Grapevines & Bourbon
Ahhh…. The grapevines.
So in our quest to return back to the Plush legacy and return the ranch back to its original roots we decided to bring back the apple trees. After months of research up and down the coast with commercial nurseries we decided on which apple varieties would best suit. The education included commercial crops vs you pick crops, weather, seasons, altitudes, early frosts, and then the death phrase “Fire Blight”. Having lots of history on the ranch written down plus Gary and Lois it came to light that Fire Blight wiped out the last orchard of apples the Plush Ranch grew. Today’s science pointed to the Yellow Banana Apple that was planted by the Plush Ranch as being highly susceptible to the Fire Blight so through much help with the nursery experts we rallied on how to pick the best crops that were not susceptible to the Fire Blight. Some fun facts the “New” grocery store apple model are considered Sugar Bombs, sugary goodness on every shelf but many tended to be susceptible to the fire blight. So the plan was made with the fire blight resistant Red Delicious apple planted as a fire wall on the outskirts of the orchard with the more susceptible varieties planted on the inside for protection. The Arkansas Black Cider apples were extremely popular so we needed to place that order for 90 immediately which was all that was left. The Fire Blight bacteria/fungus can stay in the soil for hundreds of years, in short it attacks the tree making the bark like an opened zipper that allows for all to get into the tree and destroy it as well as the orchard, it can travel with bees, wind, anything that touches the infected tree is contaminated. But we were good we had figured it all out. One week before the official order went in for 10 acres of trees, 5,000 trees, we were at the property next door and what we thought was a dead un watered apple orchard was in fact Fire Blight, the nurseries immediately pulled the orders.
Off to wine grapes we go. We pivoted to 5 acres of wine grapes because 10 acres we would have had to sell several kidneys. We researched and found a nursery that specializes in high altitude, late frost root stock and we jumped in. 5 acres planted with 1,361 vines of Cabernet Sauvignon, 1,361 vines of Gewurztraminer, 1,361 vines of Pinot Noir Pommard, 1,361 vines of Sauvignon Blanc, and 1,361 vines of Syrah oh wait and 90 Arkansas Black Cider Apples. The vineyard plan started 8-10 months ago the vines just went in yesterday we have three years before our first harvest, until then we need to keep them watered, be on patrol for gophers and deer, and prune and care for them as if they are our babies so that hopefully in three years we will have a harvest. Oh wait and because the farm gods are always on our side the news headlines if you can get past the political climate read “Across California, farmers are ripping out their vineyards en masse. This uprooting is the result of a yearslong oversupply; with wine consumption in the US declining, wineries are decreasing production, which means they need fewer grapes.”
You can’t make this stuff up…. Cheers.
To get one through the tough times always invite the closest friends for a pre made batch of Old Fashioned’s.
Makes 17 servings can be made days ahead or just sitting ready in the fridge.
1 liter bourbon (best that you can find)
1 cup plus one tablespoon simple syrup
2 tsp Angostura bitters
2 cups water
Ice
Orange Slices for garnish
Maraschino cherries for garnish
Combine bourbon, simple syrup, bitters and water in a large pitcher and stir well to mix
Pour into a sealable container or bottle and refrigerate until serving time
To serve, gently agitate bourbon mixture container to ensure that it is well mixed, fill glass with ice and pour in 3 ½ ounces of the bourbon mixture.
Garnish each with a slice of orange and a cherry