We are wrapping up a particularly hot July. The last time I had to write about heat stress was 2022, so this year seems to be making up for 2023’s persistent coolness. We all remember 2022. We had a couple hot days in late June that did quite a bit of damage in some vineyards. Then in late August,...

If this year is defined by a singular emotion, it’s anxiety. That’s nothing new in farming, however I’m talking about anxiety over the abysmal grape market rather than any natural phenomenon. Many of us were so busy scrambling for buyers, we may have forgotten to notice just how great the weather...

As vineyard owners adapt to record heat waves, canopy management and climate-mitigating techniques are front and center, but the real unsung hero might be the trellis system itself. Temporary fixes can only go so far when the foundation isn’t strong. That’s why growers are rethinking traditional...

When a heat wave hits mid-season, vineyard managers face a tough choice: risk sunburned grapes or pick too early and sacrifice flavor development. But there’s a third option gaining momentum - shade canopy systems. Shade canopies are proving to be a powerful tool in protecting fruit integrity...

As climate extremes become more frequent, record-breaking heat waves are no longer rare events—they’re part of the new normal. For vineyard owners, the impact is immediate and severe: grapes shrivel, acid levels plummet, and fruit quality suffers. But while we can’t control the weather, we can...

X-ray vision into volumes. A spidey-sense for leaks. The ability to teleport from ranch to ranch. Lumo gives irrigators superpowers. Or, more practically, it’s a tool they can use to irrigate with efficiency and precision. It saves them time turning valves and walking the lines looking for leaks,...

“We successfully automated almost every irrigation set last season on 60 acres of the ranch, running the pump at night and freeing up irrigator hours to irrigate other blocks on the ranch during the day. For the first time, I can say that these blocks were sufficiently irrigated, and last year’s...

Who (or what) is this eddy you keep talking about? Efficient water management has never been more critical for agriculture and specifically for viticulture. High-end viticulture needs to manage water to not only cut costs, but to keep quality high in a market of oversupply and buyers who hold the...

by Steve Fredricks Last month I was impatiently waiting for my favorite Philly Cheesesteak as I overheard another sandwich lover describing the success of his investment in Dogecoin to his friend. He was touting Dogecoin as a “sure investment” based on his study of the price trend, and was looking...

Of all the controllable organoleptic factors of oak – like species, grain, seasoning, and toasting – toasting is the heavy hitter for flavor impact [to a wine] during maturation. Toasting makes radical changes to the chemical composition of the wood. A skilled cooper can create or destroy flavors...