French Camp Vineyards
Encyclopedia
French Camp Vineyards is a vineyard in Paso Robles
California
, U.S.A. which is in the Paso Robles AVA
.
The French Camp operation is a team effort among the people who have grown the grapes, those that have managed its business affairs, those that have sold the production (whether it was grapes or cuttings), and those that have done strategic planning for future growth. These team members include Hank Ashby, Vineyard Manager, Debbie Strange, the Office Manager, James Ontiveros, grape salesman, members of the Miller family, who own French Camp Vineyards, and Chon.
Working together, this group has grown French Camp to over 1700 acres (7 km²).
, Dr. Justin Morris (Director of Food Science & Engineering at U of A), and OXBO International, Hank Ashby, Vineyard Manager for French Camp Vineyards has adopted a new method for producing a better balanced and consistent crop.
The Morris-Oldridge canopy management system achieves yields within 10% of the yield goal. By using mechanization for pruning, shoot thinning, and fruit thinning, crop levels can be adjusted several times during the growing season. This practice would be cost prohibitive if not for mechanization.
In the average vineyard, annual yield can very as much as 50% year to year, making it very difficult to predict budgetary and wine productions numbers.
Moreover, in conjunction with Paso Robles Wine Services, French Camp has conducted trails demonstrating better quality fruit production as a result of the balanced cropping technique when compared against hand farmed fruit in many cases.
Paso Robles, California
Paso Robles is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Paso Robles is the fastest growing city in San Luis Obispo County: Its population at the 2000 census was 24,297; in 2010 it recorded some 29,793 residentsLocated on the Salinas River north of San Luis Obispo, California,...
California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, U.S.A. which is in the Paso Robles AVA
Paso Robles AVA
Paso Robles Wine Country is an American Viticultural Area located in the San Luis Obispo County, California. It has approximately 26,000 vineyard acres planted with wine grapes, and is well known for its hertiage varietal Zinfandel, Rhône-style wines, and "Crazy Blends," blends and styles that are...
.
History
Originally, the French Camp land was part of the San Juan Ranch. Over time, The San Juan Ranch was split into a number of parcels including the French Camp area, which became a part of the Camatta Ranch. The Miller family purchased The Camatta Ranch property in 1968, believing that it could be developed to various crops including wine grapes. They leased parts of it out for a few years while they gathered information as to climate, soils, and water for irrigation. Initially, 200 acre (0.809372 km²) were planted to wine grapes in 1973.The French Camp operation is a team effort among the people who have grown the grapes, those that have managed its business affairs, those that have sold the production (whether it was grapes or cuttings), and those that have done strategic planning for future growth. These team members include Hank Ashby, Vineyard Manager, Debbie Strange, the Office Manager, James Ontiveros, grape salesman, members of the Miller family, who own French Camp Vineyards, and Chon.
Working together, this group has grown French Camp to over 1700 acres (7 km²).
Vineyard mechanization
In cooperation with the University of ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
, Dr. Justin Morris (Director of Food Science & Engineering at U of A), and OXBO International, Hank Ashby, Vineyard Manager for French Camp Vineyards has adopted a new method for producing a better balanced and consistent crop.
The Morris-Oldridge canopy management system achieves yields within 10% of the yield goal. By using mechanization for pruning, shoot thinning, and fruit thinning, crop levels can be adjusted several times during the growing season. This practice would be cost prohibitive if not for mechanization.
In the average vineyard, annual yield can very as much as 50% year to year, making it very difficult to predict budgetary and wine productions numbers.
Moreover, in conjunction with Paso Robles Wine Services, French Camp has conducted trails demonstrating better quality fruit production as a result of the balanced cropping technique when compared against hand farmed fruit in many cases.