OLD MONTICELLO FARMS BOX 99 423 CALLE del NORTE MONTICELLO, NM 87939 www.organicbalsamic.com Grapes are: •Old •Strong •Steady •Productive Pruning: •New Wood •Healthy Wood •Choosing, positioning fruit •(Winter clean-up, pre-Spring, mid- season 1-3X) Stylet oil smothers: •Leaf Hoppers •Fungus & Mildew Harmless to beneficials (www.peacefulvalley.com) WE COVER THE GRAPES TO PREVENT A BUG & BIRD FEAST. The Desert Vine: Growing Grapes in New Mexico By Steve Darland - Old Monticello Farms New Mexico Organic Conference Saturday, February 21, 2015 Read About Grapes: General Viticulture, Winkler, Cook, Univ. of Cal Press (1962, 1974) The Science of Grapevines, Keller, Washington State Press (2010) The Grape Grower/A Guide to Organic Viticulture, Rombough, Chelsea Green (2002) How much water? All new, young plants need daily watering. Later 2-3 times per week, depending on heat. Drip irrigation emitters allow control of water volume. Long slow watering encourages deep penetration of water and soil’s nutrients and micro- organisms. A vine’s tap root can be 60 feet deep. What to feed? Additives include our own organic green manure, kelp meal, bone meal, dried alfalfa meal, green sand, “Tree That Please” brand oil conditioners and organic fertilizers, some by inline injection via drip irrigation system. Companion Planting: We surround each grape plant with oats, buckwheat, field peas, oil seed radish, bio-master peas, purple & common vetch, hairy vetch and cow peas- plus many bird plants, including fennel. √ FERMENTATION MAKES ALCOHOL AND IS AN ANCIENT FOOD PRESERVATION METHOD. √ SUN SHINES, MAKES SUGAR, SUGAR FERMENTS TO ALCOHOL, THEN IT TURNS TO VINEGAR.
The Desert Vine: Growing Grapes in New MexicoBy Steve Darland - Old Monticello FarmsNew Mexico Organic ConferenceSaturday, February 21, 2015
Read About Grapes:
General Viticulture, Winkler, Cook, Univ. of Cal Press (1962, 1974)
The Science of Grapevines, Keller, Washington State Press (2010)
The Grape Grower/A Guide to Organic Viticulture, Rombough, Chelsea Green (2002)
How much water?
All new, young plants need daily watering. Later 2-3 times per week, depending on heat. Drip irrigation emitters allow control of water volume. Long slow watering encourages deep penetration of water and soil’s nutrients and micro-organisms. A vine’s tap root can be 60 feet deep.
What to feed?
Additives include our own organic green manure, kelp meal, bone meal, dried alfalfa meal, green sand, “Tree That Please” brand oil conditioners and organic fertilizers, some by inline injection via drip irrigation system.
Companion Planting: We surround each grape plant with oats, buckwheat, field peas, oil seed radish, bio-master peas, purple & common vetch, hairy vetch and cow peas- plus many bird plants, including fennel.
The single ingredient is organic grape juice from classic Italian balsamic grapes grown on the same property – a certified organic farm -- where the licensed, FDA/USDA inspected acetaia (vinegar loft) is located, dedicated to this sole function.
Produced in Italian casks of 7 rare woods: oak, chestnut, ash, acacia, mulberry, cherry, and juniper. The cask maker in Modena, Italy is Francesco Renzi, the unequaled master of the craft in which his family has been engaged for over 500 years.
Extremely low humidity in New Mexico (6-10%) much more rapidly produces viscosity, so the thick pour of this balsamic closely resembles the Italian “extra vecchio” product (25+ year age), though the NM product is in its 18th year of aging as of 2014.
As few as 700 bottles per year are made, depending on results of the high altitude (5,440 ft.) grape crop.
It is the Edible magazine 2011 “Artisan Product of the Year” for New Mexico. And the May, 2011 Bon Appétit magazine calls it one of the “best artisanal Italian pantry staples in the U.S”. Ruth Reichl calls this balsamic “rare and wonderful” on her food blog. Margot True, food editor of Sunset (2012) says, “Each sweet, silky drop explodes with flavor.” Doug Fine in New Mexico magazine (2012) said, this balsamic “made me understand why people become Epicureans – my culinary life changed forever.” Saveur (2009) named this among the world’s Top 100 products, saying “It’s worth the splurge.” Prestigious food periodical The Art of Eating (2014) says, the Darland’s traditional balsamic is “less an imitation of Italy and more a reflection of New Mexico”. The Santa Fe New Mexican (2014) says, “For real traditional balsamic vinegar, you can go to northern Italy -- or to Monticello, NM”.
Traditional Aceto Balsamico of Monticello
Read About Food: Where Our Food Comes From, Nabhan, Island Press (2009)
Language of Food, Jurafsky, Norton (2014)
The Third Plate, Barber, Penguin Press (2014)
50 Foods, Behr (2013)
Read About the Climate: House of Rain, Childs, Back Bay Books (2006)
The West Without Water; Ingram and Malamud-Roam, Univ. of California Press (2013)Steve and Jane Darland,
