What clever grape growers are doing to counter the drought crunch.

Bernardus Estate vineyard manager Matt Shea puts a positive spin on what’s being dubbed the worst drought in California history. “Perhaps it is going to benefit the water supply and future farming in California,” he says.

One reason he believes that: The drought will teach farmers to be as frugal with water as vineyard managers have been for years. Over the past four years, grape growers have only redoubled efforts to maximize yields with reduced water. Advances in farming technology like pressure chambers, which gauge the vine’s thirst level through the moisture in its leaves, have helped. There’s also rootstock grafting, which is the practice of splicing roots to the plants that grow deeper down into the soil to mine water that ordinarily can’t be reached. There’s more: Soil moisture probes transfer real-time data about the soil’s water retention to smartphones (evapotranspiration – the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration – data are also available on phones), while sensors from Fruition Science measure behavior of plants to ensure they are adapting to the amount of water instead of watering when plants look dry. EcoVolt, a self-contained system, uses electrically active microbes to purify wastewater for reuse and create energy-producing methane gas.

Pisoni Vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands has been in major water conservation mode for the past few years.

“We’re having to get more efficient at growing grapes with less,” vineyard manager Mark Pisoni says. “It’s the new norm.” Jeff, his winemaker and brother, adds: “We’re doing everything we can to preserve any moisture we have in the soil.”

Mark Pisoni use devices like groundwater moisture meters that plunge as many as 6 feet deep, revealing how much water is retained so the grape growers know if there’s any over-watering.

The Pisonis produce some of the most coveted Pinot Noir fruit and highest-rated estate wines in California. Their yield is already low because they choose high quality over high quantity. But they’ve been pruning more aggressively to lower their yields – and water requirements – even more. Mark estimates that Pisoni’s water requirements, on a per vine basis, are down at least 20 percent or so over the past three to four years.

Mark and Jeff are also adamant about ensuring the vines are preserved for the future, when conditions are better. Vines are tougher than most plants and can tolerate drought, but if they reach a certain point they won’t photosynthesize, which means low-quality fruit.

“There’s science to all this and if you don’t want to take advantage of technology that’s available, you’re going to have a hard time surviving,”

“There’s science to all this and if you don’t want to take advantage of technology that’s available, you’re going to have a hard time surviving,” Jeff says.

Shea calls technology “another tool in the toolbox.” In other words, he says, “I use technology to confirm tactile or visual observations.”

Shea’s been with Carmel Valley’s 50,000-case Bernardus Winery and Marinus Vineyard for 10 years, and he’s been farming grapes for 20. And though there is a pressure chamber on property, Shea gauges the vine leaves by hand to feel which need water. He also considers other variables, like the distance of the tendrils above the growing point and the overall vigor and color of the vine. Shea does use a tiny soil moisture probe, which gauges several variables, including irrigation pressure and wind speed, to tell him when and how long to irrigate.

Marinus’ water collection and recycling system reduces erosion and runoff and provides a key to the winery’s conservation during the drought. The vineyard’s steep topography creates a watershed; the water that’s not absorbed into the ground flows into a large existing retention reservoir, providing the vineyard with enough water for half a year. Before the water ends up in the reservoir, it’s pushed through marsh and grasslands where the silt filters out into three different silt ponds. Shea says this system works so well that they haven’t had to tap into the three backup wells or use the pump in the river.

“The system enhances bottom-line assets as well as nature’s assets,” he says.

Paraiso Vineyards owner/grape grower Rich Smith feels no matter how advanced the technology is, nothing integrates as many variables as a farmer who spends his life in the fields. Smith says there’s nothing that can surpass the power of his observation, 40 years of experience all told.

Smith says it’s more important for the Salinas Valley community to plan for the long-term future – 50 to 70 years down the line – than the short-term.

He further believes the most important water issues are the ones that the community’s been addressing since the 1950s: long-term sustainability for the Salinas River Groundwater Basin and seawater intrusion.

The drought may feel like a recent crisis for many, but for wine growers it’s another challenge in a puzzle they’ve been navigating for decades.

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