Suisun Valley has so much rustic charm, and so many beautiful images. This is a collection that I’ve taken over the years.
Posts Tagged ‘SVVGA’
Images of Rustic Suisun Valley
Friday, August 20th, 2010Suisun Valley’s Climate Revealed Through a Study of Terra Spase
Friday, August 13th, 2010In May of 2008, Suisun Valley Vintners & Grape Growers Association hired Terra Spase of Napa, California, to begin the process of scientifically defining their terroir. Proprietor Paul Skinner and his staff immediately initiated Phase I, which was to inventory and assess the conditions of the available climatic and topographic data for the Suisun Valley AVA.
On July 8, 2008, Terra Spase delivered Phase 2 to SVGGA, which included the data compilation phase consisting of the various datasets for analysis, including the following:
- Narrowing target climatic parameters
- Processing supplemental PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regression on Independent Slopes Model) weather dataset for analysis and mapping
- Extracting target parameters from PRISM and local climate datasets
- Target parameters summarizing for key time periods
- Processing of elevation data in preparation for mapping the GIS analysis
- Promising trends in data
On February 3, 2009, Paul W. Skinner, PhD delivered his “Climate, Topography and Wine Grapes in the Suisun Valley AVA” report to the Suisun Valley Grape Growers Association Board of Directors’ meeting, commissioned by SVGGA. In his introduction, Skinner indicates that because high intensity climate monitoring has been implemented in Suisun Valley with the installation of several automated weather stations, documentation of mesoclimates within the established AVA has provided a valuable, historical record from which to draw upon, in order to deliver the report.
Skinner writes, “The establishment of their own weather station network to collect weather data on a 24 hr basis by the Suisun Valley grape growers shows forward thinking on their part. It was also an important step forward for the Suisun Valley Grape Growers Association to recognize the value of developing this report for the use of the wine community and their constituents.” It is Skinner’s hope that Terra Spase’s analysis of the climate data that was collected [to date] will become the basis for an improved understanding of how weather and climate attributes define Suisun Valley AVA’s potential for producing world class grapes from different wine grape varieties.
Terra Spase recognizes Suisun Valley’s AVA with the following:
- Located in the North Coast AVA, Suisun is one of the oldest, continually producing wine grape zones in the West.
- It is increasingly recognized as a significant player in California’s luxury and ultra-premium wine grape market segments.
- Wine grapes support in-valley wineries, as well as wine companies in Napa and Sonoma.
- SV grape growers produce popular wine grape varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay; as well as specialty cultivars, such as Syrah, Petite Sirah, Barbara, Grenache, Sangiovese, and Zinfandel.
Noteworthy climate findings include what was once empirically understood by the farmers and discussed as anecdotal evidence, and are now validated by this academic study; namely, situated in close proximity to the San Francisco Bay complex, portions of this area exert influence on the regions’ climate.
The report delivers the AVA’s geography in great detail; which to date has yet to be so thoroughly recorded. Considering all aspects of elevation, slope, and distribution aspects, the report recommends that if the wine grape growers take all aspects of the detailed topographical effect into account in the designing and production phases of their vineyards, development will significantly increase their likelihood of producing ultra-premium grapes and wines from their vineyards.
CLIMATE DATA AND MONITORING EFFORTS: The Terra Space report delivers extensive maps, which present a visual account for all of Terra Spase’s findings (examples):
- Suisun Valley AVA and Vicinity
- Separate maps for Elevation, Slope, and Aspect
- Automated Weather Stations in the Suisun Valley AVA
- Separate Precipitation, Humidity, and Temperature maps
Extensive charts deliver extensive supporting material for all of their findings (examples):
- Seasonal Precipitation (in) 1995-2008; (CIMIS 123)
- Monthly Precipitation (in) 1999 (CIMIS 123)
- Mean Weather Precipitation (in) 1995-2007 – CIMIS 123
- 2007 Monthly Rainfall (in) Williams2 and Abernathy 1 stations.
With data from the following sources, much was demonstrated from the average monthly temperatures from Terra Spase’s initial findings. [Used with permission of Terra Spase.]
- CIMIS 123 ~ California Irrigation Management Information System: lowest, southwest
- AB1 ~ Abernathy 1: southeast quadrant
- AB3 ~ Abernathy 3: south, mid-valley
- SSV ~ Suisun Valley: west, mid-valley
- GV ~ Gordon Valley; central, upper-valley
- WL2 ~ Williams 2: northwest quadrant
- PRISM ~ Program at Oregon State University developed by Dr. Christopher Daly, the PRISM group director.
Suisun Valley’s unique, distinguishing features:
- Precipitation ~ Springtime rains can occur after mid March bud burst, but are relatively unusual. This relative absence of late spring rain in Suisun Valley is a climatological advantage the region enjoys over many other winegrape growing regions.
- The absence of precipitation during the summer months allows for the early ripening of relatively disease free winegrapes.
- Growing degree day data indicate conditions range from Winkler’s Region III to Region V, within Suisun Valley AVA in different years, defining the quality of their winegrapes.
- As a characteristic of many California coastal valleys opening onto the San Francisco Bay complex, the northern parts of the Suisun Valley region tend to see higher maximum and lower minimum temperatures than are observed in the southern parts of the region.
- The lower portion of the Suisun Valley is subject to steady southwesterly, bay influenced breezes beginning in the late springtime. Annually occurring springtime northwesterly flow along the Northern California coast pushes marine air into the San Francisco bay and up through the San Pablo bay into the Suisun Valley region.
- Suisun Valley’s eight-mile length of Springtime (March-April) Growing Degree Days are very closely aligned to Napa Valley’s 30 mile stretch, just in a condensed version.
The graph above is one of the snapshots within the study of Suisun Valley’s weather.
Mangels Family Contributes to Suisun Valley’s Rich Wine Grapegrowing and Winemaking History
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Three generations in the Mangels Family: Bompa, Louis Mangels, and Uncle Claus.
Louis Mangels arrived in New York City in 1866, with his parents. At 14 years of age, he had just emigrated from Germany and immediately left for the West Coast, by way of Panama. There was a distant connection to the Spreckles, another German family that was already experiencing financial success in San Francisco. They arrived on June 22, 1866.
During the next ten years, through the Spreckles connection, Louis learned to be a cooper. He also studied and saved enough money to buy 240 acres of land in 1876. He planted grape vines right away. By the following year, Claus Mangels was born to the Louis Mangels family.
Thirteen years later, in 1889, Louis expanded his land holdings. Already owning the 240 acres in Suisun Valley, he bought the Schultz brothers’ business, stock, cooperage, and equipment. He continued working the ranch; and by 1893, Louis Mangels decided that it was time to build his first wine cellar. Solano Winery went on to become one of the largest producing wineries in the state of California.
By 1906, the Mangels winery had grown to produce 500,000 gallons of wine a year. Just the year before, Louis’s son Claus married Cecelia Rohwer. The family then took another interesting road to expansion. In 1910, Louis Mangels brought his two oldest sons into a business partnership, naming the company Mangels & Sons. By 1920, Prohibition hit the United States, with Mangels & Sons being only one of seven wineries allowed to continue to legally produce wine for the government. A lot of the tonnage was shipped to the East Coast, to large eastern markets. Within a year, Claus Mangels became sole proprietor.
When it became unprofitable to ship grapes to the East Coast, a partnership with the Colonial Grape Products Company was formed. This entity became known as the Solano Grape Products Company. By 1932, the Solano Grape Products Company was incorporated under the name of Solano Winery.
After Prohibition in 1933, the government began to bond wineries. “Solano Winery” became Bonded Winery Number 42. Claus planted more vineyards and leased another 153 acres with a Bonzi Vineyard at Monticello, in Napa County. After the repeal, the Solano Winery’s wine cellar was well stocked with many products, including both aged (fortified) sweet and dry wines. The building and cooperage were rented from Claus Mangels. Wine sales were brisk, most especially the Solano Winery “house” brand. This led to the selection of its own name, which became “Chief Solano.” Other successful brands were Cordelia, Solano, and C. R. Mangels.
In just two years, the market for the Mangels wines had spread over the nation and to foreign lands. In 1936, Claus Mangels purchased the stock formerly held by the Colonial Grape Products Company, which gave him 97 percent of the stock held in the company. One year later, Solano Winery was producing 350,000 gallons of wine a year, crushing nearly all of the grapes in Suisun Valley. In order to continue succeeding, Gary’s family sold its interest in the winery to Sunnyside by 1943, since they were faced with a need to upgrade equipment, yet again. Claus Mangels sold the recently renovated Solano Winery property, with about eight acres of land, to partner Horace O. Lanza of Sunnyside. Current production at that time was between 450,000 and 500,000 gallons of wine a year.
Horace O. Lanza was an official of the California Grape Products Company of San Francisco, and had been a business partner for six years during prohibition. With the sale, however, Clause maintained his home, vineyards, and other property. By 1950, the winery was no longer in operation.
Claus passed away in 1950, and the family property passed on to Gary’s father Lewis Mangels. Lewis had a great love for raising livestock. Years prior to his own father’s passing, Lewis had also bought a ranch, while he continued to grow great quantities of grapes that were sold to Sebastiani and Christian Brothers.
Gary talks fondly about the close bond between his father and him.
In 1988, Gary, continuing in the agricultural traditions of his family, purchased the land that would eventually become Mangels Vineyards. At the time, it also had a pear orchard on it. Gary remembers removing the orchard and planting a pasture. After talking to neighbors and learning about their grape growing experiences, Gary decided it was time to plant grapes. He planted the first vines in 1991. He chose to plant Merlot because he knew that, at that time, the market was more commodities focused, and there was great demand for Merlot. When the market fell off, after the heyday of the 90s, Gary realized that the positive outcome to that situation would be that he could take the time to learn which varieties were really best suited to his terroir. He replanted, changing the rootstock and the clones, and split his planting evenly between Merlot and Syrah.
Presently, Gary Mangels and Gina Richmond have formed a partnership, and are now making wine under Mangels Vineyard label.