June 30, 2008
The Gratitude Campaign
Have you ever wanted to say "thank you" to a member of the armed services but didn't quite know how? Check out this movie about "the sign"...
http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/shortmovie.php
Posted by Stephen at 6:24 PM
Hedging
Today Shannon swung by the hardware store to pick up a couple pairs of hedging shears. We went out to the vineyard for a few hours and did some hedging. It's so much nicer having her out in the vineyard, we really enjoy getting our hands in the vines together. We finished all the Petit Verdot, and got four rows of Cabernet Franc complete. Will finish the remaining 8 rows of that tomorrow, then apply the seventh spray of the season. Seve and the guys will be out in a few days to hedge the Viognier and start pulling leaves from around all the fruiting zones.
Posted by Stephen at 6:21 PM
June 26, 2008
Notaviva "Local Ink" - Loudoun Extra
Check out this article posted in the Washington Post Loudoun Extra:
http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/jun/26/the-roundup/#
Posted by Stephen at 7:23 PM
June 21, 2008
Sixth Spray
Microthiol Special - rate 4 lb per acre
Dithane DF Rainshield Nt - rate 4 lb per acre
Posted by Stephen at 6:19 PM
June 12, 2008
Vivace Viognier Earns Gold Ribbon!
In what can only be described as the underdog story of the year, our Vivace Viognier has just received a Gold Ribbon at the 2008 State Fair of Virginia Wine Competition. Our first vintage. Our first competition. Absolutely unreal.
It is overwhelming to see our name listed amongst the finest wineries in Virginia, yet at the same time we feel tremendous pride knowing all the hard work and attention to detail these past few years has begun to pay off. Special thanks of course goes to Doug Fabbioli, without whose guidance we would be lost. Congratulations to Doug as well for his wine awards, as well as his 1st place finish in the Overall Winery Presentation category. Hooray Doug! Special thanks also to Ben Renshaw (founder of 8 Chains North wines) who oversaw the production of the Viognier and whose long hours in the winery have allowed this wine to fulfill the promise of the fruit. A total team effort, from the long hours during the season to bring in top quality fruit, to the hard work in the winery. And it goes without saying, thanks and love to our family and friends who have given so much of their time, effort, and support both in the vineyard and out.
Below is the complete listing of all winners. In addition to this honor, we'll now get to pour our Vivace at the "Black Tie and Boots" banquet in September. That will be quite an experience!
2008 STATE FAIR OF VIRGINIA 17th ANNUAL WINE COMPETITION
Gold Ribbons
AmRheins Wine Cellars - Melange 2005
AmRheins Wine Cellars - Petit Verdot 2005
Autumn Hill Vineyards - MERLOT 2006
Barboursville Vineyards - Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005
Barboursville Vineyards - Merlot 2006
Barrel Oak Winery - BowHaus 2007
Barren Ridge Vineyards - Viognier 2007
Cooper Vineyards - Cooper Vineyards Coopertage Blanc 2006
Cooper Vineyards - Cooper Vineyards Petit Verdot 2006
Corcoran Vineyards - Viognier 2007
Gadino Cellars - RESERVE MERLOT 2005
Gray Ghost Vineyards - GRAY GHOST GEWURZTRAMINER 2007
Holly Grove Vineyards - Holly Grove Vineyards Chardonnay 2006
Ingleside Plantation Vineyards - Petit Verdot 2004
Ingleside Plantation Vineyards - Rosato Di Sangiovese 2007
James River Cellars - PETIT VERDOT 2006
Keswick Vineyards - CABERNET FRANC 2006
Keswick Vineyards - CHARDONNAY 2007
Keswick Vineyards - MERLOT 2006
Keswick Vineyards - VIOGNIER 2007
Lake Anna - Spotsylvania Claret NV
Naked Mountain Vineyard - Barrel Fermented Virginia Chardonnay 2005
Notaviva Vineyards - Vivace Viognier 2007
Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery - Oakencroft Cabernet Franc Reserve 2006
Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery - Oakencroft Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Pearmund Cellars - Petit Verdot 2006
Pollak Vineyards - Pollak Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2006
Potomac Point Winery - LaBelle Vie 2007
Potomac Point Winery - Petit Verdot 2006
Rappahannock Cellars - Claret 2006
Rappahannock Cellars - Cabernet Franc 2006
Rockbridge Vineyard - Rockbridge Dechiel Cabernet Franc 2005
Rockbridge Vineyard - Rockbridge Chardonnay Dechiel 2006
Rockbridge Vineyard - Rockbridge Riesling 2007
Rockbridge Vineyard - Rockbridge Merlot 2006
Rogers Ford Farm Winery - Rogers Ford Petit Verdot 2006
Sugarleaf Vineyards - Petit Verdot 2006
The Winery at La Grange - Fletchers Chardonnay 2006
Willowcroft Farm Vineyards - Petit Verdot NV
White Hall Vineyards - SOLITERRE 2006
Silver Ribbons
Abingdon Vineyard & Winery - Riesling 2007
AmRheins Wine Cellars - Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Barboursville Vineyards - Octagon 2005
Barboursville Vineyards - Octagon '04 2004
Barboursville Vineyards - Brut NV
Chateau Morrisette - PETIT VERDOT 2005
Chatham Vineyards - Church Creek 2007 Steel Chard 2007
Cooper Vineyards - Cooper Vineyards Viognier 2006
Delfosse Vineyards & Winery - Chardonnay Reserve 2006
Delfosse Vineyards & Winery - Viognier Reserve 2007
Fabbioli Cellars - Tre Sorelle 2006
Fabbioli Cellars - Cabernet Franc 2006
First Colony Winery - Sweet Shananda 2006
Holly Grove Vineyards - Holly Grove Vineyards Merlot 2006
Ingleside Plantation Vineyards - Merlot 2005
James River Cellars - MERLOT 2005
James River Cellars - VIDAL BLANC 2007
Keswick Vineyards - HERITAGE 2006
Keswick Vineyards - TOURIGA 2007
Lake Anna - Totally White NV
Lake Anna - Merlot 2005
North Gate Vineyard - CHARDONNAY 2007
Silver Ribbons continued
North Gate Vineyard - MERLOT 2005
Pollak Vineyards - Pollak Vineyards Petit Verdot 2006
Rappahannock Cellars - Chardonnay 2006
Rappahannock Cellars - Viognier 2007
Rockbridge Vineyard - Rockbridge Chardonnay 2006
Stone Mountain Vineyards - Petit Verdot 2005
Sugarleaf Vineyards - Cabernet Franc 2006
Sugarleaf Vineyards - Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Sugarleaf Vineyards - Viognier 2006
The Winery at La Grange - Cabernet Franc 2006
Vault Field Vineyards - Reserve Red 2006
Veramar Vineyard - Rooster Red NV
Virginia Mountain Vineyards - Virginia Mountain Vineyards Traminette 2006
White Hall Vineyards - PETIT MANSENG 2006
Barboursville Vineyards - Malvaxia 2005
Pearmund Cellars - Late Harvest Viognier 2005
Rappahannock Cellars - Vidal Blanc 2006
Label Competition
Individual Label Design
1st Place: Barboursville Vineyards - Virginia Malvaxia Passto
2nd Place: Lake Anna Winery - Seyval Blanc
3rd Place: The Winery at La Grange - Snort
Overall Winery Presentation
1st Place: Fabbioli Cellars
2nd Place: Ingleside Plantation Vineyards
3rd Place: Barboursville Vineyards
Overall Consistency for Label Design
Rappahannock Cellars
Posted by Stephen at 9:05 PM
June 11, 2008
Fifth Spray
Applied the fifth spray of the season this morning. Vineyard is totally clean right now and looking great. The shoot positioning is holding very well, and I think that helps enormously when we get the big thunderstorms coming through (like yesterday) as the trellis prevents the shoots from breaking off.
Microthiol Special - rate 4 lb per acre
Dithane DF Rainshield Nt - rate 4 lb per acre
BM-86 - 1 qt per acre
Posted by Stephen at 9:53 AM
June 8, 2008
Shoot Positioning
Today Seve and the crew finished up the shoot positioning and vine training. For you growers (and future growers) out there it took four guys a total of 87 hours to position 3.25 acres. They did a great job and the vineyard is looking great. I also mowed yesterday as we were supposed to have a bachelorette party do a tour, but once they arrived they just wanted to sit inside and on the front porch and enjoy our wines!
Posted by Stephen at 4:52 PM
May 30, 2008
Fourth Spray
Had the fourth spray of the season today:
Microthiol Special - rate 4 lb per acre
Dithane DF Rainshield Nt - rate 4 lb per acre
Also had the crew out a few days ago to plant the replacement vines we got from Vintage Nurseries. Took them about a half day to get it done, as well as install the grow tubes. Glad that is over with, now the Viognier is all filled in and ready for the season.
Posted by Stephen at 4:48 PM
May 28, 2008
Web Site Updates
Been busy today updating the Web site with our new wine offerings, partner wines, and music bookings. Check it out:
Wines
http://www.notavivavineyards.com/ourwines/index.shtml
Partners
http://www.notavivavineyards.com/ourwines/ourpartners.shtml
Music and Events
http://www.notavivavineyards.com/news/events.shtml
Posted by Stephen at 4:08 PM
May 22, 2008
A Roadie Looks at Forty...
Turned 40 today. Sometime in the near future I'll update this entry with ruminations on hitting this milestone.
As for spending a nice relaxing day lounging about the house, well that just ain't happening. Started the day by hitting the road at 7:30 to pick up chemicals down in Winchester. Started seeing some black rot out in the vineyard, most likely due to all the rain we've been having so I need to pick up some additional fungicide to squash this annoyance before it goes any further. Picked up a few parts for the auger at Tractor Supply then headed home. Dug some fence post holes until I got fed up with digging up rocks by hand, then traded the auger on the tractor for the sprayer. Put down the third spray of the season, mostly fungicides but also a special fertilizer - BM86 - to hopefully mitigate the green shot we saw in last year's Cabernet Franc clusters:
Topsin-M - 1.5 lb per acre
Microthiol Special - rate 4 lb per acre
Dithane DF Rainshield Nt - rate 4 lb per acre
BM 86 - 2 qt per acre
Seve and the guys will be out after the re-entry interval passes to do some shoot positioning and vine training. So far the vineyard is looking great!
Posted by Stephen at 3:59 PM
May 14, 2008
Busy Day in the Vineyard
Today Seve and two others came out to de-sucker the vines. They made great progress, finishing all the Viognier and about a quarter of the Cabernet Franc. They'll be back in a day or two to finish up. Three guys x 10 hours each = 2.5 acres suckered.
Also received some replacement vines from Vintage Nurseries today to compensate for some poor stock we received in 2006. Kudos to Dave Haggmark at Vintage for his great customer service and getting us the the replacements!
Once the guys were done in the vineyard I put down the second spray:
Microthiol Special - rate 3 lb per acre
Dithane DF Rainshield Nt - rate 3 lb per acre
Posted by Stephen at 10:48 PM
May 13, 2008
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Shannon!
Love,
Stephen, Tristan & Duncan
Posted by Stephen at 12:51 AM
May 11, 2008
Richard Barry
We've added another artist to our summer music lineup. Richard Barry, classical guitarist, will be performing on Sunday June 29 from 2-4 PM during our Summer Celebration Grand Opening weekend. We met Richard this past Thursday evening, as he performed for a private event for Xerox in our tasting room. Extensive repertoire, solid chops, and fine audience sensibilities make him a great fit for our lineup. Come out and see Richard and enjoy our new wine releases on June 29, and watch for him throughout the season!
Visit Richard's Web site here.
Posted by Stephen at 10:01 AM
May 1, 2008
Summer Music Lineup
We are pleased to announce we've booked our first live acts for the summer music series! The music series will kick off with our Grand Opening Weekend Celebration on June 28/29, the week before our HGTV series premiers on July 5th.
Appearing Saturday June 28:
Chelsea Lee 2-4 PM
Furnace Mountain 4-6 PM
Rising star Chelsea Lee recently performed a sold-out show at the 200-seat Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA and has performed at the DC area's top venues opening for, or sharing the stage with, Marc Cohn, Stephen Stills, Alexa Ray Joel, Mary Ann Redmond and others. Check out her music on her Web site at www.ChelseaLeeMusic.com.
Furnace Mountain consists of Dave VanDeventer on Fiddle and Vocals, Morgan Morrison on Bouzouki and Vocals, and Aimee Curl on Bass and Vocals, and includes transient members Danny Knicely on Mandolin, Zach Lester or Bodhran, and John Flower on Washtub. The band has graced stages near and far, from the Yangtzee River in China to the banks of the Shenandoah River, where they host the famous Watermelon Park Fest each year. The music of Furnace Mountain is at times lively and raucous, with spirited fiddle melodies weaving in and around the powerful rhythms of the bass and bouzouki. It is at other times poignant and poetic, with sublime vocal harmonies beautifully interpreting some of the oldest songs ever written.
Also appearing this summer are the Brogue Rogues on Saturday July 19th and Saturday August 23rd.
Be sure to sign up for our mailing list to stay apprised of new artists as they are added!
Posted by Stephen at 10:10 PM
First Spray of the Season
Been working hard in the vineyard the past few days. Doing some last-minute maintenance on the tractor, sprayer and bushhog. Greasing, tightening, sharpening, etc. - lots of little tasks to keep everything running smoothly.
Last week I applied the first round of herbicide, and since some of the vines were already at bud break I wasn't able to use the glyphosate but had to opt for Rely instead. Maybe could have gotten away with it but definitely not worth the risk. Yesterday I mowed all rows and deer fence perimeter to keep the grass down and hopefully the risk for moisture and subsequent fungi. And finally today I put down the first spray of fungicide after spending some time getting the sprayer put back together from last season's storage. Given some of the troubles I've had with sprayers today went particularly well! Since the vines have only just opened, I shut down the tower of the CIMA P50 sprayer and just used the lower nozzles to conserve chemicals. Rates are as follows:
Microthiol Special - rate 3 lb per acre
Dithane DF Rainshield Nt - rate 3 lb per acre
Off to a great start for the year - right on track!
Posted by Stephen at 9:48 PM
April 25, 2008
The Hobbit
OK so we're into more than wine here at Notaviva Vineyards. Check out this article on the announcement of the director of the forthcoming movie "The Hobbit" as well as an original sequel. Exciting stuff!!!
Posted by Stephen at 10:53 AM
April 24, 2008
Front Walk Completed
Many thanks to Ron Hawes, Trevor and Zack for getting our front walkway completed! Ron was over at our place several weeks ago and noticed our crappy temporary plywood walkway and asked what the plan was for the walk. Originally I had though about flagstone but he suggested some heavy stepping stones. I recall seeing a similar design at his place when we'd go for meetings at the office so we agreed right away. Basically Trevor dug a path about 8 inches deep then placed the VERY heavy stones with the bobcat forks. Sometimes it took a few tries and some fill dirt underneath to get a stone level and steady. Then after a few stones were in place they backfilled in dirt between the stones to lock them in and tamped down the dirt with the digging bar. Trevor suggested I take a turn with the digging bar and I suggested he get his head out of his ass.
The walk looks amazing - I'll post some pics in a day or two!
Posted by Stephen at 10:04 PM
April 18, 2008
Removing Pruning Canes
OK this sucks. I spent the past two days removing all the pruned canes from the rows. Basically the process is to use a york rake on the back of the tractor, and create small piles of canes (4-6 per row) and then drive the pickup truck down the rows, then toss in the piles. Then drive the pickup outside the vineyard and dump the canes. Doesn't sound too hard, except when you realize the rake doesn't grab all the canes and you have to walk up and down the rows to get the stray pieces. Then the piles come apart as you're lifting into the truck bed. Then you get poked in the face and other more delicate places by the occasional stray cane. This was really not a fun chore - have to talk to some of the other growers and see what advice they may have on this one. Talked to Doug and he advised "Call Seve and his crew..." The voice of reason!
Posted by Stephen at 10:00 PM
April 14, 2008
Notaviva in the News
Been a great couple of weeks on the PR front. Shannon and I were featured in the recent issues of both the Washington Business Journal and the Loudoun Business Journal. They are not affiliated, just was a great coincidence that both stories hit at the same time. We were thrilled with both articles! The WBJ article really took a good look at the business side, while the LBJ article dove much deeper into the rationale behind the dream as well as some of the challenges that were overcome. Here's a link to the first few paragraphs of the WBJ article (you'd have to be a subscriber to see the whole thing...)
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/04/07/focus1.html
Here's the link to the LBJ article:
http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2008/04/16/loudoun_business/biz112notavivav041408.txt
Posted by Stephen at 8:39 PM
April 11, 2008
Pruning Summary
So we've finished up the pruning for the year. Actually Seve and his crew finished the work Shannon and I started a few weeks ago. We were actually able to complete the four rows of Petit Verdot, and an acre of Viognier ourselves. Then things started to take off with our new company and we weren't able to spend as much time outside so we had to call in the labor. Took them 105 hours in total to finish up about 26 rows, which is remarkably similar to the time we spent pruning our portion i.e. approximately 4 hours per row (80 vines = 3 minutes per vine) These kinds of operational analysis exercises will come in handy for future budgeting.
Posted by Stephen at 9:54 PM
April 8, 2008
Ralph J. "Whitie" Hubert
The Virginia wine industry lost a true pioneer yesterday, and we would like to pay our respects by saving a copy of his obituary here. As members of a new generation of winery owners we are indebted to the Hubert's vision and entrepreneurial spirit.
From the Leesburg Colonial Funeral Home Web site:
Ralph J. "Whitie" Hubert
(May 28, 1924 - April 7, 2008)
Ralph J. "Whitie" Hubert, 83, founder and chairman of the Gaithersburg, MD-based Hubert Construction, LLC and co-owner of Tarara Winery LLC, passed away at his home in Leesburg, VA on April 7, 2008. He had prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease.
Whitie was born in Avon Lake, Ohio in 1924 and was raised on a fruit farm that included a vineyard. He attended college at Bowling Green University before joining the Marines during War World II. Following his military service, during which he participated in several Pacific amphibious landings, he attended John Carroll University for a year before transferring to Catholic University, where he was a wrestling champion and the University football team quarterback. It was there that he received his nickname "Whitie" from a football coach who had trouble remembering his name and identified him by his light blond hair.
Between his junior and senior years of college, Whitie took a bicycle trip from Paris over the Alps to Rome. Returning to the U.S. in 1949, he met his future wife Margaret on the English Channel. He graduated Catholic University with an Architectural Engineering degree in 1950 and married Margaret in 1951 in Washington, D.C.
Whitie has been an icon in the Washington, D.C. area construction industry for over 40 years. With just $1,000 in start-up capital in 1959, following the birth of his fifth child, he founded Glen Construction Co. Inc. with then-partner Frank Darcey. In 1969, he bought out his partner and began building a reputation as one of the metropolitan area's largest contractors. For several years, Glen was included in Engineering News Record's list of the top 100 contractors in the nation.
By the 1980's, Glen was building over two million square feet of commercial space per year, including many of the area's landmark buildings such as the J.T.L. Tycon Towers office building in Tyson's Corner and the Radisson Mark Plaza in Alexandria. During this time, he served as President of the Metropolitan Washington Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and was National President and Fellow of the American Institute of Constructors. In the late 1990's, Whitie reduced his involvement in Glen Construction and sold his interest to his son, Michael Hubert. In 1998, realizing that he missed working in the construction industry, Whitie founded Hubert Construction, LLC. In 2002, he won the DC Metropolitan Subcontractors' Association Pinnacle Award for lifetime achievement in the building and construction industry.
Whitie believed that working in the construction field was a "great sport." He was proud of the "Glen Graduates," many of whom who started their construction careers with him and went on to positions of industry leadership. They shared a camaraderie and set of ethics unique to the construction industry. Known for his energy, integrity, and intense "type A" personality, Whitie often would say after a heated exchange: "I'm not mad at you."
Like many World War II veterans, Whitie developed an interest in flying. He received his pilot's license and owned several airplanes, one of which met its' demise in a crash landing. Whitie managed to walk away from that crash and from multiple other moving vehicle incidents, some of which he left while the vehicles were on fire. Friends and family learned that it was better to be Whitie's driver than his passenger, even while riding in a golf cart.
In 1985, Whitie and his wife Margaret bought a 475-acre farm on the Potomac River in Loudoun County, Virginia and named it Tarara. There they built a home and winery, planting 50 acres of grapes, fruit trees, and nursery stock. They opened Tarara's tasting room in 1989. Whitie was actively involved with the Virginia Wineries Association, encouraging state support of Virginia's nascent wine industry, which is now the nation's fifth largest.
Tarara Winery today is one of Virginia's most recognized destination wineries. It became Whitie's "sandbox" for an unending series of projects that precluded a slow-paced retirement. With Tarara, Whitie returned to his Ohio roots, living a life focused on family, farming, and growing grapes for wine.
Whitie is survived by his wife of 56 years, Margaret, five children: Karen Harvell of Atlanta, GA; Martha Hubert of San Francisco, CA; Steven Hubert of Bethesda, MD; Janet DuBois of Minneapolis, MN; and Michael Hubert of Gaithersburg, MD; and nine grandchildren: Andrea, Daniella, Casey, Jaime, Andrew, Melanie, Peter, Richard, and Erica. He was predeceased by his grandson Neil.
Family and friends may call on Thursday, April 10, 2008 from 2 to 4 PM and from 6 to 8 PM at Colonial Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 AM on Friday, April 11, 2008, at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church (King & Union Streets), Leesburg, VA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his memory to the building fund of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, 101 Oakcrest Manor Drive, Leesburg, VA 20176.
Posted by Stephen at 8:27 PM
March 27, 2008
Mesh Multimedia LLC
Shannon and I are proud to announce we've formed a new multimedia production company! Mesh Multimedia LLC was formed to provide businesses and government agencies a one-stop multimedia solution for live event production, Web 2.0 integration, presentation support, Web design and graphic design.
So what is the mesh ...?
The mesh is the experiential network that enables integrated media delivery through multiple channels. This experiential network can be comprised of any combination of live events, collaborative Web applications, Internet communications, audiovisual mediums, and print. "Meshing" can be used to describe both the intentions and activities of an information provider, as well as the activities and motivations of an information receiver. For example, if you are at a corporate sales event and are engaged in collaborative Web activities with your colleagues you are "meshing". If you are watching a product marketing video and surfing the Web at the same time you are "meshing".
Learn more about our new initiative by visiting our Web site: www.meshmultimedia.com.
Posted by Stephen at 8:13 PM
Blog Catchup
Got caught up on a few more entries from last July, scroll down to check 'em out!
Posted by Stephen at 8:12 PM
March 26, 2008
LWGA Party Time
Tonight we hosted the Loudoun Winegrower's Association meeting at our place. It was so awesome to finally have everyone over who have been so supportive of our efforts over the past few years. We had a turnout of about 38 including Shannon and I. Well, 39 including Tristan who hung out for most of the meeting growling at people in his fierce Tyrannosaurus Rex way.
We were able to fit all the chairs upstairs in the loft, and it worked out great because we took care of business upstairs, then came down into the tasting room for the reception. Plenty of people donated wine, and the event was sponsored by Marlene Straughn of the Independent Insurance Center as they write winery and vineyard insurance policies and had a lot of good information for the association members.
All in all it was a great time, and Shannon and I would like to thank everyone who took the time to come out - we enjoyed visiting with all of you!
Posted by Stephen at 8:05 PM
March 24, 2008
Hardscaping
Hardscaping is the design and installation of non-plant elements such as stone and woodwork. It also includes earth moving and other miserable chores. I call it hardscaping because it's, well, HARD. Seems like everything associated with this is heavy!
Anyhow, I spent 10 hours today working on a new terraced lawn design I'm creating by the pond. After the big brush fire a few weeks ago, I decided to cut in a terrace, and using the remaining boulders from the construction installed a retaining wall to hold the upper terrace. I left a gap in the middle for a stairway, which I created out of several large stones from the old fireplace that stood in the log home we tore down in May 2006. It really came together, and I was able to do the rough grading with the tractor, but will be relying on Ron Hawes to do the final grade with the Bobcat as 1) it is a more adept machine and 2) he is a more adept operator!
Will post some pics soon, once the final grade is done.
Posted by Stephen at 6:36 PM
March 15, 2008
Tree Removal
Spent the better part of the day removing a tree by the pond that fell down during the last ice storm. Took several hours to chainsaw the branches and trunk in pieces, stack the small stuff into a burn pile, and stack the larger pieces to dry out for the eventual fire pit that we'll have at the pondside seating area. Then the really fun part was trying to get the giant roots out of the ground. Using the front end loader of the tractor, I took a couple tries at rolling it out but some of the larger roots just wouldn't break free. So after almost rolling the tractor a few times, I had to prop up the stump with the loader and cut the roots free with the chain saw. After that the stump tore loose from the ground and I dragged it out into the woods, leaving a gaping hole in the hillside to fill in tomorrow.
All in all it was a brutal day, and I'm feeling pretty wiped out at the moment. But after removing the tree and seeing how much it opens up the pondside seating area I'm kind of glad it's gone, now we'll have a much nicer area for customers to hang out so in the end it turned out for the better.
Posted by Stephen at 7:57 PM
March 4, 2008
2008 Season Begins
We began the 2008 growing season today. Pruning began on the 2006 Viognier, which are the rows closest to the house. Feels GREAT to be back out in the vineyard, and pruning (although tedious) definitely feels like the first step in the winemaking process. By evaluating each vine and coming up with the best (and at times most creative) way to set up the cordon, spurs, and renewals you really feel like you're contributing to the quality of the upcoming fruit. Nice chilly day, hot coffee and some sharp pruners - this is the life!
Posted by Stephen at 9:21 PM
March 1, 2008
Open For Business
Today was the first official day Notaviva Vineyards opened for business! It actually came about quite suddenly, as we weren't planning on opening for another few months. But we recently left our positions at Viva so we figured let's just do it. This past Monday we were driving the back roads having our coffee, and I turned to Shannon and said, "you know, our greatest opportunity is sitting empty on weekends. Let's open this Sunday." To which she replied "Let's just do it Saturday!" And that was that.
So we jumped on the phone with Doug Fabbioli and asked how to make this work, ended up driving over to his place to discuss the details. In short we are operating under a remote license through Fabbioli Cellars until our TTB and ABC licenses come through, should be any time now given they tell people 60 days and our paperwork was submitted last October...
We feel like we've crossed the finish line, all the years of hard work and dedication really feel like they're starting to pay off. It was an amazing feeling, chatting with customers and seeing their faces looking around the tasting room. We sold almost a case of our Vivace Viognier on futures, even though people can't take the bottles away until we're official. Awesome.
So come on by and check out the tasting room, and enjoy a tasting of the Fabbioli wines. Saturdays and Sundays 12pm - 6pm.
Dreams do come true.
Posted by Stephen at 8:48 PM
January 23, 2008
Baby Swag
Just in case you wanted to see how cute the Notaviva swag looked on a yummy baby, check out our nephew James Beckford Mackey! This item is available in the Swag Shop.
(Click photo to enlarge)
Posted by Stephen at 9:46 AM
January 4, 2008
Blog Catchup
Made some progress on blog catchup - finished up the first part of May!
Posted by Stephen at 11:22 PM
November 28, 2007
Interior Marketing Photos
I've been working on taking some interior shots to begin using in our marketing collateral. Got a couple good ones during Thanksgiving, as well as a few others.
Posted by Stephen at 7:38 PM
Blog Catchup
Just finished uploading a bunch of new pictures from May, June, and July. Will continue uploading pictures until I'm current, then will go back and fill in the text.
Scroll down and enjoy!
Posted by Stephen at 11:35 AM
November 18, 2007
Construction Daily
Text coming soon
Posted by Stephen at 7:38 PM
November 2, 2007
Blog Catchup
Still working on backfilling blog entries - just finished up April!
Posted by Stephen at 5:01 PM
October 21, 2007
Construction Daily
Text coming soon
Posted by Stephen at 7:37 PM
October 20, 2007
Construction Daily
Text coming soon
Posted by Stephen at 7:36 PM
October 18, 2007
Where Have We Been???
I'm sure by now many of you regular readers must think we have fallen off the planet, as our blog entries are so far behind. But fear not! We have been hard at work on many different initiatives, and trying to get some rest after the (semi) completion of our home and tasting room. Here's a quick look at what we've been up to:
- Designed and printed our business cards (have a look!) -> 
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- Designed and printed our letterhead and envelopes
- Harvested both the Viognier and Cabernet Franc (will post those pics and entries very soon!) Both wines are well underway under the watchful eye of Doug Fabbioli and Ben Renshaw. I kid you not - the Viognier is out of this world!
- Created our online store, which although in it's early stages is ready for customers. Check back often as products will be added frequently over the weeks and months ahead.
http://www.CafePress.com/notavivaswag/
- Began development of the new Web site (probably 50% complete at this writing - anticipate a December launch) This is definitely a planes/trains/automobiles project as I have been squeezing this in amongst my travels all summer and fall. Several pages were created at Dulles airport boarding gates, others on the Acela express train, still others in the passenger seat while Shannon is driving. It will get done! Wanna sneak a peak...?
So thank you for your continued interest in our venture, and your continued patience in the tardiness of our blog entries. Rest assured however, that we are doing everything possible to make it all happen given our limited bandwidth with professional careers and two young boys. Check back often as I backfill blog entries and try hard to get caught up!
Posted by Stephen at 5:00 PM
September 22, 2007
Cabernet Franc Harvest
Text coming soon
Posted by Stephen at 7:36 PM
September 8, 2007
Viognier Harvest
Our first commercial harvest! This is exciting stuff, and we've been looking forward to it all summer long. The fruit was looking amazing in the vineyard, and we are so excited to get it over to Sunset Hills for processing. Basically we are engaged in what is known as a "custom crush" arrangement since we aren't officially a Virginia Farm Winery yet (lots of paperwork ahead...) but the custom crush allows us to produce our wines at another winery.
As always, harvest actually started the day before with equipment prep and lug cleaning. Got up early at 4 AM to continue getting things together before Quentin and the harvest crew arrived. Also had a few friends and family on board to help out.
The plan for the day was to get all the fruit picked and moved over to Sunset Hills to sit overnight in cool storage in preparation for Saturday's processing. Essentially the process is to start filling lugs, and get them quickly into the pickup for transportation. Thus as the crew is picking, I was making runs to Sunset Hills, and unloading the fruit into the winery. It took about 5 hours to get all the fruit picked, and another couple hours to get it delivered and the vineyard cleaned up.
We ended up borrowing some lugs from Sunset Hills, as we only had 96 which can hold about 3,000 pounds of fruit. Looks like we harvested about 2 tons of very high quality Viognier, so we are thrilled with our farming efforts and the fortunate growing conditions Mother Nature granted this season.
We awoke Saturday and got right over to the winery, as we were very eager to help out setting up the equipment to learn as much as we could. Ben Renshaw was on hand directing the operation and was extremely fun to work with, fielding our newbie questions and letting us get real dirty.
The crush process goes like this. First a few dozen lugs are loaded onto a pallet, then using a pallet jack are brought out to the crusher/destemmer. The fruit is loaded into the hopper, which feeds the grapes through the crush rollers into the rotating destemming basket. The empty stems are spit out the end while the crushed fruit and juice flows down into a plastic bin. This mush is then put into the bladder press. Even prior to activating the press, there is plenty of juice flowing through the slots into the stainless steel pan - this is referred to as "free run" juice because it has not been subject to the pressures of the pressing cycle. As the pan filled we would activate the pump to send the juice into our 630-gallon jacketed tank. Repeat, repeat, repeat... You get the idea.
So after several hours of this process it was time to clean up the sticky mess. I mean this is one filthy operation but the yellowjackets LOVE all the sugary juice lying around. Fun. We could care less, because this is what it's all about. There is just something magical about harvest and crush, and now we're starting to see what all the commotion about the wine industry is all about. This is a lot of FUN!!!
Posted by Stephen at 7:35 PM
August 16, 2007
Final Shoot Day
Although the housewarming party was supposed to be the last HGTV shoot day, Sean needed to come back out and get some "beauty shots" which are essentially some sweeping shots of the interior and exterior used as b-roll. They brought in a little jib to get the moves, and we saw some of the footage in the preview monitor and it was pretty cool. We did manage to get the bloodwood finished but didn't get the tasting bar done, nor the tasting bar / foyer floor. Oh well, I'm sure some crafty editor will work around the lame parts!
Posted by Stephen at 7:34 PM
July 21, 2007
Housewarming Party
Today was the big housewarming party! It was basically a dual-celebration, in part for Tristan's second birthday and also to celebrate moving in to our new home. A few weeks ago, we were trying to figure out when to have the housewarming, and the HGTV producers told us that was all they were waiting for. Oh yeah? They said "have the housewarming party and we'll leave you alone" and so we just picked a day! We knew we'd never have the house totally finished by Tristan's second birthday, but what the hell let's just get this all over with so we can lock the doors and get some much-needed rest.
So we put out the word to friends and family and had an amazing turnout. Of course George, Pam, and Bill were on hand to shoot some interviews, and Sean MacLaughlin flew out from Colorado with Lori Legler to produce the footage.
It was also very important to us to invite back all the construction crews who made it all happen, so we invited all the Lancaster County Timber Frame staff and all the Ron Hawes staff and subs. They didn't all make it but those who did were very glad they got to see the place all put together. So many times the subs see a house while it's just framed and never see the finished product, so we thought they'd enjoy it and sure enough they did! The construction crews came out in the morning, then we took a break so the boys could get a nap, then had the main party in the afternoon. We had a great turnout, and actually hired an acoustic guitarist to break-in the music loft. It was very cool to hear how well the acoustics of the space translate the stringed instruments - lots of good music ahead for sure.
We spent the afternoon visiting, telling construction stories, eating, and of course drinking wine. The response to our homemade Viognier was amazing, and we finished almost every bottle we had saved for the event. Of course part of the TV shoot had to be a speech and toast, so that fell to me. It was incredibly hard to get the words out - so many people to thank for their support, hard work, and words of encouragement that kept us going through so many difficult challenges. It's hard enough giving a speech like that for 60 family members, but imagine doing it with a TV camera one foot from your face. I'm an emotional slob anyway, so I pretty much lost it through the whole thing.
The best part of the day was when we asked everyone who was there to sign the tasting bar. So many well wishes and wonderful thoughts that we're going to leave in place when we cover the bar to keep everyone with us forever. Can't stop reading all the notes, as they are so encouraging and supportive!
Having everyone over and putting our first big party behind us really makes the house feel like a home. Before today it was a structure (although a pretty damn cool one) but now it has a heart.
Posted by Stephen at 11:32 AM
July 15, 2007
Construction Daily
Finished up tiling the master suite today! What a relief, and now I can put the tile saw away for a few months. I am completely burned out on tiling, as over the past year I've tiled four bathrooms floors, one tub surround, one shower, one jacuzzi tub, one fireplace, two vanities, and a kitchen floor. Think I've earned my letter jacket...
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 717
Posted by Stephen at 11:29 AM
July 14, 2007
Construction Daily
Continued working on the master suite tile today. Started the day with a bit of anxiety, as I seriously had NO IDEA how I was going to tile around the fireplace. I figured I'd just let my creativity take me where it may. So as I was considering one dumb idea after another, I noticed a piece of custom tile sitting on the window ledge. We had ordered some hand-made celtic tiles very early in the process but didn't want to overdo the celtic motif. So they ended up just lying around. Anyhow, one piece in particular had a very cool platinum finish to it, so I thought I could turn it on it's corner and put it right in the top center of the fireplace surround. Now the problem became figuring out how to cut a hole in the middle of a piece of tile, because I didn't want it to be in a seam. Got that figured out whilst the HGTV camera was rolling, and hopefully they'll include that scene because that was some tricky shit!
So once I had the little diamond in place I figured out a way to incorporate the diamond motif on the sides of the fireplace. Anyhow, the whole thing turned out pretty neat, and I'll be able to finish it up tomorrow.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 707
Posted by Stephen at 7:59 PM
July 11, 2007
Dropping Fruit
Today Quentin and his crew were out in the vineyard pulling leaves from the east side of the rows, and dropping fruit to manage yield. Been a hot dry summer so far and the fruit is totally disease-free and looking great. Going to all the extra work (and expense) to keep it that way!
Posted by Stephen at 7:52 PM
Construction Daily
Today I finished up the floor tile in the master suite, and got started on the fireplace/tub surround. Will take a few more days to finish this up. Lost interest in tiling after a while so I decided to go play with the AV toys. First order of business was to rebuild the supporting shelf in the pantry, as the weight of all the amplification awesomeness was too much for the temporary shelf I had in place. Got that done and put the components back in place, although I still have a huge rat's nest of cabling to contend with, but I'll save that for a rainy day sometime in 2015.
Once I had signal flowing, I decided to unpack the projector and test the feed from the Denon AV receiver up to the loft. After a few minutes monkeying around with settings, I got the projector up and running and WOW is this going to be cool!
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 697
Posted by Stephen at 7:44 PM
July 8, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I finished up the master suite vanity construction, then began the always-fun task of cleaning the room in preparation for the floor tile. I swear this is the 10th time I've cleaned this place, but I seem to keep using it as a temporary work space so oh well. To prep for the floor tile you gotta get on hands and knees and scrape up every glue and drywall boogie to make sure you have a perfectly flat surface. Once that was done, I was able to get half the floor tiled before shutting down for the day.
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 687
Posted by Stephen at 11:28 AM
July 7, 2007
Hedging
Today Quentin and his crew were out in the vineyard hedging. I asked them if they wanted to use the gas-powered hedging tool I bought, but they actually preferred to use loppers as they felt they could do it more efficiently so I said go for it. Once they were done for the day, I had to put down a spray application, which was a cocktail of fungicide, insecticide (for the Japanese beetles) and epsom salts to correct a magnesium deficiency (which we also saw last season.)
Microthiol Disperss = 4 lbs/acre
Carbaryl = 1.5 qt /acre
Epsom salts = 3 lbs/acre
Posted by Stephen at 7:30 PM
Construction Daily
Today I began work on the custom his-n-hers vanities in the master suite. As this portion of the room is entirely custom with the vanities/fireplace/jacuzzi there was not really a way to utilize pre-bought vanities. So we are creating them from scratch, and using Hardibacker tile backing board for the main face construction to ensure durability from the dampness. Shannon gets two doors under her sink, and I only get one as I opted to install our large subwoofer under my sink for our master suite surround system. The choice was either between more crap under my sink, or more bass when we watch movies and well....
Daily hours = 4
Total hours = 679
Posted by Stephen at 7:24 PM
July 4, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I installed the water softener and iron filter, both Pelican units. The units came with a ton of extra adapters, PVC as well as copper. But of course nothing is easy and the PVC fittings they sent were for a different kind of PVC than the supply lines in our house, so I had to make a run down to Ferguson in Winchester to get the proper adapters and pipe. Anyway once that was all figured out it was a relatively simple task to get the units rolled into place (they are not light, especially after running them full of water to flush out the particle dust!) but once they were set it was just a matter of getting the PVC "jigsaw puzzle" figured out.
Took about four hours to get it all done, and the literature says the unit takes a few days to reach full operating strength. Hopefully this iron filter is all it's cracked up to be because every single one of our brand new fixtures already has rust stains. I've been able to scrub them out but it took three different brands of rust remover to get it done. Not something I want to do every month!
Daily hours = 4
Total hours = 675
Posted by Stephen at 8:19 PM
July 1, 2007
Construction Daily
So it's over. Our last day in the rental shack, getting out the final pieces and finishing up the move. HGTV was on hand to capture a few touching moments, most difficult was leaving Tristan's room. It was incredibly hard to walk away from that space, thinking about all those nights he fell asleep on my chest in the loveseat. That's also the room we brought him home to. Also tough to think about the other bedroom, and having baby Duncan sleeping in his little seat at the foot of our bed. Seems odd that they'll have no memory of this place, yet in many ways it was so important in their, and certainly our lives.
So goodbye little shack. Thanks for being part of our lives while we built our dream house. Shannon and I had no idea we'd end up living here for nearly three years, but it went by in a flash with everything we've had going on. I imagine we'll drive by every now and again, just to keep an eye on the place and do some reminiscing. And even though we couldn't wait to get out, in a way I'll definitely miss that place.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 20
Total hours = 671
Posted by Stephen at 8:07 PM
