{ Red Experiment N2.7 }

This is the second time we purchased red fruit with the aim to challenge ourselves and keep our perspective fresh. This time we chose a neighboring vineyard with soils and farming practices completely different from ours. The objective was to understand why they choose to farm as they do.

A vineyard with ashy loam soils was chosen for this Experiment. We walked this site frequently and talked with the grower, observing and making notes about what they did and why. At harvest, the fruit was harvested with the same perimeters as our estate fruit and made in the same way as the rest of the OVID wines.

In a sentence: Soil drives everything. This site has soils with very low water-holding capacity, requiring short frequent irrigations. While this technique can produce some lovely wines, it can also be tricky to manage – particularly late in the growing season. After seeing this in action, our interest returned back to the soil. We explored ways to increase the water-holding capacity and microbial life in our own vineyard. It became clear to us that the more you provide the right environment for the vines to grow, the better the results will be.