Wine, Guns & The Mythbusters Converge at Martin Estate

This Spring, Mythbusters’ Grant Imahara, Kari Byron and Tory Belleci joined renowned antique arms expert Greg Martin to see how centuries old firearms fared against the crew’s replication of ancient Chinese paper armor. We turned the winery lawn into a battlefield, cracked open a few bottles of Martin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, and let the sword-wielding robot "take a whack" at the replication armor. Despite pouring rain, it was a fascinating day…and, we anticipate, an equally enthralling episode featuring wine and guns.

“Earliest references to paper armor date back to the Tang Dynasty, about 600 years BCE,” Martin says. Made from the bark of a mulberry tree, this paper, he adds, provided several tactical advantages to metal armors, including a resistance to rust and increased mobility. “In addition, it was extremely flexible as well as cheap to produce.”

But could a fragile material like paper be as effective as steel against spears, arrows and guns? According to Martin, the armor’s flexible, layered lamellar construction actually gave paper armor a leg up on the competition. “Armor with a single sheet of material is compromised by a single crack. But with layers and pieces, any damage on one layer doesn’t compromise the other. Plus, the softer materials yield and neutralize much of the impact energy before they damage.” According to Martin, armor of this type would not be pierced by arrows or spear thrusts and could withstand a musket shot from 100 yards away.

The Discovery Channel team decided to test these claims. After constructing their own armor by cutting paper into strips and folding them back and forth into multiple layers to create protective scales, Imahara, Byron and Belleci packed up their new suit and traveled to Martin’s Napa Valley winery, which also houses extensive antique arms and medieval armor.

Martin pulled some of his ancient flintlock firearms from their cases, and the Mythbusters team went into town to arm themselves with bow and arrow. Then, the quartet set up the “battlefield” outside on the estate lawn. Two dummies, one outfitted with a steel suit and the second with the Mythbusters’ paper armor, served as sacrificial lambs.

Just how well did the armor fare against the arrow deluge and ancient Chinese firearms, not to mention the robot swordsman? Stay tuned for the episode air date to find out.

For more information, please contact Brooke Gadke, brooke@MartinEstate.com or 479.414.3951.

Bud Break at Shafer Vineyards

European Grapevine Moth - Steps toward eradication in 2011

In September of 2009, the European Grapevine Moth (EGVM) was discovered in Napa County. Native to Italy, the pest is one of the most disruptive to grapevines, multiplying three times within a single growing season and producing larvae that feed on grape clusters. The first year it was discovered in Napa the moth destroyed an entire vineyard in Oakville, leading to widespread concern about future crop damage in the Napa Valley.

Harnessing the urgency of the situation, Dave Whitmer, Napa County’s Agricultural Commissioner, and Monica Cooper, Napa County’s Farm Advisor, along with Napa Valley Vintners, Napa Valley Grapegrowers, Napa County’s Farm Bureau and local environmental groups, coordinated a county-wide effort to control the moth during the 2010 growing season that included over 5,000 traps, a quarantine during harvest, spray applications of ovicide and larvicide, and pheromone mating disruption. As a result of these efforts, vineyard crop damage was greatly reduced in 2010, turning what was largely seen as a potentially catastrophic threat to Napa vineyards into a success story in pest and environmental management.

While significant progress was made in 2010 in quarantining and reducing EGVM populations, experts agree that continued vigilance in combating the moth in 2011 is key to completely eradicating the moth in the Napa Valley.

For the 2011 growing season, it is recommended that all grape growers within 500 meters of a moth trapped in 2010 treat the first two generations with ovicide and/or larvicide and put up Isomate pheromone mating disruption twist-ties in their vineyards. The county will again set traps throughout the Napa Valley to asses the location and volume of the moths throughout the season and quarantines during harvest are recommended.

Home winemakers also play an important role in eradicating the moth and complying with EGVM standards. For example, as EGVM can be spread via green waste, any residue from home winemaking should be double bagged and placed in a trash can and should not be added to compost piles. To comply with the quarantine, home winemakers who use custom grape facilities for their wines should use facilities within their quarantine area. More information for Napa homeowners can be found here.

Questions or want to be on the County’s mailing list for further updates? Contact Napa County EGVM Grower Liaison Martin Mochizuki.

Follow updates on Kick the Moth Out! on Facebook

Additional Resources

EGVM Management – County of Napa
EGVM Management – UC Davis Cooperative Extension
Presentation on 2010 EGVM Management efforts

(Photo Credit: Kick The Moth Out! Facebook Page)

Shafer Vineyards at Premiere Napa Valley

Get a look at Shafer's participation in this year's Premiere Napa Valley mid-winter barrel auction for the wine trade.

The 2011 Vintage Begins: Pruning at Fantesca

Pruning is one of those milestone events in the year. It is a low stress event since the vines are dormant and there is a large window of opportunity to get the work done. I am amazed at the skill and speed of the workers who know how to make the precise cuts that will yield just the right number of shoots all pointed in the correct manner. This is critical to the health of the vineyard and the quality of the wine.

Welcome to 2011! We will keep you posted on the vintage's progress, but you won't be able to taste it until September of 2014!

Duane Hoff

A Look Back at the 2010 Chardonnay Harvest with Ceja Vineyards

Footage of the Ceja vineyard crew hard at work picking Chardonnay in the Carneros district of Napa for Ceja Vineyards' 2010 vintage.

Bottling 2009 Chardonnay with Elias Fernandez at Shafer

It's time for Shafer’s Chardonnay to move from barrel to bottle in an annual tug-of-war between winemaker and chaos!

In the Cellar reviewing the 2010 Ceja Chardonnay Vintage with Winegrower Armando Ceja

Just Another Day in Paradise

This is my favorite time of year in the Napa Valley. Beautiful sunsets over the acres of vineyards changing colors from green to gold, with hints of red and brown. Once all the leaves hit the ground, you know the vines are peacefully sleeping, dreaming of the great vintages to come.

Underground in the cellar, all the VIADER wines have been pressed and moved to barrel to quietly undergo the usual secondary fermentation (malolactic). The only evidence remaining from the chaos of the harvest time is a great heap of grape must which will be taken to use in compost. Delia and Alan have tasted through the different lots and are looking forward to the further development of this enticingly aromatic and balanced vintage.

Amidst all this quiet, I can't stop thinking, finally we can have a social life! With the endless hours of harvest time coming to a close, I now see much more of my family (which is a good thing)! And at this time of year, we spend most of our time enjoying the "fruits of our labor" over dinner.

Happy holidays to all,

Janet Viader

sales & marketing at VIADER