Avenue Vine

They, the Fetzers, led the industry in organic farming and ecological business practices. At Ceago, Jim has taken everything learned from his dad and forty years in the wine business to a new level of farming. His dad was the family's inspiration. He believed that the first step in wine making is growing grapes. Jim concentrates on sound farming practices using biodynamic and organic methods to produce quality grapes. The character of the grapes and the wine speak for themselves...

"Ceago Del Lago," the showcase estate, is located on the northern shore of Clear Lake in Lake County between the small villages of Nice and Lucerne just 30 miles (48 KM) east of Redwood Valley. This agricultural showcase estate promotes a holistic farming environment in which plant and animal life share the land. It incorporates vegetables, fruits, herb gardens,grapes, kiwis, olives, walnuts, figs, and lavender as well as variety of seasonal plantings such as sunflowers and wheat. The estate property is 163 acres (109 hectares) and is farmed using biodynamic practices. Wine grapes are the primary crop, with plantings of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Syrah, and Muscat.

Grape Source:
The grapes used in this wine were 100% estate grown “Camp Masut” Merlot. Camp Masut, located on the headwaters west of the Russian River in Redwood Valley, once was home to a tribe of Pomo Indians. This site is now planted to Merlot clone #3 which are grafted on the rootstock 5-c. The grapes were hand harvested on October 10th, 2002 at 25 Brix, and were grown and certified Biodynamic by Demeter.

REVIEW:

2002 CEAGO Vineyards Mendocino Camp Masut Estate Grown Merlot; $25.00, (86 points.)--APPEARANCE: Bright, deep ruby red rim to core; NOSE: Clean, Youthful grape aromas of fruit, mineral and spice–plun, currants, sherry, vanilla, pepper, herbaceous, earthy moist forest floor and smoky cocoa; PALATE: Dry, tart, crisp acidity, ripe bright tannins, medium body, with pronounce complex flavors of black cherry, plum, ripe dark berries, pepper, vanilla, mineral cocoa-mocha and fresh herb; CONCLUSION: Long, fruit filled, spicy, crisp lively freshness on a lingering dry cocoa-mocha, fresh herb, berry and mineral finish. Good through 2012–great right now.

ADDITIONAL TASTING NOTES: Comes in an impressive heavy bottle, has the gorgeous look of quality. Superb food wine–we enjoyed it with pork loin, roasted vegetables, mushroom, reduced wine and stock cream sauce.

Of note, the 2001 Merlot was really one of the first wines made under the Fetzer family's complete control. The 2001 Merlot earned a Gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Growing Season:
The 2002 growing season started off with a warm spring and very little frost. Growing conditions throughout the summer were warm and consistent with no major disease pressure in the vineyards. The ripening season was warm and dry with no rain in our area until well after harvest. Overall 2002 was an extremely exciting vintage with ripe clean fruit.

Vinification:
This fruit was harvested in ½ ton bins; de-stemmed and gravity fed into five-ton open top stainless steel fermentation tanks. The whole berries were cold soaked for five days at 50º F (10 C°) and then the fermentation was allowed to start using a combination of natural and cultured yeast. The seven-day fermentation used a both pump over and punch down techniques. After pressing, the wine was racked into small cask, 60% new and 40% used, Bordeaux barrels. It was aged between 18 to 20 months.

Cooperage:
100% French oak barrels
16 months in barrel
60% new, 40% used

Technical Data:
Mendocino County appellation, California
Blend: Merlot (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%)
14.50 % alcohol by volume
0.057% RS
0.57 / 3.6 acid/pH
1,350 9/WL cases produced
Release Date: October 2006

Contact:
Ceago Estate Wines
P.O. Box 3017
5115 East Highway 20
Nice, CA 95464
Phone: (707) 274-1462
Fax: (707) 274-9736
Email: ceago@ceago.com
Website: www.ceago.com

Biodynamic Practices:
This vineyard looks like many others, but it's what you don't see that makes this one unique. These vines are grown biodynamically, a farming method made popular by an Austrian scientist and philosopher named Rudolph Steiner. The plants we grow, anyone grows, depend on air, light, water, soil, the sun and the moon. Everything in our universe is interconnected. It's dynamic.At Ceago, it is our mission to explore and apply methods that allow all of that to work together, biodynamically, to produce the highest quality products possible.

Composting:
You might say it's all in the compost. These piles contain sheep manure, straw, horse manure and vegetative matter from the ranch. But they also have some special preparations that are added to regulate decomposition and enrich the life in the soil once it's applied to the vines.

Biodynamic Preparations:
The compost preparations consist of different herbs and vegetative material. Yarrow, chamomile, valerian, stinging nettle, dandelion and oak bark: 6 materials that work together to enhance soil life. They are stored in a cool, moist, dark corner of the Ceago cellar.

Prep 500, Horn Manure:
There are three other preparations that make biodynamic farming exceptional: horn silica, barrel compost and horn manure. These female cow horns contains high quality cow manure. They are buried in the ground on the fall equinox and removed on the spring equinox. The horn manure has a rich, sweet earthly quality that enhances microorganism life once applied.

Stirring Machine:
Above the prep cellar you'll find a 90-gallon stainless steel tank that stirs the preparations before they can be applied to the vines and soil. This is a part of the process that many find intriguing. The water, along with the preparations, is stirred continuously to create a vortex. Once a vortex is established, the machine reverses direction creating chaos in the water, which is belived to promote micro-organism growth once the preparation is applied to the soil. The entire stirring process takes one hour.

Spraying Machine:
The preparations are all applied differently, some to the compost pile itself, some to the ground, others to the plant. The time of day, time of year and the lunar cycles play a big role in the timing of the applications. This cosmic or universal consideration is an ancient concept; moon and sun rhythms along with celestial events do affect plant growth and formation.

Cover Crops:
Cover crops are specially selected, beneficial plants intermingled among the vine rows to store nutrients like nitrogen. They also stabilize soil during heavy rains and hold moisture during drought periods. Cover crops also provide forage for the animal life at Ceago.

Sheep:
There are about 40 sheep at Ceago. Most of them are Rambouillets, a hardy breed that produces a fine wool. Biodynamic farming encourages self-sustaining methods. The sheep are an excellent example. They control cover crops and weeds, the manure is used in the compost that in turn produces healthy vines and wine. We are nourished from their meat and clothed by their wool.

Chickens:
Chickens share the vineyards with the sheep and crew. Our Rhode Island Reds control cutworms that can feed on vine roots. This type of chicken is a prolific egg producer, supplying enough eggs to keep all the staff on the ranch well fed at breakfast.

And here’s a link to really cool 25 page, “.PDF” Power Point Presentation that’s all about CEAGO–well worth the read!

You will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view the file above.
Click here for the latest version.

Biodynamic Viticulture:
Biodynamic viticulture is a system of farming and managing natural resources to produce the highest possible crop quality. The central goal of biodynamic farming is to create and maintain unique, self-sustaining farm ecosystems. This is achieved by building and maintaining soil fertility through composting and crop rotation. Unique to biodynamic farming is the application of biodynamic preperations (organic nutrient teas) that stimulate soil and compost microbial activity and stimulate the life forces of soil and plants.

Farming using biodynamic practices requires a new way of understanding nature in which we percieve the living, form-giving forces that actively regulate the growing process of the plants, animals and soils. A certified biodynamic farm meets all the USDA and California standards for organic agriculture, as well as those specific to Biodynamic farming. Specific requirements of biodynamic farms include:

• No use of chemically synthesized fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fumigants, no hormones, antibiotics, growth regulators or GMOs.

• The basis of crop fertility is compost, manures, green manuring, and crop rotations, along with regular application of the biodynamic compost preparations and field sprays.

• Weeds are controlled by similar means, by cultivation and by other mechanical methods.

• Composting materials, transplants, and animal feed imported from off the farm are very limited in quantity and must be of good quality.

• Farms are visited and re-evaluated annually. Contracts for use of the certification marks are also annual.

• The farm must be free of prohibited inputs for 36 months, and under biodynamic management for 12-24 months.

• Rights to use the certification mark or language are not transferable to processors and packagers.

• Demeter Association Inc. standards meet or exceed Demeter International, EU, and OFPA standards.

Biodynamic Resources:

Certification:
Demeter Association USA
Demeter is a leader of Biodynamic® certification and awareness, investing in and activating self-sustaining resources that make an impact on farm communities and the consumers they serve.

Research
The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Research, education, and public service program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, dedicated to increasing ecological sustainability and social justice in the food and agriculture system.

UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program
SAREP provides leadership and support for scientific research and education in agricultural and food systems that are economically viable, conserve natural resources and biodiversity, and enhance the quality of life in the state's communities.

The Institute for Biodynamic Research
The oldest private research institute on organic farming in Europe

Organics Research Centre
The University of Wales

Publications
Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association Literature List