Fire On The Mountain: One Vintner’s Tale Of Peril In California’s Napa Valley

Forbes | By John McCarthy | Nov 1, 2017 | Original Article

Sunday, October 8, 11:00 pm: Napa Valley winery owner Christian Palmaz received a text from a buddy with news that a fire was spreading through Atlas Peak, about two ridgelines away. Christian thought little of it. He had no inkling he would soon be facing the first of seven fires ignited that night, the beginning of what became a raging inferno, raining hell on Sonoma, Santa Rosa, and Napa—claiming 42 lives, decimating over 6,000 homes and businesses, and damaging or destroying 27 wineries. As I am writing this, fires in Santa Rosa are contained, but not out.

12:00 am: “I could see the glow on the top of the mountain,” says Christian Palmaz, owner and operator of Palmaz Vineyard in Napa, California.  “No news agencies were reporting this; it was the first fire, the beginning. The power started flickering, and that was the first sign that this was something big, but there were no evacuation orders, nothing like that. We ended up losing power, so I drove to the winery to make sure the generators transferred over. When I came out at 1:00 am, the fire was near the property line. It moved half a mile in a matter of what felt like minutes. I couldn’t believe it.”

2017 Harvest Report | By Christian Palmaz

As of Oct 28th, 2017

Reading my last post as of Sep 30th, it’s clear none of us ever imagined just 8 days later Napa and Sonoma would experience one of the worst urban fires in California history.  Although the property burned extensively, fortunately we and our staff were safe and only minorly affected by the fires.  Sadly the few parcels still hanging fruit could not avoid the proximity of smoke and ash.  We sent the fruit for extensive analysis and determined that while we could have harvested, it would be not have been towards a wine we’d be proud of.  Therefore we decided to drop the remaining fruit.  We are extremely fortunate that prior to the fire we had brought in almost 90% of the harvest.  While 2017 will be infamously remembered for generations, I am extremely optimistic that the wine will be one to remember fondly.  Our hearts and prays go out to those who weren’t as fortunate.

Vineyards may have kept Wine Country fire from getting worse

La Times | By Geoffrey Mohan | Oct 12, 2017 | Original Article

Christian Palmaz used hoes, shovels and rakes to keep flames from his family’s 19th-century vineyard estate home on the flanks of Mt. St. George in eastern Napa County.

But he didn’t have to worry about his vines. They’re green, very much alive, and a stark contrast to more than 500 acres of oak, manzanita and grassland charred by the Atlas fire as it tore across Palmaz’s property.

Plumas News: Field Trip Applies Computer Science to Agriculture

Plumas News | By Maggie Wells | Sep 29, 2017 | Original Article

We don’t often think of agriculture and computer science in the same breath, but on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 10 computer science students from Indian Valley, Quincy and Chester saw first hand how the two go together.

Napa Valley vintner and Genesee Ranch owner Christian Palmaz hosted the Plumas County students at the Palmaz Vineyards in Napa Valley to observe the application of computer science in agriculture — specifically wine making.

Winespeak: Visiting Palmaz Vineyards

Marin Magazine | By Danielle Botros | Sep 29, 2017 | Original Article

Where Tradition and Technology Co-exist, Comfortably

As a fine wine specialist and someone who’s been in the business for over 20 years, I was both curious and a bit skeptical as to what this famously high tech winery was all about. Allow me to explain my cynicism. There tends to be a bias in the industry against what is perceived as “over produced,” or “showy” winemaking. As they say, “great wine is made in the vineyard,” not in a lab room. My goal was to see what the fuss was all about and if, indeed, the innovation made a difference in the wines.

Swanky Sips – Palmaz Vineyards

SWANKY | Sep 22, 2017 | Original Article

From the first glimpse of the distinctive, handcrafted label, the wine lover begins to understand the Palmaz family ethos: “Love the land, know the grape and make a wine that honors both.”

To those familiar with the brand, a bottle of wine created by the Palmaz family evokes elegance, luxury, and the anticipation of pleasure on the palate.  This was the intention of Dr. Julio Palmaz and his wife Amalia when they founded the winery.  And so it remains today, as son Christian Gastón Palmaz and his sister Florencia continue the tradition started by their parents.

The Winery of the Future Looks Like Something Bruce Wayne Would Run

Digital Trends | By Sam Slaughter | Sep 17, 2017 | Original Article

When winemakers a century from now look back on the technology that changed the game, one winery is going to stand out: Palmaz Vineyards in the Napa Valley. Though ordinary in appearance at first glance, an amazing array of custom-built technologies lurking in a subterranean lair bolster the winemaker’s craft with exacting science.

Bringing Innovation & Invention to the Ancient Art of Making Wine

Luxury Life | By Anita Scafa | Aug 19, 2017 | Original Article

To those familiar with the brand, a bottle of wine created by the Palmaz Family evokes elegance, luxury, and the anticipation of pleasure on the palate.  This was the ignition of Dr. Julio Palmaz and his wife Amalia when they founded the winery.  And so, it remains today, as son Christian Gastón Palmaz and his sister Florencia continue the tradition stated by their parents.  

Palmaz Vineyards Reviewed

American Winery Guide | By Mark and Sonja Gudgel | June 15, 2017 | Original Article

The tectonic plates that slammed together to form Mount George and the other noteworthy peaks at the southern end of the Napa Valley had long since settled by the time that Henry Hagan arrived in California in 1852. Drawn north from San Francisco by the allure of untamed wilderness and unbridled natural beauty, the industrious Hagan founded Cedar Knoll Vineyard and Winery in 1881 and set about the business of viticulture with the spirit of a pioneer. Hagan experienced success with his wines, growing grapes in the unheard of Napa Valley and serving them mostly to locals in the Opera Houses and other upscale establishments of the Bay Area.

Digital data management drives grower’s efforts to produce world-class quality fruit

Western Farm Press | By Greg Northcutt | May 10, 2017 | Original ARTICLE

“Our approach is to farm the individual vines so that the fruit they produce all ripens together as a group. We’re trying to do that by employing technology that allows us to analyze macro-level data to help us understand the vineyard at the micro-level. ”

Geographic information systems, which are used to store, analyze and manage such geographic data as soil types, cropping patterns and rainfall, are the future of farming, says Christian Palmaz, president of Palmaz Vineyards, in the Coombsville AVA, near Napa, Calif.