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Viticultural Revolution with Jordan Lonborg

A collection of 19 issues

The swarm, the hive, and Tablas Creek honey

By Jordan Lonborg [Editor's Note: With this article, we welcome our new Viticulturist Jordan Lonborg to the Tablas Creek blog. He joined us in February and will be leading our vineyard team and our biodynamic program, including a new beehive program that he describes below.] Every March, as

Shatter explained: A perfect flower, but not a perfect bloom

By Levi Glenn Every year there is a one- to two-week period when the vineyard smells wonderful. That's when you know bloom has arrived. It's not the unbelievably effusive smell of an orange grove in full blossom. Or the sweetly intoxicating blue bush lupine, a beautiful

Winterizing the vineyard as we wait and hope for rain

By Levi Glenn The falling leaves mark the commencement of the “slow time” of the year in the vineyard. Harvest is in the rear-view mirror. All the grapes have been fermented and the wines are resting comfortably in their respective vessels, yet one last series of tasks needs to be

Counting sheep (and losing sleep)

By Levi Glenn Most of my mornings start with counting sheep. You herd that right. Raising sheep in an area that borders so much wild land means that we have to keep a close eye on the herd. The predators that populate this area are quite formidable, the most dangerous

Off with Their Heads: We Graft our Chardonnay to Counoise and Mourvedre

By Levi Glenn We have been accused of being part of the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) contingent, but that wasn’t true... until now. Since 2000, we've harvested our two-acre Chardonnay block -- originally used to produce vine material for our grapevine nursery -- and used it to

Tablas Creek is a finalist for 2013 Best Winery Blog!

We are proud to have been named a finalist for "Best Winery Blog" at the 2013 Wine Blog Awards. This is the sixth consecutive year we've been honored as a finalist, and we've taken home the trophy twice, in 2008 and 2011. We'

In which we dig ourselves a hole, on purpose

By Levi Glenn It's been a little over a year since our purchase of our new parcel. The property is just to our south: 150 acres of rolling oak woodland, a walnut orchard (now removed), and a fair amount of the creek from which we take our name.

Compost Tea: a Power Shake for the Vineyard

By Levi Glenn A few years back we started to make and apply compost tea in the vineyard. It was an effort to try to improve our soil, a central theme in organic farming: improve the soil and the plant will follow. Compost tea contains two important soil improving components:

Animal Farm: The Benefits of Biodiversity in the Vineyard

By Levi Glenn "Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend." It has probably been some time since most of you have read the metaphorical novella Animal Farm by George Orwell. At the moment, Orwell's line seems quite fitting for Tablas Creek Vineyard.