August 28, 2008
Viognier Brix
Took a reading this evening - we're at 16.5 on the Viognier.
Posted by Stephen at 6:28 PM
New Pics Posted
I finally got around to posting pics from our first bottling this past February. Check out the blog entry here.
Posted by Stephen at 3:46 PM
August 25, 2008
Sulfuring Barrels
This afternoon I gave all of our barrels a dose of sulfur, using small discs that are lowered into the barrel and set aflame. Check out the discs here.
If you're into this topic, here is a cool interview about different barrel management techniques. Such techniques are used by people with lots of money, experience and expensive equipment, none of which are currently found in our winery... :o)
Posted by Stephen at 9:33 PM
August 21, 2008
Online Shopping Launched!
To all you thirsty folks around the country we're now able to take online orders! To see if we can ship to your state, check the "Offsite" column at FedEx.com (make sure you read ALL the footnotes!) and if you see a "Yes" for your state then please visit the store!
Posted by Stephen at 9:14 PM
August 19, 2008
Eighteenth Spray
Next step in our hail damage repair strategy is to apply a foliar fertilizer to help the canopy recover from all the damage to the shoots and leaves. Ben Renshaw (8 Chains North) and Jim McKenzie (Helena Chemical) both recommended a good dose of Megafol.
This is my fifth spray in four days and it has definitely gotten old - thank goodness for Napster-to-Go and MP3 players...
Megafol - 3 pints per acre
Posted by Stephen at 9:21 PM
August 18, 2008
Seventeenth Spray
This evening I'll be making an application to control botrytis, which is a definite concern given the large number of damaged fruit. Here is a great article on botrytis:
Understanding and Controlling Botrytis
Elevate - .75 lbs/acre
Posted by Stephen at 9:25 PM
August 17, 2008
Sixteenth Spray
Now that I've sprayed the Oxidate again this morning to eradicate any developing diseases it's time to apply a preventative measure to keep it clean.
Pristine - 10.5 oz per acre
Posted by Stephen at 9:12 PM
Fifteenth Spray
Another round of Oxidate this morning, with the CIMA P50 towers turned off and only two lower nozzles open aimed directly at the fruit zone.
Oxidate - 1.0 gallons to 100 gallons of water
I also measured the Viognier brix, which was 12.0. Very interesting to see the difference between this measurement and a similar period in 2006:
It is widely known that young vines ripen earlier than mature vines, so here we are nine days later in the summer and the brix measurement is three degrees lower. Thus where harvest was August 28th in 2006 I'm estimating we'll bring it in around September 12ish this year.
Posted by Stephen at 11:23 AM
August 16, 2008
Fourteenth Spray
In order to eradicate any fungus which may be appearing on the fruit damaged in the last hail storm, I am going to hit it with two rounds of Oxidate, one this evening and another tomorrow morning. Going to adjust the CIMA P50 with the towers turned off and only two lower nozzles open aimed directly at the fruit zone.
Oxidate - 1.0 gallons to 100 gallons of water
Posted by Stephen at 7:21 PM
August 14, 2008
More Hail Damage
Shannon and I watched helplessly this afternoon as another brutal hail storm came through. It was coming down so hard it was piling up against the door - when it was over we had several inches of ice pellets piled up. I just didn't even want to go out into the vineyard, but had to go evaluate the extent of the damage. Holy shit. What a disaster. We lost even more fruit than we did last storm, but the real concern this time is the canopy damage. It looks like someone went through the vineyard with a shotgun blowing holes in every vine. The rows are littered with leaves, new shoots, and even some clusters which were entirely knocked off by a large ice pellet. This growing season is getting more challenging by the day...
Posted by Stephen at 11:16 AM
August 13, 2008
Favorite Winery Poll
If you've visted our tasting room and enjoyed yourself, please support us in the "Favorite Winery Poll" on www.VirginiaWineEvents.com.
Posted by Stephen at 12:26 PM
August 11, 2008
New Virginia Wine Web Site
Hey check out the new Web site focused on Virginia Wines:
Posted by Stephen at 9:17 AM
August 7, 2008
Thirteenth Spray
This will be the last sulfur-based spray for the season to ensure no residues at harvest that could potentially affect wine quality.
Microthiol Special - rate 4 lb per acre
Ziram - rate 4 lb per acre
Posted by Stephen at 9:19 AM
August 5, 2008
Mutineer Magazine
Hey check out this cool new mag that I just viewed online:
Download Mutineer Magazine Issue #1
Also, here is their Web site:
Very straightforward and edgy journalism, no fake fluffy wine snobbery here!
Posted by Stephen at 11:35 PM
MySpace
Check us out on MySpace and join our network!
http://www.myspace.com/notavivavineyards
Posted by Stephen at 2:11 PM
August 3, 2008
What is Notaviva?
Yesterday my brother Jim sent me a couple cool YouTube videos of great live music performances. I thought it would be fun to add some to our Backstage section to give our visitors an idea of what Notaviva means to us. Certainly this is not a comprehensive selection, but gives a decent mix of styles and genres. Enjoy!
http://www.notavivavineyards.com/backstage/notaviva.shtml
Posted by Stephen at 9:21 AM
July 28, 2008
Twelfth Spray
Today I applied the twelfth spray of the season, and we're using Ziram as an alternate method of preventing downey mildew now that we've passed the pre-harvest interval for the Dithane.
Microthiol Special - rate 4 lb per acre
Ziram - rate 4 lb per acre
Posted by Stephen at 7:52 AM
July 23, 2008
Hail Damage
This morning we awoke to the painful realization that last night's thunderstorm (which woke us up at 2 AM) caused a tremendous amount of hail damage to the vineyard. As we lay awake in bed, Shannon said "I hope all this hail isn't hurting the vines" - well guess what...
The storm blew in from the west, so thankfully only the western side of each row was hit. It was a tremendous shock to see it for the first time, as I was just out in the vineyard two days ago and was so happy with the progress. Hail damage is easy to spot, as there is a very telltale "cracked berry" syndrom which is sometimes associated with leaf damage (depending on the size of the hail.)
Given our row orientation, and the manner in which I retain leaves on the west side of the rows for shade, the damage was limited due to the protection offered by the canopy. But every cluster that was exposed incurred some damage. I would estimate that 30% of our clusters were hit, and of those clusters I would then estimate a 40% loss of berries.
The big question now is this: will those berries shrivel up and fall from the cluster prior to harvest? Or will we have to drop the entire cluster? In talking to Doug, and researching this issue online (similar article can be found here) I am hopeful that the remaining fruit can stay clean and make it to harvest. That said, I've already decided to make two passes through the vineyard at harvest, the first on the east side with the clean fruit, and the second on the west side with the compromised fruit. At the end of the day, the wine quality must be preserved, so if that means pouring the lesser quality wine down the drain then so be it, but I've got to be able to distinguish between the two in the cellar.
In order to mitigate any disease from the exposed inner berries and juice, I applied the eleventh spray of the season:
Oxidate - 1.5 gallons to 160 gallons of water
Here are a few pictures to remind us all that we are always at the mercy of Mother Nature, and even a vineyard that is 99% disease-free can still be susceptible to a wide array of other damaging elements - select an image to view a larger popup.
Posted by Stephen at 7:54 AM
July 21, 2008
Tenth Spray
Today I applied the tenth spray of the season, and for the first time we're using Ziram as a new method of preventing downey mildew now that we've passed the pre-harvest interval for the Dithane.
Microthiol Special - rate 4 lb per acre
Ziram - rate 4 lb per acre
Posted by Stephen at 6:44 PM
July 14, 2008
Ninth Spray
As I feared I was seeing some black rot in the middle of the Cabernet Franc, so we hit it with some more Topsin-M as we did a few months ago.
Topsin-M = 1.5 lb per ac
Posted by Stephen at 3:43 PM
July 10, 2008
Eighth Spray
Today I put down the eighth spray of the season, and also mowed the entire vineyard. Got a little nervous as I think I'm seeing some black rot in the middle of the Cabernet Franc block so I've got a call in to Jim McKenzie of Helena Chemicals to get his thoughts. Grrr...
Pristine 10.5 oz / acre
Posted by Stephen at 9:18 PM
July 9, 2008
Finished Leaf Pulling
Today Seve and the guys finished the hedging, leaf pulling and dropping fruit.
4 guys for 3.25 acres of leaf pulling and dropping fruit, plus 2 acres of hedging = 118 hours spread over 3 days.
Posted by Stephen at 9:16 PM
July 4, 2008
Fruit Zone
Today Seve and the guys are out pulling leaves and dropping fruit. So far the fruit zone is totally clean with no fungus/mildew anywhere, so to help keep it clean as the clusters grow we're removing extra leaves and fruit. I hedged three rows of Viognier before heading in to run the tasting room.
Happy Fourth of July everyone!!!
Posted by Stephen at 11:59 AM
July 1, 2008
Hedging / Seventh Spray
This morning Shannon and I finished up hedging the rest of the Cabernet Franc. Have to get a spray down this afternoon, then after the re-entry interval we'll continue on the Viognier.
Pristine - 10.5 oz per acre
BM-86 - 1 qt. per acre
Posted by Stephen at 11:55 AM
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
February 15, 2008
Our First Bottle!
Today we achieved another milestone, the successful bottling of our first commercial vintage, the 2007 "Vivace" Viognier. This vintage was produced with the help of our friends over at Sunset Hills Vineyards. Mike and Diane Canney were kind enough to allow our equipment into their winery so Ben Renshaw could produce our wine. So today was the big bottling day for several wines, our Viognier, Ben's "LoCo Vino" and a couple of Clyde Housel's wines for his forthcoming Hiddencroft Vineyards label.
It was a momentous occasion to finally hold that bottle in our hands, so much time, effort and money have been poured into this endeavor it is very rewarding to have a tangible "trophy" to hold!
Posted by Stephen at 9:39 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
Over the past few weekends I've been a tiling fool, getting the tasting bar and foyer floors ready for our first big Thanksgiving. The first phase of the tiling was in front of the tasting bar. This actually want really well, as I used 6" squares in order to make the curve, with smaller 4" squares at the edges. The rationale behind using the 4" squares is that they are slightly thinner and make an easier transition into the Schluter Systems edging to create a nice slope from the wood floor to the Schluter metal to the 4" to the 6". Get it...?
Anyway once the area in front of the bar was done I went over to a hidden area to begin figuring out how to cut the large tiles. Something about the design was just bugging me, and after a while I figured out that if I offset each row of large tile it created a much more eye-pleasing design i.e. rather than making each corner match up, the corner of the first rown is at the middle of the next tile and so on and so forth. You'll see in the pics.
Next was the tiling in the foyer, and that took several days to get it done as there were quite a few challenging cuts to make around the air register, timberframe posts, and stairway to the catwalk. All in all I was really happy with how it turned out, now I just have to get it grouted before Thanksgiving!!!
Project hours = 46
Total hours = 778
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
Work continued today on the flooring underlayment. As with everything associated with this round tasting bar, the flooring is also turning out to be a major pain in the ass. Turns out I had to use the laser level to score lines in the floor, then create a paper template for the rather complex curved/angled pizza slice that becomes each flooring piece. You'll see what I mean in the pictures. Anyway, it took a while to figure out the proper design, then the process became transferring the shape of the template onto the Hardiboard, which then had to be cut one at a time with a jigsaw. And since this shit is basically made of concrete I can tell you it does wonders on saw blades. Basically I went through two jigsaw blades per piece. Fun. Tristan was on hand to distribute screws all over the universe, while Duncan cheered from the sidelines.
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 732
Posted by Stephen at 7:37 PM
October 20, 2007
Construction Daily
Today (at long last) I began work on the foyer flooring. We figured we have enough wood in the house so we wanted to introduce another texture/material. We opted to go with 18" square slate tiles in the foyer, with 6" squares around the tasting bar, and 4" squares as borders. As with all projects, step one is to dry fit the tiles and lay everything out to figure out where the full vs. cut pieces are going to go. In addition, I had to figure out the proper heights to ensure a seamless transition from the slate to the wood flooring. The key to this whole puzzle is the aluminum Schluter Systems edging, which essentially provides a very clean slope from the wood to the slate. This stuff is awesome, and with a little bit of "customization" with some tin snips I was able to make the curve around the bar.
So once I had the tile layout figured out (with my assistant Tristan helping) it was time to begin work on the underlayment, Hardiboard to ensure a good water-resistant surface to adhere the tile.
Daily hours = 7
Total hours = 724
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
As with all harvests, this year's Cab Franc harvest actually began the night before, setting out lugs, cleaning equipment etc. We awoke very early this morning and were out in the vineyard before sunup, distributing lugs in the rows. I then ran up to Frederick, MD to pick up a rental van, which we decided to rent to keep the fruit air conditioned on the long ride over to Fabbioli Cellars where we are processing the fruit. This turned out to be a huge help!
Quentin and the guys were onsite a little before 8 and we jumped right into picking. Quentin drove the lawn tractor with the cart on the rear back and forth to the van and pickup truck while the rest of his crew picked. As soon as the van was full I took a load over to Doug's place, and then Shannon prepared a load to bring over in the pickup truck. All the while the crew kept picking and moving fruit down to the loading zone. No time for lunch, I think I had a couple of pop tarts and a gatorade in the truck.
Over at Doug's, they were busy processing his Cab Franc so we set our fruit in the shade and covered it up to keep it cool and free from bees. Yeah right, like anything could keep the bees away from all that sugar! I went back to our place for another load, and passed Shannon on the way. When I pulled into the vineyard the guys were almost done picking, so we finished up the harvest and loaded the rest of the fruit into the van for the drive back over to Doug's.
Once back at Doug's, we began crushing our fruit. There was a big team in place - Dennis (Doug's brother-in-law) was loading the crusher/destemmer, Colleen (Doug's wife) was leading the sorting team. We also brought some of our friends/family to pitch in. Memom, Steve, Geno, Shannon and I were also working moving fruit lugs, sorting, loading the crusher, basically everybody doing everything. Several other members of Doug's team were also helping to sort fruit and move fermenting bins. Harvest and crush is such an awesome experience, and is an amazing way to bring people together through a common passion for quality wines and enjoyment of a long hard day's work.
The afternoon went really well, and by the end of the day we had crushed and processed over 3 tons of Cabernet Franc grapes. It was an absolutely incredible feeling to look upon all that hard work safely in the bins - our firsts commercial red harvest!
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
