vineyard

GE to outfit some Martha's Vineyard homes

Some Martha's Vineyard households will soon be receiving smart appliances from General Electric as part of a pilot project, GE announced today.

It's part of mission to promote smart grid and renewable energy use on the island that has been spearheaded by The Vineyard Energy Project (VEP), a nonprofit community energy group started in West Tisbury, Mass., and the island's energy co-op, Vineyard Power.

In December 2010, VEP was granted almost $800,000 toward its goal of deploying smart grid technologies on the island, including smart appliances, via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.… Read more

Harvest time in Napa Valley: Low tech, high art

NAPA VALLEY, Calif.--It's 6:45 in the morning, and the crew that's just about to begin working is only picking up from where the overnight team left off.

We're here, deep in some of the most valuable terroir, or vineyard land, on the planet, and for about two days only, it's a race against the clock--actually, the thermometer--to get more than 30 tons of premium grapes off the vines in top condition.

Where I'm standing is in the middle of the Horton block, a 15-acre piece of prime winemaking real estate owned by the … Read more

Science keeps your wine VineyardFresh

In my current delicate condition, expected to continue until July, I am not able to drink nearly as much wine as I would like. I find myself limited to inhaling deeply near the wine glass and trying to get some satisfaction from that (it doesn't work). This leaves the total number of legal drinkers in our house at exactly one, and one who doesn't drink a lot to begin with. So a bottle of wine can last a good long time in our house.

If, that is, a bottle of wine could last a good long time. Which … Read more

Floating solar farm juices up winery

Napa Valley winery Far Niente on Tuesday commissioned what it says is the first floating solar farm.

Called a "floatovoltaic" solar array, it is a collection of almost 1,000 solar panels hitched to pontoons that float in the vineyard's irrigation pond.

In tandem with another 1,300 panels next to the pond, the entire array will generate about 4.000 kilowatts of energy at peak time, covering the winery's annual electricity use.

The panels in Far Niente's solar array, made by Sharp Solar Systems, were installed by SPG Solar.