Cover Crops in the Vineyard

As wine consumers, if we at all think about how the wine was made, we may think of grapes and grapevines and may even think of the farming aspect of growing grapes. While we mostly talk about the wine in our mouths, we should really give some thought to the farming.



Spring is barely here, yet we see growth in the vineyards. Not grapevine growth yet, but rather cover crops. Why do we need cover crops?

As children, we all heard of rotation farming. Some vegetations will add nutrients to the soil, some vegetations will take nutrients away. We can't rotate grape vines every year, which take nutrients away, but we can put in cover crops to add nutrients. What you see in the photo above are peas growing in between rows of our old Zinfandel vines. These peas will add nitrogen to the soils. It's a natural way to provide fertilizer to the vineyard. So now when you are having that wonderful glass of Andis Old Vine Zinfandel, you can be reassured that we have been sustainable in our farming methods. Enjoy!
 

Watch a short video of our wine maker, Mark Fowler discuss cover crops in the vineyard - COVER CROP VIDEO

Mar 11, 2021 at 12:00 PM Permalink

Elevate your Weekday Dinners

Elevate your weeknight meals with a simple yet elegant lamb shoulder with a sauce made from garden herbs. For under $20 and in less than 15 minutes you can dine on Broiled Lamb Shoulder with Mint Chimichurri sauce.

Freshen up the 1960's pairing of lamb with jiggly mint jelly by drizzling your lamb with the Argentinian staple, Chimichurri.

We've decided to pair our dish with our Painted Fields Red Blend, meticulously balanced featuring 30% Malbec, another Argentinian favorite.

Lamb Shoulder with Mint Chimichurri 
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped mint
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons red chile flakes
 salt and pepper
2 pounds of lamb shoulder

PREPARATION

Combine parsley, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, red chile flakes, salt and pepper. Rub half of the mixture over 2 pounds of lamb shoulder chops or chunks, and marinate overnight.
Heat a grill or broiler with the rack 4 to 6 inches from the flame. Wipe off the marinade; grill or broil, turning once, until medium, 4 or 5 minutes per side. Serve with the remaining chimichurri.

Serve with roasted or salt boiled potatoes to soak up the extra Chimichurri sauce.

Recipe from the New York Times

Jan 14, 2021 at 2:29 PM Permalink

This California version of an obscure Italian red will make you feel electric

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Dec 20, 2020 at 9:12 AM Permalink

The 2020 Fall Vintage

The 2020 Vintage
By Mark Fowler, Andis Wines Winemaker

Considering all the challenges this year, from the COVID-19 virus, to major heat waves, and finally to the intense California fires, we are now seeing 2020 turning out to be a phenomenal harvest for Andis Wines.

After doing some early tastings, there was excitement throughout the winery. Given how trying 2020 has been, we ended up with no issues and with wines of extreme quality.

Considering the hot weather, this year’s harvest was a sprint with 90% of our lots processed in 40 days. This compares to our normal harvest lasting 60 days or more. In addition to the heat waves, we had weeks of choking smoke from a horrible fire season. Watching each lot closely, we were relieved to find no effect on the grapes in our area of the Sierra Foothills.

Our early tastings showed wines of good character, bright natural acidity, focused aromas and fruit, and great structure. Given the challenges of 2020, we are grateful that we have been rewarded with a classic and phenomenal vintage, and that we can look forward to some truly awesome wines.

Nov 19, 2020 at 4:47 PM Permalink

Food & Wine Recommends Andis OGP Zinfandel to Buy Right Now

Sep 3, 2020 at 5:13 PM Permalink