What's on the minds of California's farmers and ranchers?

“Winegrowing is not really agriculture.” Really? This was actually stated to me by a well-respected third-generation California farmer the other day. I beg to differ.

The term winegrowing is relatively new. Penned by a very large California wine family with an empire that nearly eclipses the sun, the term winegrowing was originally put into advertisement and wine industry information about fifteen years ago. Having grown up and now working in the wine grape business, I thought the new word was preposterous – winegrowing?

Now, I couldn’t agree more. The word winegrowing is the perfect description of why California vineyards are thriving today. Farmers grow the grapes that make the wine; Plain and simple. A winemaker doesn’t just wake up one morning, decide to turn on the spigot and turn water into wine; although some winemakers would like you to believe this to be true!

Wine is a unique food product because it starts as a simple grape then goes through a combination of age-old and breakthrough processes to transform into a complex flavor combination of spectacular descriptions. None of which are actually “grape”!

A wine cannot be great without great grapes. Great grapes cannot be great without great farmers.

Winegrape growers are renaissance men and women. They are their land’s stewards, environment’s protectors, scientists and instinctually aware of the ever changing season around them. They carefully choose the right varietals to be grown for their soil, weather and, of course, winery’s needs. They plant their vines and patiently wait years for a full return on the investments they make. In short winegrowers ARE farmers and winegrowing is agriculture.

I was reminded of this over the past two days. Vines all over California are beginning to wake up from their winter dormancy. This is the time of year that warms during the day and freezes at night. It’s a tricky game Mother Nature plays on us. The new, green tissues of a vine are blanketed by the early spring sun only to have the blanket ripped off in the wee hours of the night, leaving them exposed to below freezing temperatures. The past two days on California’s central coast have seen some very extreme weather from 81 in the day to 29 at night. This is when winegrowers become intense weather watchers and reluctant night owls.
Winegrowers not only work all day pruning and prepping for the growing season but have to plan on being awakened sometime during the night by a frost alarm. Out to the fields they go to monitor for cold weather conditions so they can protect against frost either by sprinklers or wind machines. These are the days that just don’t end: A groundhog day of sorts- one rolling into the other. Dedication and a love of what they do drives them to throw on an extra pair of socks, stumble out of bed and start the business of preparing for a freeze. Sounds like farming to me!

As a kid, I spent many nights on “frost patrol” with my dad. My job was to unclog sprinklers in the night. Having to reach up to a sprinkler seated just over the vines, the frigid water would run down my arm, soaking my clothes and freezing me to the core and I loved it! Those nights became part of who I am; my identification as a farmer, a winegrower and definitely a part of agriculture!