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THE LACHINI VINEYARD
Viticulture at Lachini Vineyards, and profiles of our Estate vineyard
- Area of Vineyard: 45 acres of which 28.5 acres are planted to Pinot Noir & 0.5 acres to Chardonnay
- New Plantings: Fall 2007 ~ Wadenswil, 115 & 777 Pinot Noir + 1/2 acre 76 & 37 (certified 95) Chardonnay
- Blocks: East ~ Pommard clone on 101-14 rootstock | Middle ~ Dijon clones 113, 114, 115, 667 & 777 on 101-14 and 3309 rootstock | West ~ Wadenswil, 828, 113, 777 and Pommard clones.
- Vineyard yield average: 2 tons/acre
- Vineyard Manager: Ezequiel Arcos
THE LACHINI VINEYARD
Lachini Vineyard's forty-five acres are located in Newberg, the heart of the North Willamette Valley, approximately 30 miles Southwest of Portland. It only took one look for us to know that this was a unique and special site. Our sloping Estate Vineyard is comprised of Willakenzie series soils-ranging from 18 to 48 inches in depth. The shallow, fine silt loam over sedimentary rock has lower water capacity due to it's sandy consistency and thus forces the vines to compete and develop deep root systems. The emerging terror of these dark-brown to yellowish-brown soils reveal Pinot Noir wines with strong earthy notes, chocolate, and a definite flavour of anise and spice. We purchased the property in 1998 and planted the first five acres with Pinot Noir (Pommard clone) in June of 1999 after clearing and natural site preparation. In the following '00, '01, '02 and '03 growing seasons, we planted additional blocks that now entail just over 24 acres of planted Pinot Noir. Most recent plantings include Dijon and Wadenswil clones and a three acre block of 828 clone. Subsequently, with the 2009 growing season ahead, Lachini Vineyard will have twenty seven acres in full production. Over the next several years, we will look to pant a bit more Pinot Noir and add a few small blocks of white varietals, with maximum planting to 35 acres. Vineyard spacing is 4' X 6" or roughly 1700 vines per acre, which forces the vines to compete and allows us to produce premium quality wines. We seek to limit our annual production under 2 tons/acre; but of course, mother nature doesn't always cooperate. For the '01 and '02 harvests, we limited yields to one cluster per shoot, and essentially dropped nearly 60 percent of our fruit to ripen the best clusters. Lachini Vineyards uses drip irrigation to help establish our young vines and control the amount and timing of water delivered to each plant. We are presently experimenting with administering nutrients such as compost tea direct to each plant.
VINEYARD MANAGEMENT
Our philosophy is shared by many in Oregon-"To respect the land, treat it well for generations to come." Lachini Vineyards are hand-farmed using sustainable agriculture and organic practices. Sustainable viticulture not only protects and renews soil fertility; but minimizes adverse impacts on natural biological cycles and controls as well as minimizing impacts on health, safety, wildlife, water quality and the environment. Low Input Viticulture and Enology, Inc. program (LIVE, Inc.) is a program providing vineyards and wineries official recognition for sustainable agricultural practices that are modeled after international standards such as the practice of Botanical diversity in the cover crop and management practices that favor beneficial insects. Through sustainable agriculture and organic farming principles we are at work within the vineyard rows on a daily basis from budbreak in April to harvest in October. Every farming method we practice, create or implement, whether employing organic soil amendments to hoeing by hand, is meant to increase the vitality and potential of each grapevine. We limit crop yields to extremely low levels (0.75 - 2 tons/acre), and through several stages of leaf, canopy and soil management we are able to harvest extremely ripe fruit, which gives us more consistently complex, ageworthy and classic Pinot Noirs. We began our gradual transition to more organic farming practices in 2003 - limited use of pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides in our vineyard... and are now beginning to employ biodynamic farming philosophy & practices.
