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Visions of World-Class Vineyards Set Among the Oaks

by Steve Matthiasson

Markus Bokisch didn’t inherit his vineyard or study viti- culture at the University. His love of growing grapes started with the love of a woman. Romantic? Yes. Fiction? No.

In 1988 Markus was all set to head out for Costa Rica with the Peace Corps when he met his future wife, Liz, who was about to go off to Spain. To give the budding relationship a chance, the two put their trips on hold, and found jobs near her home in Yountville.

Markus was fortunate enough to find employment as a viticulturist for Joseph Phelps Vineyards. It was an opportune moment, as the vineyard was starting a 12-year replant cycle to replace their AXR#1 rootstock. Many North Coast vineyards were being decimated by phylloxera, a soil insect that destroys the roots of susceptible vines.

Widely planted since the 1800s, AXR#1 rootstock tolerated viruses, had a good level of vigor, was easy to graft, and made good wine. Unfortunately, phylloxera adapted to destroy it. Anticipating the rootstock’s failure, Joseph Phelps Vineyards decided to pull out and replant. Virtually all the wine grape growers on the North Coast have since done the same thing.

In addition to his work with the existing vineyards, Markus’ responsibilities included locating and buying grapes. This unique opportunity was a “trial by fire,” as he had to learn about and evaluate different vineyard sites, soil types, clones and rootstocks. He also had to search out other growers of Rhone varietals — the vineyard’s specialty grapes — to cover their loss of production during the replant time.

Finding Lodi

His quest for old vine Carignane, Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvedre brought Markus to Lodi for the first time. There, the old plantings of these European varieties were steady producers. Wineries used the grapes to make undistinguished sweet wine, but the fine qualities of these varietals were largely overlooked.

Hungry for more vineyard experience, Markus and Liz went to Europe in 1992. He worked as a consultant on rootstock and scion selection for a winery in Raimat, in the interior of Spain, where the climate is similar to Lodi—semi-arid savannah with dry summers. Then he worked in the Penedes region, near Barcelona, as the foreman of a crew installing experimental rootstocks and trellis systems. The couple subsequently traveled to almost every wine-growing region in Europe, tasting wine and visiting vineyards and clonal selection sites.

Back in the U.S. in 1994, Duarte Nursery in Hughson, near Modesto, offered Markus a job, saying, “Here’s a car, go learn the territory.” Markus describes it as a “dream job,” allowing him to continue to develop his passion for viticulture. Duarte, the biggest grapevine nursery in the state and perhaps the world, also raises peach and almond seedlings.

Happy to be back in the States, Markus and Liz purchased their first vineyard the next year near Clements, in the foothills east of Lodi, starting their dream of wine growing. Liz takes care of all the bookwork, markets the grapes, and cares for their two sons, Anton, 4, and Stefan, 2.

Philosophy of Wine Growing

Now Markus and Liz are farming 300 acres of grapevines, selling their grapes locally to Mondavi Woodbridge, as well as to eight different smaller wineries throughout the state. They look forward to selling more grapes locally as more small wineries appear.

Markus is a big believer in tasting his own wine. Not only does he follow his wine at all nine wineries, but he brings his employees along as well, hoping to give them a sense of pride in their product. He believes that it is crucial that “growers see their grapes as an individual vineyard product, rather than as a commodity.”

He is also a big believer in careful pruning. Markus uses his own special crew of about 20 for all of his pruning and for most other vineyard activities. He puts a lot of time into training his workers and pays them well.

Two workers are responsible for the quality of work in each block. Markus feels that this instills pride in being part of a top-notch operation.

Markus uses intensive monitoring to minimize treatment for powdery mildew. He and his crew walk the fields regularly, and if no mildew is seen, they extend the interval between treatments, applying sulfur only every 21 to 24 days. This is quite an unusual regime, as most growers spray by the calendar, applying sulfur every 7 to 12 days.

Now that the vineyards are maturing, Markus would like to do trials on cover cropping and reduced irrigation. He plans to ramp up monitoring in every aspect of his operation and to improve record keeping of the climatic data associated with wine quality.

Keeping Oak Trees with the Grapes

After his love for his family and his vineyards, Markus’ third love is for oak trees. The usual procedure for dealing with oaks in vineyards is to either pull them out or prune them high, so that tractors can pass underneath the trees.

Markus, however, left all of the oak trees in place and undisturbed while developing his vineyards. He went so far as to leave them unpruned, so that sometimes their branches reach all the way down to the ground. Oak root fungus is not a problem as long as oak trees are allowed to flourish. If the trees are removed, though, the fungus will damage other plants.

When appropriate, Markus keeps clusters of oaks together, leaving open meadows in between the trees. No equipment is allowed to drive through these wildlife corridors. “All farmers should be environmentalists,” said Markus. He believes that the aesthetic beauty of the natural features compensates him for any loss of production. “And this is a good marketing tool, too,” he added. “If our property is beautiful, people will want to buy grapes from our vineyards.”

A shorter version of this article appeared in the IPM Newsletter of the Lodi Woodbridge Winegrape Commission.

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