2008

• Meeting, 24 September 2008, 3-5pm at Vine Hill featuring Cover Crops.  Rich Casale from the NCRS will conduct a ‘walk and talk’ session on cover crops in the vineyard at Vine Hill. Rich has consulted with Vine Hill and will talk about the use of cover crops here to solve erosion issues, as well as their general benefits and seed selection so you can make your choices for planting this winter. As well, Vine Hill vineyard manager Rachel Ormes will talk about her cover crop plans for this season, and we plan to return in the Spring to see the results.  List of seed suppliers provided by Rich Casale at the meeting.
  
• Santa Cruz County Fair!  9-14 September 2008 at the Fairgrounds in Watsonville: VASCM has a booth at the Fair every year providing education about viticulture in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Sign up for booth duty here.
• September is California Wine Month!  Santa Cruz Mountains wineries and vineyards celebrate California Wine Month at the Santa Cruz County Fair:
  • The Viticulture Assn. of the Santa Cruz Mountains (VASCM) features the vineyards of the regions with its exhibit in the Harvest Bldg.
  • The Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Assn. (SCMWA) holds tastings of local wines
  • And the Amateur Wine Competition announces its winners with a public tasting at the Fairgrounds on Sept. 6
• Workshop and Meeting, Thursday, 31 July at Ridge. Water Conservation/IPM.  This is an all-day focus on water quality/conservation, with a component including pest management. The day will start with a workshop organized by the Sustainability Alliance and end with a regular VASCM meeting. We hope you can come for the full day. Water use and monitoring vine health is a critical issue in the vineyard. This is the driest spring on record and the State is in an official drought.
  Please contact mary@munsvineyard.com if you plan on coming to the workshop, 9:30-2:00.  It’s okay to come at the last minute, too.

  9:30-2:00  Water Conservation/IPM Workshop brought to us by the Sustainability Alliance (click here for agenda)
  2.5 Pest Management credits given for the workshop, 9:30-2:00
  NO CHARGE, lunch provided
  2:00pm  Tour of Ridge with David Gates
  3:00 – 5:00pm  VASCM Meeting: Pressure Bomb demo and deficit irrigation

• General Meeting, Wednesday, 4 June 2008, 3pm at Camel Hill Vineyards: “Fertilizers & Vine Nutrition“.  Our speaker is Dennis Culver, an ESA Board-certified entomologist, certified crop advisor, and fertilizer expert. He will talk about vine nutrition and fertilizers, including organic solutions, to promote the health and growth of your vines. Save the date, and look for more details in the upcoming newsletter. And yes, there are real camels at Camel Hill.
  Our host: Jon Anderson
  Camel Hill Vineyards
  18951 Bear Creek Rd., Los Gatos
  Directions: take Hwy. 17 through Los Gatos, exit Bear Creek Rd. at Lexington Reservoir. Go 1/2 mile up Bear Creek; Camel Hill is on the right.
• Grafting Workshop, Friday, 16 May 2008, 10am – noon at Burrell School.  John Rogers has been working with David Gates since the beginning of the year to put together a grafting workshop for us. The timing has to be just right for the vines, and they are ready. Burrell School is grafting and has been terrific to allow us to do the workshop there. David Gates will take us through the process, and you will have a chance for some hands on practice. You will find out how to prepare your vines for grafting, how to determine the best time to graft, and how to do it. Leather gloves might be helpful to bring. Note: This is a workshop, not a regular meeting.
  Thank you to Dave Moulton, Mark Seifert, David Gates and John Rogers.
  Burrell School, 24060 Summit Road, Los Gatos

  Directions: take Highway 17 to Summit Road and go 3.5 miles east/south from the intersection of Hwy 17 and Summit Rd.

• Pinot Paradise weekend:  March 29-30, 2009. Celebrating the Pinot Noir of the Santa Cruz Mountains.  Saturday, 29 March: Pinot Pathways – tour local wineries pouring Santa Cruz Mts. Pinot.  Sunday, 30 March: Technical Session and Grand Cruz Tasting at the beautiful Villa Ragusa conference center in historic downtown Campbell.  For more information, contact the SCMWA.
•  World of Pinot Noir (WOPN) Panel Presentation on the Santa Cruz Mountains:   A group of local winemakers and growers showcased Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noirs in a special regional wine tasting and provided an introduction to the new subregions on March 6 at WOPN in Shell Beach. Speakers were: Jeffrey Patterson, Mount Eden (representing the Saratoga/Los Gatos subregion); Ed Muns, Muns Vineyard and Jerold O’Brien, Silver Mountain (representing the Summit subregion); Nathan Kandler, Thomas Fogarty (representing the Skyline subregion); Sal Godinez, Wines of Vine Hill (representing the Los Ranchos/Santa Cruz Coastal Foothills subregion); and Joe Martin, Martin Alfaro Wines (representing the Corralitos/Pleasant Valley subregion).  Plus, David Bruce was there and contributed his observations on the ‘spicey and mineral’ character of Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir.  Patrick Comiskey of Wine & Spirits Magazine moderated the session. Read his posting about the session on WineReviewOnline.
• General Meeting and New Year Mini-Party, 12 February 2008, 3pm at Thomas Fogarty Winery (link to http://www.fogartywinery.com/): “Vineyard Practices to Produce 90+ Points Wines”.  At least seven Thomas Fogarty estate wines rated 90 points and above in Wine Enthusiast in 2006.  Good wine starts with good grapes and the vineyard practices to grow them.  Michael Martella will give us a tour of the vineyards and share with us his vineyard practices to get us on the right track for the year.
• Sustainability Self-Assessment Workshop:  13 March 2008, 8:30am – 12noon at Bargetto Winery.  No charge.  Lunch provided.  Please RSVP to Mary Lindsay.  For all those who have not already gone through the self-assessment, and a chance for those who have to update your assessment.  New topics have been added.  More information.