Jordan Wine Country Table - Vol. 18, 2023 - 30

B
alance in all things. This has been
the winemaking mantra at Jordan
for 50 years. But striking that balance
has become an even more delicate dance
on the Jordan Estate, where vineyards are
surrounded by hundreds of acres of woodlands
and meadows that countless wild animals call
home. And, the populations of those furry
and feathered residents are shifting.
Brent Young, the director of agricultural
operations at Jordan, faces not only different
challenges each growing season while trying
to grow balanced grapes, heirloom vegetables
and delicate flowers-he's also trying to find
ways to farm when more deer, turkeys and
rabbits are moving deeper into the vineyards
and gardens each year in search of food.
Lack of water, loss of habitat due to wildfires
and urban development are the likely factors
tipping the scales of the ecosystem.
" It's anything but manageable, " Young says,
standing in a vulnerable, young vineyard block
of merlot at Jordan Estate. " The deer population
has probably doubled since the Kincade Fire. "
Young believes the influx of deer at Jordan
Estate can be attributed more to migration than
population increase. When more than 77,000
acres burned in the Mayacamas Mountains
just east of the Jordan Estate in October 2019,
animals left in search of nourishing places to
relocate and build a home-and Jordan's 1,200
acres of continuous land offered an ideal setting.
During the same period, on the southwest
corner of Jordan Estate, construction was being
completed on the Montage Resort, perched
amid 258 acres.
" Wild animals were migrating on both
sides of us and found their safe haven, " he says.
" Jordan Estate is a paradise with everything
they need. "
WHEN PREY PREVAIL
Young has tried different passive measures
to co-exist with the Jordan Estate's Columbian
black-tailed deer, which are the primary species
in the Western U.S. and British Columbia.
Deer sprays have had documented success
outside the United States in discouraging wild
pigs and deer from eating grapes. At Jordan,
Young has applied these products as invisible
and safe barriers around the vineyards.
The Jordan trial was met with mixed
results. Chateau Block, the 6.6-acre vineyard
across from the winery chateau, was less than
successful. The deer devoured the grapevine
leaves and fruit three to five rows deep along
the west ridge closest to the woods.
" We aren't sure why the deer spray
perimeter didn't work, " Young says. " Perhaps
it's because the thickly wooded hilltop right next
30 THE LAND ISSUE
to that vineyard is their home. Or there's just
more competition for food amongst the deer,
so they are desperate. "
Wrapping the vineyard in netting is the
protective measure currently working at Jordan,
though it's labor-intensive and unsightly. The
winery doesn't have a business hunting permit,
nor does it want one. Sound canons are another
tool, which Young considers too disruptive
to the habitat to consider.
" Putting up fences goes against who we are, "
John Jordan, owner of the winery and estate,
says. " When you divide the land, you lose more
than you gain. "
Nathan Graveline, wildlife management
supervisor for the California Department
of Fish and Wildlife, points out that even fences
would be unlikely to deter the deer. " Once deer
find a food source and are comfortable, it is
very difficult to make them leave or keep them
out, " he says. " Often, after having developed
a habit of damaging crops, they become very
persistent, even when fenced out. They'll look
for low spots to jump, open gates or little gullies
to scramble under a fence. "
Young is considering adding additional food
sources, such as table grapes or apple trees,
on the edges of the most impacted vineyards.
" Perhaps a dedicated salad bar will help keep
them away from our crops. "
For the 2022 vintage, Young estimates that
three acres' worth of grapes were eaten by deer,
coyote and wild turkeys-the most he's seen
in his career. Young, who has worked in the
vineyards at Jordan since 2009, remembers
a different relationship with the deer many
years ago. Every September before harvest,
they would roam to the edge of the petit
verdot Block B vineyard and eat the sugary,
deep-purple grapes from about a few hundred
grapevines-and then they'd stop. They never
really entered the vineyard.
In the last two years, the deer have started
grazing five to 10 rows deep in several different
vineyard blocks, and theories about migration
and the drought present the only logical reasons
as to why.
Most of the deer live in the woods between
Jordan's house and winery garden, where
there's a spring and plenty of native manzanita
and other nourishing shrubs for food. The
design of the garden has made it as enticing
to the deer as the vineyards.
" We have this open floorplan garden for all
to enjoy, " Young says. " We invite our guests into
our garden for a Michelin-star meal. They eat
very well. "
Last year's tomato crop, around 25 different
varieties grown in five rows, was decimated by
the deer. " We've never had a year like this in the
garden, " Young says. " What changed in 2022?
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
Sunset over Jordan's 1,200-acre haven for
wildlife in Alexander Valley; a wild turkey trots
across the Chateau Block Vineyard; a deer
traverses one of the many grassy hills at the
Jordan Estate; a black-tailed jackrabbit rests
between vineyard rows at sunrise.
Jordan Wine Country Table - Vol. 18, 2023

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