By Doug Fabbioli As every farmer does, I have had to learn to dance with Mother Nature. A farmer can take some risks when planting, but it sure is nice when we have some consistency in patterns and expectations for the weather. Over the past couple of decades our weather has been erratic from year to year, and with the relatively warm winter we have just experienced farmers have a lot of things to consider, both good and challenging. On the positive side, we have been able to prune our vines and keep our crews working in the vineyards without snow days and major cold weather considerations. We will have a lull in pruning projects as we finish our rough pruning because we will wait until after bud break for the final pruning. This break will allow us to catch up on other projects that we have not been able to get to yet. Trellis repairs, hardscape projects on the farm, and building maintenance all come to mind when I think of this opportunity of time. A downside to this could be cash flow: many farms have tight budgets and plan on cost-balancing by using those snow days for indoor work. There are times where a farmer will loan out some team members to other farms that don’t have the staff. This helps keep the team working, the budget balanced, and helps to cement solid relationships with the neighbors. Another positive aspect of this mild weather is the ability to work the ground. Timing for farmers is critical year-round, hence the phrase “make hay while the sun is shining.” Another farming hint on when to start working the ground is “when you watch your neighbor work his ground and not get stuck!” Frozen ground does not till well with any…
By Doug Fabbioli Growing up in suburbia in the 70s and 80s gave me the chance to enjoy both city and country life. I knew the city of Syracuse pretty well, attending the university, working in an office, playing in a bowling league, and having a bit of an urban lifestyle. On the other hand, my friend’s dad (an accountant in “real” life) decided to plant a vineyard and I was cheap farm labor. On the weekends, I would drive out to the countryside to put some time in on the vineyard. Sometimes I would do pruning and trellis work, sometimes I’d work on the barn, sometimes it was land clean up. I enjoyed learning about the land, the vines, and the work, especially the installation of the trellises and tending the vines. The feeling of nurturing the vines so they would grow to their potential was rewarding, and when I hit that magic point in life where I needed to make a leap towards a career, the life on the farm and in the country had a stronger gravitational pull on me—the road less traveled, if you will. There are no recruiters out there working the universities to encourage the soon-to-be graduates to come live a life on the land. Gallo would send somebody out to find some potential sales reps, but that was all I ever saw for the wine industry. Introducing young folks to opportunities on the land is the best way to get people to consider the option. We will always need people to be stewards of the land, to farm it, tend it, work it, and rely on it. The more we have of that, the more people will recognize the value of the land for more than just another building site. I have gotten…
By Doug Fabbioli Working Together for Better When my family and I moved to Virginia in 1997, there were about 60 wineries in the state and only four in Loudoun County. I was hired to be the new winemaker and vineyard manager at Tarara Winery, just a few miles up the road from where we eventually bought our own farm. My new boss encouraged me to get to know the other winery folk and get involved with the industry associations that were around at the time: the Virginia Wineries Association and the Virginia Vineyards Association. These groups were focused (and still are) on growing and strengthening our industry through sharing knowledge of best practices, the marketing of our products, and getting the voice of the industry to our business representatives’ ears. As our industry has grown, more associations and organizations have started up to address specific groups or regions. Here in Loudoun, the Loudoun Winegrowers Association began with a focus on vineyard operations. Not long afterward the Loudoun Wineries Association came along to focus on tasting rooms and wine sales, along with many other related issues. Recently these two groups have merged, making a stronger, more cohesive, and efficient organization that hopes to achieve even more than in the past. The Loudoun Bed and Breakfast Guild, an offshoot of our industry, has many wineries signed on as associate members in order to collaborate in our efforts for our guests and visitors. On a local government level we have the Rural Economic Development Council. Although I no longer serve on this council, I spent over a decade helping this organization give the county guidance and feedback on issues regarding the future of all of the agriculture and rural-based business sectors of our county, including the wine industry. Another organization, Visit Loudoun,…
By Doug Fabbioli Any form of competition needs to have people involved as officials, experts, or judges to make sure the process is fair. Wine competitions are no different. But how do people get to be chosen as a wine judge and is there a process that leads to becoming one? In order to be able to judge a subject, one needs to be an expert in that subject. There also needs to be the desire: the willingness to do what is needed to become educated and prepared. For wine education one way to enhance your knowledge is the WSET program (Wine & Spirit Education Trust). The courses start out relatively light and simple at Level 1, and then a person can continue through the program with more challenging wines, subject matter, and tests in order to train the palate as well as the brain. Time in the industry helps a lot as well. Making wine, selling wine, buying wine, even just being intentional about tasting wine with others are all good for gaining the knowledge. The idea is to understand the grape growing and winemaking process in such a way that one can taste a wine, identify characters in the wine, and judge whether that character is good or bad based on the typical characteristics of that wine and style. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? A friend of mine as well as of the Virginia Wine industry is Kathy Wiedemann. She says “My journey to being a wine judge has been long, encompassing a decade of wine studies, tasting thousands of wines, and having a deep passion for wine. I consider myself an unofficial wine ambassador for Virginia wine as it is where I truly found that passion. Having worked for seven years just about every weekend in VA wine,…
By Doug Fabbioli Jim Law, a fellow winegrower and a leader in our industry, has compared the growing season for grapes to a pro football season: the 16 scheduled games get us to the veraison time frame when the grapes are ripening, but the playoffs at the end of the season count the most. Things get hectic and exciting. With a good growing season behind us the fruit is in good condition to come in, but the weather is unpredictable. We work each week of the harvest season with an overall game plan but we must stay flexible, creative, and productive in order to treat each lot of grapes coming into the winery with the attention and time that it deserves. The more fruit coming in at once, the more hectic things can get. Sometimes it’s like chess in the cellar, trying to make space for the next grapes coming in. This season was defined by the rains. As the warnings came of a large storm brewing in the Caribbean whose path was predicted to track right over us, growers and winemakers had to make some important decisions about picking some or all of their crop: How close to ready are the grapes? Will they hang well through the storm? How bad will the storm be? Rain will dilute the flavors and sugars of the grapes a bit, depending on intensity of rain, soil types, and condition of the fruit. A few days of drying after the rains is good for the grapes, and it’s always better if the weather cooperates. Cold temperatures may not bring big sugar levels, but the extra time definitely helps mature the grapes away from greener characteristics and into darker fruit and spice flavors. In Virginia we were relatively fortunate. The remnant of hurricane Ian…
By Doug Fabbioli That autumn feel is in the air! The harvesting of the crops, the cool evenings, and the changing leaves all help to create a season that makes our Virginia countryside an iconic setting for a fall experience. Out here in Lucketts, just north of Leesburg, October seems to be our busiest month of the year. I refer to Lucketts as Luckettsland: “From the merge to the bridge, and from the river to the Ridge.” We have fabulous farm stands throughout the year but fall brings out more of the color, produce and decor that you can take home. Apples and apple cider, pumpkins, gourds, mums, and cornstalks all help to give that seasonal feel to our region and home. The autumn leaves on the hillsides highlight feel of the season. Our antiques stores have truly put us on the map, and the themes of each vendor or venue show each one’s creativity and personality. Hopefully that inspires your own creative drive to bring home some decor, the hand-crafted plant stand and the plant that goes with it. The produce for your meal and the fruit for the homemade applesauce you used to make with grandma are here in Luckettsland for you to experience and bring home. One of our attractions here in Lucketts is Temple Hall Farm Park. This is a great venue for the kids as it has a play land element along with a bit of education. They have a variety of farm animals as well as farm activities specific for the month of October. Pumpkin picking, hayrides and more will make help to make some great memories for the kids as well as for the adults. October has been Virginia Wine Month for as long as I can remember. Because the wineries are farms…
By Doug Fabbioli In my 42 years in the wine industry, I have seen plenty of ups and downs in the harvest and crush balance. Wineries have only so much space but they have needs for certain grapes to make their wines, have their own grapes to bring in, and often have long-term contracts to buy grapes as well. Independent growers have their fruit coming ripe and hope that the winemaker’s promise to purchase the grapes holds up through the season. (Some wineries have not been good players in the past on this point.) Sales fluctuate for a winery through its lifespan, and the grapes planted 20 years ago may not be what it needs now, or it may not need as much of it. It may offer that fruit to another winery and can even do a little “horse trading” so that each winery gets the grape it needs. This year, because there was no wide-spread frost damage in the spring, there seems to be more fruit on the vines that will be coming available at harvest. I am seeing a number of wineries posting their excess fruit on the various forums for the industry. We all need to find space for these grapes without throwing off our inventory balance. In a good year when a winery has more fruit growing on its own vines, there may not be as much of a need to purchase from another grower. This is really the challenge of being an independent grower, and each wine region has a lot of them. You want a winery committed to taking your fruit year after year, but the winery you work with may not need your fruit, or may not have the space to process it. I have talked with some growers who would hold…
By Doug Fabbioli Life got turned upside down for all of us about two and a half years ago, and we continue to work our way back to some sort of normalcy. One of the largest and most visible industries still affected by the pandemic is our food service industry. I include our tasting room operations under this tent, as we have the same challenges as everyone else in finding people who can and want to work serving others. We will get through this staffing challenge eventually, just like we get through our other challenges, but this one is pretty widespread and will take lots of training to get through. I guess training is a part of mentoring, if you stop and think about it. We need to find the folks and convince them that this work experience will fit them now and help them in their future life. We need to teach them to put themselves in their customers’ shoes for a moment. They also need to understand the business and get a feel for my shoes as a business owner in order for us all to be successful. They need to learn how to become a part of the team, pulling together with their co-workers to provide an experience for the guest that is welcoming and comfortable, and at the same time productive for the business. When I am out and about, I recognize more training going on than ever before. Many people new to their position find their learning hat and wear it proudly, and their trainer takes the time to show them what they need to know to be successful. Everyone has had to go through this job training part, and if we are successful, we keep learning and looking for more ways to do better….
By Doug Fabbioli As all farmers know, one of the biggest elements of our business is free: sunshine! But it takes other, more costly components to allow us to capture that sun and turn it into a sellable product. We also need the rains to come at the right time to make all the growing happen. That magic balance we ask Mother Nature to provide is not always delivered in the way or with the timing we need. The rain and storms are usually the most unpredictable part this time of year. We can count on the sun coming up tomorrow and we even know what time it will rise, but the summer rains, the hail storms, and gully washers that can make or break a crop are harder to forecast as exactly. We want some rain, but not too much, and we want it spread out enough so the plants have the moisture when they need it. In many winegrowing regions the weather patterns do not provide the summer rains we have here in the Mid-Atlantic. California is relatively dry from March into October, and farmers there rely on deep roots on their vines and drip irrigation to keep the vines in balance and get the fruit to the best condition for harvest. They have some control over the dry season only if they have access to the water they need when they need it. Here on the East Coast most vineyards do not have irrigation. When a new vineyard is planted, we need moisture for those young roots to grow. Oftentimes we can count on those summer thunderstorms to bring the rain needed to get the vines off to a healthy start. Older vines have deeper roots and can handle some dry spells during the growing season. However,…
By Doug Fabbioli As I was wrestling with finding a theme for my writings this month, I realized I had an appointment scheduled this morning that could help. I met with Wine America today in order to talk with US Representative Jennifer Wexton about her bipartisan bill on Agritourism. Wine America is a nationwide trade association and I got to meet a number of winery reps and regional reps from winegrowing regions across the country—Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Texas to name a few. We all have embraced the idea of having a business that is based on farming and encourages folks to visit the farm—see what we do, sample the wares, and bring some home. There are a few key points about this relatively new concept that make Agritourism a “win” for the county, state, or in this case the country. Tourism doesn’t need to bring people from far away. Many times it’s only a short trip from the city to visit the farm where the crops grow, the houses are spaced further apart and the air feels more natural. During their visit, people may buy a meal down the road, visit a local park, shop at a local store, and hopefully bring home some goods from their destination. If an overnight stay occurs, the economic impact on the region goes up dramatically. Agritourism is about more than just economics though; it is also about land use and open space. Businesses that utilize the land in a sustainable way give the land a better chance at staying open rather than being developed into another shopping center or subdivision. Keeping the urban sprawl in check helps to keep the land working for the community and attractive to visitors who are looking to get away from the city for a while….
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