For the last three years, we've wrestled with the idea of choosing what to plant. At first the struggle seemed trivial, but when you intend to do "life together" with these grapes, you should probably plant something that you like. We have learned to balance what we can't control (e.g. our geology, topography and climate) alongside those things that we can (e.g. varietal selection, production goals and farming practices). On the latter, we've picked up a few convictions:

1. "Grow what belongs here. Be patient." Pick a clone that can thrive in our heat, instead of trying to force something that doesn't belong. Colleen McGlynn at DaVero (Healdsburg, CA) influenced our thinking here:

"But what really matters is that our climate is Mediterranean, characterized by hot, dry summers with cool nights. Which is exactly like the Italian peninsula — and exactly the inverse of the climates of Bordeaux and Burgundy which have cooler, wet summers with warm nights, and are roughly 1000 miles north of where we are."

2. Focus on grape quality over grape quantity. This conviction is less concerned with return on investment (e.g. crop yield and price-per-ton) and instead focused on fruit quality. We should drop fruit to increase quality, harvest by hand, and eliminate bunches that don't appear healthy. In other words, simply do it right.

3. We should treat the land the way we would want to be treated. Our farming convictions will be taken up in detail another time. That said, it is worth noting that the "natural world" knows a thing or two about producing fruit. Carolyn Czapleski at Canard Vineyard (Calistoga, CA) reminded me that "grapes have been here for awhile, they know what to do." We'll make an effort to stay out of their way, and provide assistance only when needed.

Now, what are we going to plant?!?