Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/62522
GRAPE GRO WING Mark Pisoni credits Adam Lee (left) of Siduri Wines with convincing him to join the Sustainability in Practice certification program. Pisoni says working with SiP helped improve erosion control in his vineyards. Of the SIP program, Pisoni adds: "We like it because it looks at the big picture and takes into account every aspect of the vineyard op- erations including social responsibility, soil and water conservation, habitat maintenance, vineyard economics, winery relations, continu- ing education and many others." L.D. W&V: You sell a lot of the grapes from all three vineyards to a number of wineries. Have any of your clients made suggestions about viticultural techniques that you should try? Pisoni: We work with a wide variety of high-end wineries. Some wineries are very involved and demand specific viticultural practices to the sections where they source their fruit from, and others are much more hands-off and ask that we farm their sec- tion as we would recommend. For example, Adam and Dianna Lee of Siduri are very in- volved and have asked that we do a number of experiments in their sections. For three continuous years, we split one section of Pisoni where they source grapes into two blocks. One half was farmed at a yield of 1 ton per acre, while we farmed the other half at 2 to 3 tons per acre. We harvested the grapes separately, and Adam and Dianna vinified the wine separately. We blind- tasted the wines each year, and the results were surprising. Con- trary to what many may expect, the wine made from the higher yielding block made the better wine. This is one example of what many people are now realizing: You have to farm for balanced vines and not just a yield number. Adam and Dianna are always interested in challenging conventional wisdom. With all the ideas between us and the wineries we work with, we are always conducting some sort of trial. Whether it is irrigation, canopy, pruning, etc., this is how we continuously fine-tune our viticulture to our ranches. A resident of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Laurie Daniel has been a journalist for more than 25 years. She has been writing about wine for publications for nearly 15 years and has been a Wines & Vines contribu- tor since 2006. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER Westec's New Tank Jacket covers the majority of the tank in a 5' total height dimpled cooling jacket for complete temperature control. The tank shell is seamless — making the tank easier to clean and allowing for larger, more effective cooling jackets. Our New Tank Jackets can be used on any size tank: place the dimple jacket anywhere on smaller tanks, to optimize the heating/cooling capabilities. Place fewer, larger jackets on larger tanks, and potentially reduce plumbing costs. You won't find a solution like this anywhere else. Please contact us today for more information, a tour of our facility, and an estimate for your next job. Westec's New Tank Jackets can be built for any size tank, including our portable tanks. Wes_Wn&Vn-J/F-2011 halfpg4c.indd 1 Wines & Vines DeCeMBeR 2011 39 12/2/10 3:35 PM