The wine business is quite interesting. Some people are producers—they design and produce wines exclusively; other people are growers—they have the expertise of growing quality grapes under most conditions, which can vary from all types of weather conditions, to pests (above and below ground), to diseases—fungi and others, and other conditions; and some people are both growers and producers. Our goal is to be in the latter category, both growers and producers.
In 2008 we planted the first Robléon vineyard, a Syrah Noir clone, from which we will produce a Robléon estate wine. We expect the first usable harvest of this fruit will occur in approximately 2011-2012, depending upon a number of factors such as temperatures, wet or dry conditions, and pest and disease control over the next few years. In Part 3 of The Robléon Story we talked about the critters that enjoy the sanctity of our property. We mentioned deer, among others, but we did not mention wild pigs. Oh yes, parts of Southern and Central California have an infestation of wild pigs and we have our share in our community. Early in the development of the Robléon property the wild pigs destroyed much of our initial landscaping. Through the efforts of two of our neighbors and ourselves we discouraged one pack of pigs from entering our property, and aided by a five-foot above ground and six-inch underground pig fence, which now surrounds the top of the property, we have blocked their entrance to the property and access to the vineyard. That solved the pig problem but deer can easily jump over the five-foot pig fence, so our next order of business was an eight-foot deer fence around the vineyard. We still see the deer looking longingly at the infant vines but they are blocked from entering the vineyard and the vine protection will now be focused on birds!
For all the reasons stated above about the conditions good grape growers encounter and overcome, we know that it takes time to develop this expertise. Therefore, even though we have entered the realm of grape growers we will continue to purchase other varietals of grapes from experienced growers, which will be our primary stock of grapes for the Robléon brand wines. But the Robléon property offers room for significant expansion and we have already cleared brush from a substantial block of the area adjacent to the Syrah Noir vineyard for possible future expansion.
Our dream of getting back to our agricultural roots and enjoying the fruits of nature by becoming wine producers and grape growers has become a reality for us. Over the years to come we hope to provide you with several varietals of handcrafted wines for your enjoyment. We are experimenting with a variety of blends and soon will produce new palate-pleasures to the wine markets we serve.