Leo’s Legacy

Our world was devastated Friday night with the untimely death of our father/grandfather/uncle/rock, Leo Becnel.  His unwavering devotion to our family was a constant source of comfort we carry with us as we face these difficult times. 

Dad was a man of strong character and Southern values who worked tirelessly to bring his vision of a vineyard to life.  His dream is our dream and we will continue to work hard and honor his legacy.

On behalf of myself and my family, thank you for the outpouring of comforting words and shared memories.  Many tears are being shed but we know that Dad deserves every one of them.

Jennifer

Some things never change (repost)

Back in the 70’s, when my parents first discovered the land that eventually became Becnel Family Vineyards, it was an old sheep and cattle ranch with no real infrastructure.   At best, there were road-like paths but no electricity and no running water.  It was a far cry from the comfortable home we had been living in but the landscape captured the imagination of our dad, Leo Becnel, and he started to envision a unique lifestyle he wanted to share with his family.  He saw an opportunity to teach his children, first hand, what it meant to work towards something together. 
    
When we were young, family time often meant mending fences or filling potholes in our dirt road with shovels and an old pick-up truck.  During high school, friends of my brother, Kevin, would spend the night only to be woken up by Dad at the crack of dawn so they could pitch in around the ranch.  Go figure, most of them never came back.
   
Our new lifestyle meant a lot of learning—things like building a water system that delivered water from over two miles away or knowing the uses for different sizes of PVC pipe and how to properly seal a coupling.  Sometimes it meant waking up to no water at all and making due with jug water to wash up with for the day. To be honest, there were plenty of days I wasn’t so crazy about our new lifestyle but this was home and we were in it, together, for the long haul. Dad has always been a big believer in hard work and the ranch was not only the perfect outlet for his efforts, it strengthened us as a family. His work ethic is something we kids are now passing on to our own children.  

A lot has changed in the past thirty years, but some things stay the same. We still have a supply of PVC pipe on hand, and, believe it or not, we still sometimes wake up to no water in the pipes.  Dad still spends most of his free time filling in potholes in our dirt road or spreading compost in the vineyard. There are more of us now, but Dad’s hard work remains an inspiration to us all.

A cold, wet start.

All around Sonoma County people are talking about the weather.  It’s been feeling more like winter and less like spring, dipping down below freezing in some parts and even snowing in others.  For vineyards with vines sprouting new growth (aka bud break,) freezing temperatures can cause a grape grower nerve-wracking, sleepless nights.  Frost can destroy the tender new vines and with them the hopes of a harvest later on in the year.      

In general, the elevation of Becnel Family Vineyards is high enough that we’re above the traditional frost zone.  So far, though, not much about this year has been traditional.  Above average rainfall to snow on the hills overlooking nearby Alexander Valley is a reminder that when it comes to growing winegrapes, it’s usually better to err on the side of caution and not take anything for granted.   

Newly pruned vines overlooking the valley below.

 

For the past few years we’ve been anticipating bud break a bit differently.  It starts somewhere in the middle of winter when pruning the vineyards becomes the main focus of our days.  If you’re into gardening, you know that pruning means trimming a plant of its old growth. Instead of spindly vines that are thin and sparse, new growth is vigorous and robust.  The down side to pruning, though, is that it creates an open wound for the plant making it more susceptible to various diseases that, if left untreated or not caught early enough, can kill the plant.  (More information about pruning can be found here.)    

A few years ago, vineyard manager and clever brother, Kevin, decided to give double-pruning a try.  Instead of a one-time final cut, vines are left with about ten to twelve inches of old growth.  Later on, the vines receive the final pruning for the official start of the new growing season.    

Pre-pruned vines are better protected against disease and frost.

 

Final pruning is complete and the vine is ready for the new growing season.

 

Double-pruning works for two reasons:  1. Any potential disease that could enter the vine’s exposed cut would be removed with the final pruning and 2. The final pruning delays bud break which means new growth will ideally appear after the danger of frost has passed.    

Thanks to preventative measures, our vines are protected from the current temperature swings. The season’s just beginning, though, and we’re readying ourselves for the long, busy road to harvest.  Experience has taught us to expect a new journey every year.  Anything can happen… and usually does.  Who knows what this year will bring?     

We’ll keep you posted.    

Will work for wine

Last week was the Grand Harvest Awards Wine Competition hosted by Vineyard and Winery Management Magazine. Since 2003, my brother Kevin and I have worked behind the scenes pouring wine and doing other prep work so the judges can fairly decide which wines are medal worthy. It’s a coveted opportunity for us to learn about wine and, best of all, taste wine.  

This competition prides itself on being a bit different than the others:  

What sets Grand Harvest Awards apart from the rest? One word…terroir. Established in 1990, it is the only wine-judging event in North America that is based on terroir – a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation, and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific personality to the wine.  

Participating in a wine competition is labor intensive but always a good time.  We’re often the same group of wine drinkers hard workers consisting of vineyard owners, hobby winemakers, wine educators and people who simply love wine.  As soon as we’re caught up on each other’s latest news, we get to work.  

Day One is all about the set up. All of the wines that have been sent in to be judged need to be organized, boxed, moved, unpacked and reorganized in proper order for the next day’s pourings.  

Day One - Getting ready to move the wine.

 

   

Day One: Grouping the wines to be judged

 

Day Two is when the judges arrive and we pour the wines into numbered glasses, serving them in groups of anywhere between 8 – 12 at a time.    This year there were 23 judges divided into seven different groups tasting over 1400 different wines between them.      

Pouring for a blind tasting.

 

A judge's view.

 

Judge Eric Degerman, Managing Editor of Wine Press Northwest (photo by JAG Public Relations)

 

Bottles set aside after judging. These will be taken home at the end of the day.

 

  Day Three is a lot like Day Two but with an added bonus:  when the judging is finished we get “paid.”  This is worthy of a bit more explanation…  Every winery that submits a wine for judging includes an extra bottle in case there is a problem with the first.  It’s insurance in case the wine is ”corked” (funky smells or tastes that can only be detected after opening) or if the bottle breaks.  Once all of the judging is complete, all of these duplicate bottles of wine are gathered and evenly distributed into “The Mosh Pit.”    

The Mosh Pit after the Grand Harvest Awards

 

 Ahhh, The Mosh Pit.  Doesn’t look like much, does it?  But in those boxes are the reasons a lot of people choose to volunteer in the first place.  We’re all wine geeks, in some way or another, and getting paid in wine seems absolutely fair and more than worth the time we took away from our regular, paying jobs to be here.    

One last thing before I wrap this up…  An unexpected perk of working this year’s competition was meeting wine judge George Taber, the only wine writer that witnessed the famous 1976 Judgement of Paris where a panel of top French wine experts turned the wine world upside down by choosing unknown California wines over France’s best.  He wrote a well known book about it that you can find here.  It’s a detailed account of the story that inspired the movie, Bottle Shock .  

George Taber, author of Judgement of Paris.

 

So that’s the Grand Harvest Awards.  Trust me when I say that this over-simplified version doesn’t even begin to cover all that goes into a wine judging.  There are countless people who put in many long days and late nights before someone like me even shows up.   Most importantly, they do it to ensure quality wines get recognized and into your wine collection.  So take a look at this year’s medal winners by clicking here and see how your favorites did.  Better yet, discover something new and pick up a bottle the next time you’re at the wine shop.  Prost!  

It’s always a good time.

The folks over at Wine Road recently released a great new video about why February is a worthwhile time to visit Sonoma County. It features some of our neighbors from down the road and does a good job of giving would-be visitors an idea of what to expect.  Enjoy!

Growing Gold Medal Grapes

Success for a grape grower is a healthy vineyard that produces the superior fruit wine makers clamor for.  It means treating each vine like it’s the only one that matters even though you have acres and acres in need of your care.  Like a Top Chef insisting on only the finest ingredients for a meal, it takes the finest grapes to make remarkable wines. 

 Out here, it’s my brother Kevin that manages our vineyards.  He left a job in Germany’s financial world, with plenty of cushy perks, to bring his family back to the ranch.  In Europe, he often traveled internationally, ate at fine restaurants and wore tailored suits.  So it was surprising to many when he left that world to return to the Russian River Valley and manage the goings on here at the ranch.  In fact, Kevin’s old colleagues might do a double take if they could see him out in the vineyard today.  After all, vineyard work isn’t easy and there isn’t much need for a tailored suit.  An old Martha Stewart clip comes to mind of her working during harvest.  She was wearing a pretty, wide-brimmed hat, spotless gardening gloves and freshly applied make-up…  The reality couldn’t be more different.  It means working long hours out on the hills and of course, getting dirty.  Really dirty.  During a rainy season like the one we’re having now, getting dirty turns into getting muddy. Really muddy.

 Despite the change of lifestyle, Kevin has taken on his role as vineyard manager with pure dedication and is committed to growing grapes that reflect the true character of the land they grow on.  He has immersed himself in all things grape and, as a result, has become our resident expert.  He has learned how to incorporate sustainable farming practices, master vineyard irrigation and, overall, to give our vines the extra care that only someone with a vested interest would. Under Kevin’s care, our vines flourish and our grape-buying partners know they can count on Becnel Family Vineyards to produce the kind of fruit that will be instrumental when creating their gold medal wines.

First things first…

Welcome to Becnel Family Vineyards, also known as “The Other Neighbors.” We are a family of three generations living and working together to grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir winegrapes. For over thirty years, we’ve lived just outside of Healdsburg, California raising kids, fixing broken waterlines, unflipping flipped over dump trucks and growing the best winegrapes possible.

Despite our long history in the Russian River Valley, Becnel Family Vineyards is still relatively unknown when compared to some of our neighbors like the Rochiolis, Williams Selyem and the Bacigalupis of John Tyler Wines.  The people behind these labels have done a great job putting themselves out there in the public eye, working hard to build a reputation for excellence in both the grape growing and wine making worlds.  As a result, they have gained celebrity-like status for their highly sought after wines. 

As for us, we’ve been content working behind the scenes and out in the vineyards.  Only recently have we started to come out of our shell a bit so we understand the shrugged shoulders we get when we tell people where we are.  We’ve come to realize that effective neighbor name dropping is as good as any GPS system.  So for now, I jokingly refer to our family as “The Other Neighbors.” Someday, when we’re better known, we’ll gladly pass the title on to someone else.