Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/946131
March 2018 WINES&VINES 17 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS O jai, Calif.—The 2018 growing season got off to an early start in Califor- nia's Ventura County. The Viognier at Ojai Alisal Vineyard broke bud Jan. 31, and in the midst of routine pruning Feb. 4, bud break also was discovered in the vineyard's Gre- nache Noir vines. "This is a normal time of year for us to prune," said Bruce Cher- nof, a partner and operator of Ojai Alisal. "In colder winters, we don't usually see bud break until the first week of March—and even in warmer winters, it's usually the end of February before we see it. But this year, we saw swelling throughout the end of January." A 20-acre property with 3 acres planted to Rhone varieties, Ojai Alisal is located about 2,500 feet above sea level, just above the town of Ojai. Its oldest blocks were planted in 2010, with a cou- ple other blocks planted later. "I would say, even from our warmest, earliest bud break, this is a good two to three weeks early," Chernof said, adding that he believed Ojai Alisal was the first to see bud break in Ventura County, though he knows of at least one other neighboring vine- yard whose vines have reached bud break by now, as well. According to Chernof, contri- butions to the early bud break include a lack of cold winter weather and possibly the effects o f t h e T h o m a s F i r e , w h i c h scorched land right up to the edges of the vineyard and was just listed as 100% contained Jan. 12. "We usually get pretty cold nights, and we like the vines to harden off as much as possible in winter, to give them rest and help them grow stronger," he said. "It's not based on hard sci- ence, but we think the combina- tion of warm weather and fire may have confused the vines. It g e t s c o l d u p h e r e , b u t t h e warmth of the fire may have warmed the temperature up." Chernof said he typically sees flowering in his vineyard in May, although the early start to the sea- son puts that date in question. "We do worry about frost, but we have never actually had a problem be- cause of the specific microclimate: prevailing breezes and hill geog- raphy," he said. Despite the irregularities of the current growing season, Chernof says his vines appear healthy. "We prune everything ourselves, and they seem really happy, budded-out and pretty well hardened off. You go to cut them, and they bleed just like they should. They're raring to go." —Jaime Lewis Ojai Reports Early Bud Break DISCO PRE-PRUNER MULCHING PRE-PRUNER PRECISION PRUNER WITH OPTICAL CORDON TRACKING M U L T I F U N C T I O N E X P E R T S Y E A R - R O U N D M E C H A N I Z E D V I N E YA R D M A N AG E M E N T TRIMMER SINGLE ROW PLUS MORE! VISIT PELLENCUS.COM SOFT-TOUCH HALF ROW LEAF REMOVER SOFT-TOUCH SINGLE ROW LEAF REMOVER WIRE LIFTER LIFTS ONE PAIR OF WIRES/PASS PANORAMA 2 X 1/2 ROW TRIMMER MULTIVITI FRAME BENEFITS: Use your existing in-row tractor Wide selection of implements Industry-leading technology Quick 3 Minute tool changes L e a f Pu l l in g • S pr a y i n g P r e - P r u n in g • Pr un i n g W ire -l i f t in g • S p r a yi ng Ha r ves ti n g • S p r e a d i n g PASO ROBLES LOCATION 1650 Ramada Drive, Ste 170 Paso Robles, CA 93446 P: (805) 239-7343 F: (805) 239-7380 SANTA ROSA LOCATION 3171 Guerneville Road Santa Rosa, CA 95401 P: (707) 568-7286 F: (707) 568-7369 VINION PRUNER "ALL-DAY" BATTERY LIFE, HAND PRUNING FIXION ULTRA-FAST TYING TOOL PRECISION VITICULTURE TM Grenache Noir vines leaf out at Ojai Alisal Vineyard in Ventura County in early February. The Thomas Fire came right up to the vineyard perimeter.