than a non-organic one. However, since the market's interest in organic wines is steadily increasing, it will eventually hurt you to be in the non-organic section of the wine shop so Chris sees it as a necessary change to stay ahead in the marketplace. Like Colleen and Mark's kiwifruit orchard, it would take them 3 years from when they begin organic practices to become certified and they would have to follow an array of strict rules to maintain it.

Chris is very involved in every step of the grapes' growth in his vineyard and can tell just by taste when they are ready for picking and wine-making. He is currently working on a gift package similar to one he remembers receiving 20 years ago in France at a winery in the Loire valley. In addition to a little gift basket with several bottles of wine & some information about the vineyard, you get your own row in their vineyard! A small plaque is placed at the end of your row with your name on it (perfect for a visit to the vineyard and lodge for photo opportunities), and a sense of ownership has been purchased! It is your row for a full year and with it you receive updates about the growing season and can even be invited to the vineyard for pruning weekends or at harvest – if they can predict it with any certainty (which is unlikely). They are also building a cellar door to be opened in November. A cellar door is a place for wineries to show off their wines with tastings and bottles for sale. Some offer small platters or fine dining. Others have art exhibitions or sell other products like olive oil, dressings, and cheese. The wine tastings are usually free and most cellar doors offer a good variety of their wines if not their whole selection. Every cellar door has it's own vibe and the people and wine usually compliment the atmosphere.

During our time at the vineyard, Steve and I did shoot-thinning 5 hours per day. Shoot thinning is the process of ripping new shoots off the vine's canes to reduce the number of grape bunches grown per vine (and the total crop load), so they can all ripen fully by the end of the season. This is a type of pruning done in the spring to avoid overcropping, or when the vines are carrying too many bunches of grapes. If the vine is growing too much fruit, it can't get enough nutrients throughout the plant for the grapes to ripen fully by the end of the season. This type of pruning will be done throughout the harvest, later dropping bunches of grapes. It is important to get the number of bunches left on a vine just right so the ones left over don't get too ripe because they need to reach the perfect Brix (sugar) levels as well. Many vineyard managers choose between quantity and quality depending on the winemaker's standards.

After practicing on his 3 rows of Viognier, we got to work on the money makers – the young Chardonnay crop. Chris's goal for each vine was to have 20 shoots – 4 at the base and 8 on each side. They should be as evenly spaced as possible and you should attempt to leave the shoots that grow straight up. Sounds easier than it actually is. Remember that every plant is different – some with way too many or not enough shoots often leading you to decide between good spacing or good numbers. The vines are only about 2 feet high so you are either bending over or crouching at every plant – many of them forcing you to kneel down to get an up close look. There are about 75 plants per row and between the both of us, we would complete 9 rows each day (a little over an hour per row). Needless to say our necks and backs were quite relieved when the work day was over and a glass of wine brought about a whole new appreciation. Our bodies were still willing to put in an extra row each for a free bottle of Syrah on our last day, however.

Top 5 things learned at Cardoness...

1. Appreciate every sip of wine – the amount of work that goes into creating a bottle of wine from the vineyard to the winery is tremendous and there are so many people involved in the process.
2. Do up your veggies – A little butter and cheese can turn those boring greens into something quite tasty. Who knew?
3. Wine is not intimidating – everyone has a different palate and tastes something different. Do a lot of trying and see what you like – you don't have to taste the hints of gooseberry or peppery spices listed on the label to enjoy it. After all, it is just a drink to be enjoyed with friends or someone special.
4. Constructive criticism and appreciation are important – I always knew the latter but not everyone is a fan of the criticism part. Only by knowing what you are doing wrong will allow you to do better. There's nothing worse than wondering whether you are doing a good job or not.
5. Vineyard work is not easy – Isn't it strange that those that work the most labor intensive jobs that no one really wants to do, get paid the least? Thank you vineyard workers for putting in the shit work for us to get drunk. :)