Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 11, 2016 - 11

on being able to remember details from each of the years he's
worked. Ask him about 1979, and he'll whip out an obscure fact
about precise rainfall you won't believe until you check the files.
Ask him about 1997 and he'll do the same. These mental notes
sometimes are more exhaustive than anyone could suspect.
According to Davis, they focus on wines and grapes, noting
cluster weight, leaf cover and soil moisture.

"I tell myself every
year that must be what
heaven smells like."

"André always talked about the empirical history of European
winemaking," Davis says. "I may not remember everybody's
birthday, but I do remember harvests of the past. I'm trying to
establish the same kind of empirical history here and now."

The 60-something triathlete says nothing can replicate the smell
of first crush-a scent that always is just as thrilling as it was the
very first time.

Jordan Vineyard & Winery is committed to utilizing the latest
and greatest technologies to facilitate winemaking, and
Davis says these tools continue to make the business easier
and more efficient. In particular, he cites weather stations,
neutron probe sensors that measure moisture in the soil and
evapotranspiration software (monitors how much water each
plant is using), photo images of vineyard blocks that measure
uniformity and vigor of the vines, and resistivity of the soil
assessments, which help define the chemical composition of the
soil and its degree of drainability.
With constant improvements in technology, the vagaries of
each growing season, and a winery owner, John Jordan, who
challenges him to continue to strive for excellence, Davis says the
business is just as exciting to him today as it was when he began.
Even after 40 harvests, it's as if Davis is just getting started.

"To me, the arrival of the fruit at the winery confirms the success
of the growing season and the work that has accompanied all
the decisions made the whole year. Receiving a gondola on
the crush pad is a visceral experience where you can smell and
see the grapes, and you're overcome by the scent of fruit when
it hits the hopper. I tell myself every year that must be what
heaven smells like."
Is retirement in the cards for Rob Davis? If so, he says, it's
eons away.
"As long as I can do this job and get fulfillment out of it, there's
no way I'd even think about retiring," he says. "Harvest is the
best party in the world. I'd be impossible to live with if I wasn't
there during harvest. After all this time, it's a part of me. It's all
I know. And I love every minute of it."

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Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 11, 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 11, 2016
