The Inside Winemaking Podcast With Jim Duane

Austin Peterson decided that he wanted to become a winemaker his father, also a winemaker, tried talking him out of it.  Winemaking may not be the most lucrative career, but it is rife with people choosing passion over payment.  Austin, now winemaker at Ovid Vineyards in Napa’s Pritchard Hill, brings a relentless passion to the vineyard and winemaking processes at Ovid Vineyards.   Austin and the rest of the Ovid team might have one of the most spectacular daily commutes.   Resting above the main valley of Napa Ovid is situated on Pritchard Hill perched on its western slope.  It’s this slope that allows cool air to flow out from the vineyard and leave the vines out of frost’s harm.  In this episode of the Inside Winemaking Podcast we discuss:   Organic practices for weed control Winery design and gravity flow at Ovid The difference between sugar measurements Brix and sugar-per-berry The method Austin uses to measure sugar-per-berry and the results they have observed in their vineyards The advantages of barre