It’s a humble start by Sonoma Valley standards but a big step for a middle school whose students won’t be able to sip wine for at least a decade – a harvest yielding 40 pounds of plumb zinfandel grapes.
Horticulture students at Adele Harrison Middle School on Broadway trekked out to a front corner of the campus Friday morning for their inaugural harvest.
Under the watchful eye of teacher Shirley Austin-Peeke and the patient direction of a skilled vineyard worker, eight students took turns picking the deep purple fruit destined for icy sorbets and fruit juice rather than wine, at least for this year.
Isidro Corona, the viticulturist who manages 600 acres at Larson Family Winery, stepped away from his harvest duties to oversee the latest phase at the Adele Harrison vineyard, where 120 vines were planted in June of 2011.
“It’s the first growth of grapes and it’s exciting,” said Corona.
Becky Larson, who coordinates the project between the school and the winery, was on hand offering encouragement. Two eighth-grade students also offered some capable help – Larson’s 13-year-old twin sons, Will and Wyatt, who attend the school and know a bit about the wine industry themselves.
Corona told the students it will be a few more years before the vines really start producing, but even school Principal Karla Conroy was impressed with the harvest. She, too, carefully cut a few bunches of grapes.
The students’ hands-on experience included a few quick lessons about sugar levels, varietals and vineyard management. Becky Larson explained that T-posts and tubes support and protect the young vines from wind and animals like jackrabbits that might romp through the vineyards.
For students like 11-year-old Sonoma native Jason Chiotti, the lesson was an inside glimpse into the terrain and economy of their hometown.
-Dianne Reber Hart, Press Democrat Towns Section, 9-14-2013
Horticulture students at Adele Harrison Middle School on Broadway trekked out to a front corner of the campus Friday morning for their inaugural harvest.
Under the watchful eye of teacher Shirley Austin-Peeke and the patient direction of a skilled vineyard worker, eight students took turns picking the deep purple fruit destined for icy sorbets and fruit juice rather than wine, at least for this year.
Isidro Corona, the viticulturist who manages 600 acres at Larson Family Winery, stepped away from his harvest duties to oversee the latest phase at the Adele Harrison vineyard, where 120 vines were planted in June of 2011.
“It’s the first growth of grapes and it’s exciting,” said Corona.
Becky Larson, who coordinates the project between the school and the winery, was on hand offering encouragement. Two eighth-grade students also offered some capable help – Larson’s 13-year-old twin sons, Will and Wyatt, who attend the school and know a bit about the wine industry themselves.
Corona told the students it will be a few more years before the vines really start producing, but even school Principal Karla Conroy was impressed with the harvest. She, too, carefully cut a few bunches of grapes.
The students’ hands-on experience included a few quick lessons about sugar levels, varietals and vineyard management. Becky Larson explained that T-posts and tubes support and protect the young vines from wind and animals like jackrabbits that might romp through the vineyards.
For students like 11-year-old Sonoma native Jason Chiotti, the lesson was an inside glimpse into the terrain and economy of their hometown.
-Dianne Reber Hart, Press Democrat Towns Section, 9-14-2013
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