Pruning 2020: And We're Off...

Beautiful day to be in the vineyard.

Quite an article

(actually multiple articles) in the Puget Sound Business Journal, very bullish on the growing aerospace core at the Port of Moses Lake, led by Aero-TEC's flight testing business.

I won't reprint the entire article but here are a couple snippets:

The airport and city [Moses Lake] of about 24,000 people welcomed more than $1 billion in new investments and economic spinoffs last year, according to a study by the Washington State Department of Transportation. In recent years, a slew of aerospace companies have flocked to Moses Lake, transforming the city and its uniquely situated airport into a booming aerospace oasis.

Among the new workers in the area is Theo Jones, a contractor who does flight simulator work for Mitsubishi. 

“What’s going on here is a big deal,” Jones said. 

“There are people in this town that don’t know we're building and testing aircraft here,” Jones said. “It needs to be shared.”

New Construction on Lot 23

Lovely new 2,500sf custom view home well under way.

Harvest 2019

Quite a year. The grapes were several weeks later than "normal" (whatever that is) this year, and then much of the region was hit with a sharp freeze while still early in the harvest season. The freeze ended further ripening and also did some interesting things to the fruit itself. It's fairly unprecedented (one grower I talked to recalled something similar in the early '80s) and there's a lot of chatter amongst the industry about what the fallout might be.


We sold three ton of Chardonnay to Golden Ridge Cellars in Walla Walla and were lucky enough to get it off the vines several days before the freeze. The sugars were lower than in previous years (23.2 brix) but the fruit looked and tasted great and I'm sure will make terrific wine. Thanks Mike & Cindy, looking forward to tasting the end product!

There was just under half a ton of Chard left over, which we picked immediately after the freeze. But the freeze caused the acids to abruptly drop out and eventually the decision was made to dump this lot. No big deal.

We also picked the Cab Franc a couple days after the freeze. It seemed like the acids had also dropped but then recovered somewhat before harvest. Weird. Two ton went to Beaumont Cellars, which has taken our Cab Franc for six years now, and although the numbers were head-scratching the juice looks and tastes phenomenal. Who knows? Might end up being a great vintage notwithstanding. Thanks again to Pete & Katie for your support.

Anyway, another year in the books and lots of fun?, or at least satisfaction. Had a little fiesta on the crush pad with friends/neighbors/workers after the last grapes were in the bins. Made it all worthwhile.

New Electric Aircraft to be Flight-Tested in Moses Lake

Eviation’s Alice electric airplane makes its debut at the Paris Air Show. 

An Israeli startup called Eviation Aircraft unveiled its first prototype electric airplane at the International Paris Air Show in June, with flight testing planned at Moses Lake. Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay told reporters that his company hopes to win certification for the Alice airplane from the Federal Aviation Administration by late 2021 or early 2022.

Bar-Yohay stressed that Eviation’s Alice was designed from the ground up to be all-electric. “It’s not a retrofit of anything,” he said. “It is built the way a plane should be built in the 21st century.”

Because of its lightweight carbon-composite structure, Alice will be able to fly 650 miles on a charge, at a speed of 276 mph and altitude of 10,000 feet, Bar-Yohay said.

The bulk of the flight tests would be conducted at Moses Lake’s airport in partnership with Seattle-based AeroTEC. which is also currently providing flight testing for Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ). Moses Lake’s Grant County International Airport is a popular flight test site and airplane storage facility for companies including Boeing and Mitsubishi.

Click here for full article. 

New Craft Brewery Opens in Moses Lake

Our friends Ruben and Troy just opened a new craft brewery & taproom next to Chico's Pizza. They are both outstanding brewers and will be producing a variety of exceptional beers. Congrats to the fellas for making their dream a reality.

SFAB is located at 530 W. Valley Road, Moses Lake. Drop by soon for a cold freshie.  https://www.facebook.com/SquirrelFightArtisanBrewing/

Budbreak... sort of?

The buds are reluctant to stick their heads out, like they don't fully trust the warming trend we've had this week. Maybe they know something.

It was ten years ago today (April 19, 2009) that we had our "planting party" and the vineyard began. Since then we've had five vintages bottled and won a gold medal. The Cab Franc in particular has produced some outstanding wines.

Here are a few photos from the planting party: