Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 6, 2011 - 39

O

ver the last three years, precision farming has become a way
of life on the Jordan Estate. Using the latest technology,
we’ve been able to adapt our farming practices to improve the
health, uniformity and quality of every vineyard block. We now
nurture the vineyards on a plant-by-plant basis, thanks to the findings
from an extensive soil mapping study (see Volume 5’s “Reading Between
the Vines”), which was completed in 2010.
Soil maps show us differences in soil type, soil texture and water holding
capacity throughout vineyard blocks. Using GPS coordinates, these
maps are overlapped with traditional cartography maps so we can now
see precisely where environmental changes occur within a vineyard
block—variations that were affecting desired flavors in the grapes.

“When i started working at Jordan, Rob [Davis] could walk along a
row and taste flavor changes in the grapes between individual vines,”
Viticulturist Brent young (pictured) explains. “We would simply tie a
ribbon on any grapevine that produced herbaceous flavors he didn’t
like, so we didn’t mix those clusters with his favorites during harvest.
Now we truly understand the differences and can help every vine
to achieve those dark fruit flavors and ripe tannins he desires.”
With the help of a respected soil scientist, Brent dug 40 soil pits,
each three to five feet deep, and analyzed and identified the colors,
textures and overall makeup of the soil in each spot. Resistivity analyses
were completed on each vineyard block, which indicated how the
soil opposed electrical current by outlining differences in the soil’s
physical characteristics.
“The study findings were extremely eye-opening,” Brent says.
“A vineyard we farmed as a single block five years ago actually needed
to be managed as three individual blocks to achieve consistency of
flavors.” The results of the study also reaffirmed what Rob could taste:
The vines tied with ribbons were in small pockets where the soil type
suddenly changed within a vineyard block. “Rob’s ability to identify
physical soil characters with his palate is truly remarkable,” Brent says.
Our original map of 30 estate vineyard blocks was quickly redesigned.
Jordan Estate is now divided into 60 vineyard blocks. This has allowed
Brent and Vineyard Manager Dana Grande to apply custom farming
practices to each sub-block to eliminate differences from block to
block and vine to vine. We also began rebuilding irrigation systems in
2010 to deliver precise amounts of water and nutrients to the vines
(only when necessary) based on varying soil types. Farming techniques,
such as planting cover crops, leaf pulling, veraison thinning and
harvesting times, now also change within a single row where the
maps show us the soil type is different. Ultimately, we’re achieving
greater fruit uniformity of flavorful grapes within a block despite all
the differences below ground we could not see.
Our latest success story came in 2010 with a block of hillside Merlot.
Following the soil study, the block was divided into three individual
blocks and farmed according to soil type. From this, the improved
quality of fruit delivered to the winemaking team was described by
Rob as “amazing.” “That was the best fruit the block had ever produced,”
Rob says.

39

http://www.jordanwinery.com/files/FlexibleFile/72/Jordan_Newsletter_Vol5-2009.pdf http://www.jordanwinery.com/files/FlexibleFile/72/Jordan_Newsletter_Vol5-2009.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2EU8fZAUJg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistivity

Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 6, 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 6, 2011