Working Winery Calendar

Great wine starts in the vineyard! Maintenance and care of our estate vineyards is a yearlong process. Please follow us throughout the year as Gail & I share our story of activities here at Pheasant Valley Estate Vineyard & Winery. - Scott Hagee

	JANUARY VINEYARD ACTIVITIES After harvest we have removed any unproductive or damaged vines, the vines will remain dormant until springtime. In the month of January we continue to perform vineyard maintenance and monitor the vines against frost damage. BARREL ROOM ACTIVITIES In our Barrel Room we are continually "topping" our wines.Once in the barrel, the wine volume decreases due to evaporation. This allows more air to be exposed and puts the wine at risk of oxidation and growth of micro organisms. We will continue to "top-up" and taste monthly until the vintage is bottled. Read about our wine operations tours
	FEBRUARY VINEYARD ACTIVITIES In February we continue to monitor the vines against frost damage. We will start pruning the vines as an effort to manage grape volume production. New grafts are prepared if needed. BARREL ROOM ACTIVITIES In our Barrel Room we are continually "topping" our wines. Once in the barrel, the wine volume decreases due to evaporation. This allows more air to be exposed and puts the wine at risk of oxidation and growth of micro organisms. We will continue to "top-up" monthly until the vintage is bottled. We will start the Rack and Return Process (explained in our next update) Read about our wine operations tours
	MARCH VINEYARD ACTIVITIES This is an exciting time! The buds are beginning to swell, Spring is on the way! Buds are showing some pink and we begin pruning. Learn the difference between Spur pruning and Cane Pruning. This is a time for close inspection of the vines and to pay close attention to last years records (disease or early pest problems). BARREL ROOM ACTIVITIES We will be bottling white wines this month. Come to our Bottling Week Event to see how the Million Dollar Bottling Truck works. We are continuing the Rack and Return Process: fermented red wine is separated from the yeast sediment by moving the wine into clean barrels. One benefit from this process is the reduction of tannins, the management of tannins in the winemaking process is a key component in the resulting quality of the wine. Read about our wine operations tours
	APRIL VINEYARD ACTIVITIES New shoots are growing. Now is the time for Mother Nature to cooperate and keep things from frosting. New shoots are quite susceptible to frost. Our south facing slope helps to decrease our risk. Frost acts like water and will run down hill away from vines. A south slope will heat up during the day and give off some heat when the sun goes down.
	MAY VINEYARD ACTIVITIES Shoots continue to grow.As the shoots grow we begin to position them between wind wire for shoot support. Shoot thinning takes place in May. A light oil spray is applied to ward off mildew.
	JUNE VINEYARD ACTIVITIES KGW Channel 8 - Meteorologist Rod Hill talks with Scott Hagee after a recent thurder and lightening storm fell on the Hood River Valley. "Despite a cool start, farmers have learned to adapt, these late starts can sometimes produce the best wine Oregon has to offer." says Scott View KGW News Channel 8 - Entire Broadcast Grape cluster trimming takes place in June. Depending on the location in the vineyard and health of the vin we have 1 to 2 clusters per shoot, about 10-13 shoots per vine. Mid to late June we are in full bloom, very tiny flowers. Soil and leaf samples are taken, sent to the lab for analysis. We begin to water very young vines and move wind wires up as the shoots grow
	JULY VINEYARD ACTIVITIES Older vines may need a shot of water. We monitor for disease and pests.
	AUGUST VINEYARD ACTIVITIES First water on 5 year old vines, older vines don't get water yet. Grape clusters change from green to pink to purple(veraison) depending on the varietal. When fully changed we fruit-thin, remove low performing clusters allowing the strongest clusters to thrive. We also be begin checking for balance of sugar and acid. We begin bird netting the entire area to protect from sterlings and robins.
	SEPTEMBER VINEYARD ACTIVITIES: A late year much like the last, this September encountered a few extra warm days which our south facing slopes thoroughly soaked up! We are now at the same place as we were last year at this time, even though our bloom date and verasion (color change of the grapes from green to purple) were 7-10 days later than last year, we would never have thought we would be this far along, which is good news! As we test the sugar level (brix) in the grapes, so too have the birds noticed a rise in sweetness! Now is the time we cover all the vines in bird netting, a laborious but essential task to protecting the fruit from snacking migratory birds. The organic mildew and botrytis control worked quite well, even in this problematic year. Mildew is bad in any instance but as for botrytis, you will not want any in a dry wine, but a little in sweet wine is often a desired ingredient. BARREL ROOM ACTIVITIES: Our press and sorting line are all set and ready for another busy season as other vineyards start bringing grapes, from further east, in for processing. Last year we did over 150 tons in Custom Crush operations, 10 times more than what we crushed for ourselves. We are also rearranging and organizing barrels into those that will be bottled on October 20th and which ones will stay in the barrel room to age a little longer; and then prepare the empty barrels for the fresh juice from the new harvest. September and October are great months to take advantage on one of our Wine Operations Tours!
	OCTOBER
	NOVEMBER
	DECEMBER