As we all know, weather can be fickle. Just look at the vast extremes in California wine country over the past three years, 2016 was a drought, 2017 had massive wildfires, and 2018 was great growing and harvest conditions. We never know what the next year will bring so it is always a good idea to plan ahead and be prepared.

No matter where you live and nurture your vineyards, water will always remain a crucial part of the wine industry. Whether it is a shortage or a surplus, water management can be stressful for even the most seasoned growers. Here are 3 tips to help with water management:

 1.  Plan 

It has been said one glass of wine can require as much as  28 gallons of water. That can amass to a lot of water for your vineyard. Having a plan is the first step. Locate all available water sources, or potential water sources, around your vineyard so you have a plan in place if one source dries up or fills up. There are several water sources on a vineyard including:

Wells - groundwater is pumped for vineyard use

Stock Ponds - “mini-reservoirs” used for water storage

Storage Tanks - can hold thousands of gallons of potable water

Wastewater Treatment Plants - to reuse water, many Northern CA wineries have implemented their own treatment plants

A typical grape vine needs 25-35 inches (635-890 millimeters) of water a year, occurring during the spring and summer months of the growing season, to avoid stress.² 

2.  Monitor

You could use a high tech tool like a pressure chamber or an infrared thermometer to take stock of your vines’ moisture or go low tech like Bryan Rahn, a Certified Professional Soil Scientist and vineyard consultant suggests: “Even feeling the grape leaves with your hands is a great diagnostic tool. When leaves are actively transpiring, they are cool to the touch,” explains Rahn. “Leaves are like little swamp coolers – evaporation has a cooling effect.” Not only are the leaves cooler, but, so is the fruit. Cooler clusters yield superior fruit quality.²  This is an easy way to assess if your vines have the proper moisture.

 3.  Irrigation 

Audit where the water is going and have a conservation plan spelled out for all employees on the farm. Just small shifts in the way you do daily operations can make a big difference. When well-known winery J. Lohr went through an expansion, they implemented a water conservation plan on their farm. 

Shortage Suggestions:

• - implement low flow nozzles on hoses
• - install timers on the water at the barrel washing station
• - stop the constant washing down of grape skins off the concrete

Surplus Suggestions:

• - store moisture from rainfall in storage tanks to use at a later date ³
• - implement a ground cover to absorb excess water and avoid erosion ⁴

Prepping your staff and farmstead for proper water management can help stop your profits from drying up.

1 http://www.temeculawines.org/blog/el-nino-vs-la-nina-whats-happening-in-the-vineyards/

2  T. Stevenson "The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia" p. 15 Dorling Kindersley 2005 ISBN 0-7566-1324-8

_{3  www.lodigrowers.com/the-economics-of-water-management-in-winegrape-vineyards}

_{4 https://articles.extension.org/pages/31516/vineyard-irrigation-and-water-management}

Now is the time to be thinking about your 2019 Harvest.  With Paul Mueller Company stainless steel wine barrels, it's easy to grow your offerings and save money.