The 2018 harvest is still more than a month away here at Dyer Vineyard on Diamond Mountain. Even as we finish the green drop and color thinning the St Helena Star and the Napa Valley Register have begun to publish their weekly reports from all 13 AVAs and I’m the designated representative for Diamond Mountain,
When we planted Dyer Vineyard 25 years ago, the hot topics were row direction, vine spacing, varieties, clones, and rootstock. Since then we’ve overseen the vineyard transition from head trained to cordon. We’ve reduced the varieties from all 5 Bordeaux varieties to the 3 most successful in our Diamond Mountain Vineyard (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc,
We’re closing in on Harvest 2017 and so far it’s been a bit of a roller coaster- wet winter, normal budbreak, cool spring and a very hot summer. As I write, it’s 105 degrees in the vineyard and the rest of the week is shaping up to be a series of hot and hotter days.
Most mornings this time of year find me in my Napa Valley vineyard – nursing young replanted vines, working on the trellis, and digging out wild blackberries and thistles that are the scourge of the vineyard – there’s lots to do and it’s got to be done now! As I’ve walked the Napa Valley vineyard
AS WE APPROACH THE RELEASE OF THE 2014 DYER VINEYARD CABERNET FRANC, WE THOUGHT IT would BE A GOOD IDEA TO POST THE CABERNET FRANC STORY Cabernet Franc has long been our favorite blending variety here at Dyer Vineyard and is best known worldwide in that capacity- used most often with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the making of Bordeaux style