Valley vineyards reaping benefits from string of atmospheric rivers
CLARKSBURG — Some of the most visual reminders of the storms in our area are on farms and orchards where floodwaters have still yet to recede.
Valley farms and orchards have been inundated with rain the last two weeks, and unless their property has been oversaturated, it's been nothing but a positive for most in the agricultural sector as they look toward growing season with freshly fertile land.
Julietta Winery General Manager Annie McEwan joked the vineyard now has lakefront property.
"It's our new Lake Julietta, though!" she said.
A flooded field on the property next to the vineyard has enveloped some vines — but it's nothing to worry about.
"As of right now, hopefully with this beautiful sun hopefully we'll be able to get back to normal," McEwan said.
While the vines are dormant, the only worry is oversaturation.
"As long as it dries out within a good amount of time before we start, before the fruit starts to develop, the bud starts to break," McEwan said. "We're still about a month from that right now."
Down the road in Courtland, Sarah Hemly grows pears that eventually become Hemly cider.
"This has been a cold storm with lots of water but not too much water," she said. "It's actually been really good for us."
Some of the trees there have been around for generations and are built for rain and floods.
"They handle submersion. They have a shallower root system," Hemly said.
The only real concerns are timing and temperature.
"If we continue into February-March where bud break does happen and we continue to grow, then we do have some concerns," McEwan said.
"If we get some rain in April and there's standing water, then it's an issue whereas now, this is great!" Hemly said.
But for the most part, it can mean a good growing season ahead for everyone in California's breadbasket.
Growing season is not too far away, and as these waters eventually recede, the hope is that there aren't any two-week-long deluges on the horizon.
