Spring time...finally.

Farming season is about to start in Finland. Last night temperature went under zero celcius degrees but days are getting warmer (today aprx. +15 on sun). This summer I´ll try to get more heat gathered. I have already put some stones around the vines and now I´m testing black plastic behind the rows. This might get 4-5 degrees more temperature on sunny days which can be critical difference to get something to harvest autumn time.

Some of my vines buds have started to swell. In Finland this is quite early awakening. Pinot Noir Precoce I´ll plant earliest at the end of may. Last year I was quite lucky that cold didn´t kill my Sprouts. Few plants started to make leaves very late which is sign of getting frosted on spring time. On vine cuorse I got good tips how to protect plants from cold. If I can find some shelter pipe, I may set it around my vines.

I´ll get some photos next week of the yard when there is summer time opening party.

A new member to my vineyard

I made interesting order to my vineyard two days ago. When snow melts I´ll plant ten sprouts of Pinot Noir on my yard. I was quite amazed when I found out that Pinot Noir cuold survive in Finland. To be precise my Pinot will be Pinot Noir Precoce. (Precoce means early ripining.)

Pinot Noir is first red in my yard. At the beginning I decided to make white wines, but more you eat, hungrier you get. I trying to get 100m2 more room for my yard too so there wuold be room for aprx. 60-70 vines totally.

One bottle of wine needs 1,4 - 1,7 kg of grapes. On full grown vine can produce 15-20 kg on grapes. So in a good year (some year in the future), I cuold produce aprx. 800 bottles of wine from my grapes. For now I´m happy if I get any grapes.

Because this is first year when vines may produce grapes, I´ll make so tests. I´ll use black background and stones to heat the area. Speacially stones are used a lot because they can hold the day heat and release it on cold nights to the area.

My biggest concern is the low-lying ground where frost may appear on spring nights. I may have to cover vines every evening when new sprouts appear. But there is still almoust half a meter of snow on the yard so no hurry yet. The Easter holidays are coming so it is time for good red wine and Easter delicacies.

Marathon du Medoc

When you wait for summer eagerly, you might do some decisions just to get to the feeling. My wife suggested last autumn that we cuold try the Marathon du Medoc some day. Marathon du Medoc a.k.a. The Wine Marathon is located in Bordeaux, France. Marathon is famous about funny costumed runners and of course wine which runners also drink during the run.

So now we are planning to run 2010 Marathon du Medoc. I have studied the Bordeaux area already in case I drop in to some vineyards for souveniers and growing tips. Yesterday when we had our 4th anniversary, we tasted some Medoc Bordeaux. Château Sénilhac 2005 (Cabernet Savignon 55%, Merlot 40%, Cabernet Franc 5%) was beautifully aged wine. I tasted some blueberry in it even Alko´s pages mentioned currant. Well it is tasters opinion. Wine dry mouth on first taste, but the length of taste is long and pleasent. Wine has some sediment so if you buy it remember to decant it carefully.

My summer schedule is starting to fill fast. I need to practice for Marathon (and now I mean running not drinking) and part of my daily cycling to work will change to running. I won´t make any time goal for marathon but I wan´t to RUN it from start to goal. Marathon is on September so I´ll have good time to get on shape.

Exiting future for finnish vine growing

I found out that some finnish vine growing pioneer´s has established a society. They will have a course on March and I´ll be there on the first row. I´m very eager to see other people that have the same interest and learn more about the different techniques to grow cut and care vines.

This is of course only a part of the entirety. My goal is still to make my own wine. Since my wine school studies have delayed, I have to be bookwise on that matter. Even wine is the most fascinating area in literature I know, I´m still more by doing you learn person.

As the winter has been so cold and snowy, I can probably start my vine gardening at the end of april. (Why can´t I live in some warmer country?) Two months is too much for me, so I started my season with my son yesterday. We planted squash, water melon and tomato seeds in small growing box. They need 8 to 10 weeks inside care before planting so I maybe days are warm at that time. My son´s giant pumpkin gardening was very succesful last year and we had three beautiful Halloween pumpkins on his 5 year birthday.

I think I have to nurse my gardening need more so I´ll buy Oz and James Big Wine Adventure-dvd. (I watched Sideways already).

The real test

This time of year the vine plants confront their biggest challenge. Are they suitable for Finnish atmosphere? The days between Christmas and new year where quite cold. The coldest day was last saturday when temperature went to -27 degrees in Helsinki area. (60 degrees northern lattitude)

Siegerrebe and Solaris ain´t the best polar variety but with good winter protection they should survive. The good thing about the freeze is that bugs, fungus etc. harmfull vine plant enemies won´t party either. The only curse may be rabbits. The "city rabbits" have become nuisance in southern Finland. Same way as they have conquered Australia, Helsinki has become their lastest target. City is even hunting rabbits with tamed ferrets to control their birth. Spring time I will have to make some sort of fence around my vines just to make sure that only fruits are the part of vines that are eaten.

I got a lovely present from my wife few days ago. When I can´t do anything on my vine yard, she gave me The Wine Tasting Workbook by Jancis Robinson. Book has already given me many ideas and directions how to affect to the taste of my future wines. I´ll write about it later. The book is great in every way: It is very systematic, you understand it even if you a amateur as I´m and it reminds you about the basic idea of whole wine culture: to drink and enjoy it.

It is still apprx. 4 monts until spring time is here so I´ll be the champion of wine tasting before I get to garden my vines again.

Tasting Beaujolais Villages Nouveau Honoré Lavigne

Yesterday was the release day of Beaujolais wines. I grabbed one with me at my way home: The Beaujolais was Villages Nouveau Honoré Lavigne. The last two yers have been quite dissapointments because Alko´s (goverment store monopoly) had selected Beaujolais that where quite yeasti.

This time selection has been better. Atleast on this label. The taste was light as Beaujolais usually is but it reminded me from Chianti with I tasted few years ago. Beaujolais has clear acids and quite fruity taste. This cuold be nice on hot day because it is supposed to serve chilled 12-14 degrees. The weather in Finland is unfortunately barely on plus degrees and it is raining. I fooled myself with fresh baguette, grilled sweet pepper, melted haloumi and olive oil. I have to say that it was best side dish with wine for long time.

I say this Beaujolais is worth of tasting. Even my wife, who has quite accurate taste and skeptical opinion about beaujolais, had a glass of this.

Boujelais Nouveau Day!

What a happy surprise. I had totally forgot that it is the third thursday of november the Boujelais release day.

Four years ago the Boujelais Nouveau was very nice and since that I have tasted them at this special day. This year I´m going to get some extras with the Boujelais. Maybe some baguette with grilled sweet pepper and some Haloumi cheese.

I have to remember to get some riper wine for my wife too. Few times I have been so excited about Boujelais that I have forgot that its taste ain´t for everybody.

salud or terveydeksi (for health) as we say in Finland.