From left: New metal stakes placed in the ground before new rootstocks are planted in spring; Jordan’s Javier Hernandez removes trellising wires during preparation for grapevine removal; uprooted vineyards and metal stakes are placed in piles.
through replanting, reorienting rows, microfarming and amending the soils with nutrients they don’t naturally possess. The first block, located below John Jordan’s home, is an experimental playground for testing rootstocks, vineyard row spacing and direction, as well as new technologies for applying nutrient applications—all unavailable to Tom Jordan when he planted the estate.
“The goal of the replanting is to grow the flavors Rob wants in Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon,” Young explains. “The first key thing we noticed when pulling out the old vines is that they were j-rooted—meaning the roots took a j-shape, rather than reaching deep into the soil. They were planted in too- shallow holes, which forced the roots to bind up, instead of reaching down for water and nutrients.”
Vineyard blocks are being removed gradually over the course of three years, albeit strategically due to lessons learned from the 1996 replant. Petit verdot and malbec, the top-performing vineyards, will be replanted last, as they are valuable components to the Jordan master blend.
“We’re also changing the orientation of the rows when possible,” Young says.
“When the new vines are planted to specific rootstocks and clonal selections, they will receive uniform sun all day, rather than morning sun on one side and afternoon sun on the other. This will eliminate underexposure to sun in the morning and overexposure in the afternoon.”
Preparing the ground for replanting J4, the vineyard below John’s home, was arduous.
“We didn’t want any rocks, including magnesium-loaded serpentine, to impede the growth of the vine roots, so we pulled out the old vines and broke up the hardpan,” Young says. “We added soil amendments, such as gypsum, potassium and compost, where the new vines will grow.”
Soils need time to renew after supporting grapevines for decades, so each piece of land will be left fallow for 1-2 years, growing only cover crops. Cover crops are planted to enhance the health of the soil, such as nitrogen-rich legumes, clover and straw. Irrigation and fertigation will be vine- specific, and the goal is to attend to each vine’s needs.
The first new vines will be planted at J4 in June 2018, and the last block of the replant is expected in 2021.
For the foreseeable future, Jordan will continue to source cabernet sauvignon grapes from favored Alexander Valley growers. One of them is Mike Mazzoni of Geyserville. Mazzoni is intrigued by Jordan’s replanting efforts, but is taking a wait-and-see stance on the results. “I’m old-school,” he says.
“As long as we’ve been doing this, we continue to learn about grapegrowing, soil structure and vineyard husbandry,” Davis explains. “We can’t change soil, as Andre often told me, but we can work with it and do our best to enhance it. We’re opening new pages for learning, seeking specific fruit character by site.”
Some growers are now asking Jordan for replanting advice, Davis says. “Sharing knowledge back and forth between our estate and our growers, I love that we have a two-way street with farming, not just winemaking.” Fifth-generation grape grower Bret Munselle of Munselle Vineyards, another top grape grower for Jordan, even stopped by to assess the J4 experiment.
“It’s going to be fun to see how the replanting goes,” Davis says. “In a few years, we may very well ask ourselves, ‘Why didn’t we do this a long time ago?’”
Lisa Mattson is the lead writer and blogger at Jordan Winery. Learn more about her at
lisamattsonwine.com. 19
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