Advancements in the Vineyard

In our vineyards, most of the past 15 years have revolved around a philosophy driven by our curiosity and desire to understand every square foot of our vineyards—from soil to plant and climate. We refer to this philosophy as precision viticulture, focusing first on what we want to understand before figuring out how best to gather data. Since 2010, we have worked with Fruition Sciences to change how we think of irrigation, water use and vine balance.

Most recently, our vineyard team helped to beta test a new tool from Fruition Sciences called physiocap. The team liked it so much, we acquired our own unit. In the winter, before pruning and with two feet of growth remaining on the vines, we run the tractor-mounted physiocap though each vineyard row. The machine measures both shoot diameter and the number of shoots per vine. The result is a vigor map of the vineyard that helps to identify patterns from the harvest that recently concluded and provides historical context available for the vineyard’s lifespan.

“We’re now able to seek the answers to many of our questions,” Silver Oak Napa Valley Vineyard Manager Dave Shein says. “Was our pruning accurate enough to address the variability within a certain block? Is there an area that is chronically weak or strong? The data helps to inform our management decisions.”

This advancement comes on the success of other technologies, including sap flow sensors. Installed to improve data collection, the sap flow sensors allow Dave and team to analyze real-time data—a significant improvement from weekly, labor-intensive reporting of decades prior. Three years ago, we also started experimenting with leaf temperature sensors. The technology helps us better visualize trend lines and time our irrigations more accurately to reduce water use and improve wine quality at the same time.