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WINEMAKING of ace viticulturist David Gates. "Our goals are not always the same—they vary for each vineyard block. I've worked with these vineyards for many years, and I know what each one is capable of, what Paul depends on from each. "My main job is to permit each individual vineyard to express its distinctive terroir signature. Paul Draper isn't interested in high extraction. He's looking for a different kind of intensity linked to correct ripeness, terroir expression and longevity. That's a lot different from just, say, trying to amp up color and tannin across the board." Gates' goal is to maximize the percentage of each year's crop that makes the Montebello blend. In seeking the focused inten- sity seen in lots that make the cut, Gates tries to prevent both the overly green, herbaceous notes associated with excessive vigor and the clumsiness of overconcentration. "Good wine balance de- rives from good vine balance." "In the greenstone areas, we see more seed tannin if we're not careful. These are much harder to manage. Paradoxically, our best blocks are the easiest to work. Where we have limestone, we natu- rally get a minerally characteristic that tickles your palate." References CONNECTING VINEYARD PRACTICES TO WINE QUALITY NOVEMBER 16, 2011 INNOVATIVE SEMINARS WITH WINE TRIALS • INDUSTRY TRADE SHOW • SPANISH SEMINARS 1. Smith, Clark. "Creating Conditions For Graceful Aging." Wines & Vines, February 2010. 2. Ohmart, Cliff. "A New Way to Inspect Your Vineyard's Soils." Wines & Vines, September 2009 3. Sachidhanantham, Sivakumar. "Geo-Spatial Modeling of Wine Grape Qual- ity Using Geographic Information Systems." MS Thesis, CSU Fresno 2007. 4. Ulrich, Thomas. "Wireless Sensor Network Saves Water and Improves Grape Quality." Wines & Vines, July 2011. Because of his site's windswept, well-drained soils, spot irriga- tion is an important tool in Gates' toolbox. Water is, however, in extremely short supply there. By filtering data from onsite in- formation systems through vine response parameters, Dave gets a real-time edge about where his limited water will do the most good. His work with Fruition Science's sap-flow monitoring is the subject of a June report by Thomas Ulrich.4 "Late in the season, I can see, when sap flow decreases, whether the vine response is linked to water vapor pressure deficit (air dry- ness) or whether it has decoupled, a sign that the vines are shutting down, either due to excessive stress or physiological programming to day length and other natural programming," explains Gates. Linking sap flow feedback to Wample's soil conditions param- eters has the potential to provide Gates with a vine balance dash- board to allow him to react optimally in real time. This will be particularly handy as Ridge completes the process of moving to organic practices over 65% of their acreage. Recognizing the limitations of modeling is just as important as NAPA VALLEY GRAPEGROWERS TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE NAPA VALLEY'S WORLD-CLASS VINEYARDS napagrowers.org tapping into its power. "I'm very traditional, and I like to take a look at actual conditions with my backhoe," Gates says. "Data modeling is just no substitute for pits, but it tells you where to dig." Wample agrees. "As we explore the characteristics that apply to other varietals, we need to keep an open mind. If you think about the evolution of Cabernet Sauvignon, could we anticipate similar response from Cab Franc? How much of a rootstock effect should be explored? What about clones? I was pretty surprised that these characteristics seemed to hold up. When you have those extreme clonal variations, you have to be very careful. This is just the beginning." Clark Smith is winemaker for WineSmith and founder of the wine technology firm Vinovation. He lectures widely on an ancient yet innova- tive view of American winemaking. 60 Wines & Vines sePTeMBeR 2011