Native Cover Crops | Blue Field Madder
We are shoot thinning in earnest right now. Our eyes are focused on the low growing trunks and canes. Looking down all day, we are especially appreciative of the often overlooked.
Read MoreNative cover crops | Catchweed Bedstraw
Catchweed bedstraw is not super prevalent at Hardscrabble Vineyard. In some instances it does get a bit too tall for my liking. It barely qualifies to be included in my list of desirable native cover crops.
Read MoreTypicity and Climate Change
Typicity is my favorite wine tasting word. A wine can be typical of the grape (aka varietal character), but it is most satisfying when it is an expression of place. I always search for typicity when blind tasting. Certain aroma markers can trigger an unmistakable terroir. A crystalline mineral acidity makes a connection.
Read MoreNative cover crops | Chickweed
Chickweed is one of my favorites. It germinates in late March, grows profusely in April, then browns and dies in early May leaving a natural dense mulch under the vines.
Read MoreNative cover crops | Dead Nettle
Deadnettle is the first of a season long sequence of native cover crops at Hardscrabble Vineyard. Emerging in early March, it is delicate with tiny purple flowers.
Read MoreNative cover crops in the Vineyard
We’re still pruning, but the bittersweet end is in sight. Most of the pruning cuts are made at the vine heads, which are waist high, so we spend most of the day looking down or on our knees. We therefore get very intimate with the emerging flora now growing on the vineyard floor. This growth under the vines is called cover crops.
Read MoreGeese
March is pruning month. Warm weather stimulates the vines. Sap flows. After every cut the vines bleed (or cries depending on what appellation you work in). The surrounding environment also wakes. In March birds take center stage.
Read MoreRead MoreDuclaux La Germine Côte-Rôtie 2019
As the decades pass, Linden’s red wine style has become more confident in terroir interpretation. For years we held Bordeaux as our benchmark. We grow the same grape varieties and have similarities in climate. But now we have a clearer understanding of how our soils give signature to our wines. We’ve always tasted wines from all over the globe looking for direction and inspiration. And that inspiration is coming from new places.
Winegrower’s Weather Worries
The weather we are currently experiencing brings with it some angst. But what exactly do winegrowers worry about?
Read MoreAm Radio
Yesterday presented ideal bush pile burning conditions. It had been many weeks since our last rain, so the stacked branches were easily ignited. An all-day rain was about to settle in and the winds were calm. No chance of the fire escaping its boundaries. So burning in the rain was the task of the morning. Most of my time is spent watching. Just in case. Watching flames lick the sky is eventful (these were very large piles), but I had to seek nearby shelter from the cold rain.
Read Morethird of a four-part series: 1987
Changes in winegrowing and winemaking evolved thoughtfully and intentionally. But marketing and sales were much more reactionary. There were no established paths to follow for new, small regional wineries. Initially we weren’t even sure who we were marketing to.
Read Moresecond of a four-part series: 1987
1987 was Linden’s first vintage. There was a lot of pressure to make a great wine right out of the starting gate. Big powerful wines were garnering accolades and high Parker points. New technologies and scientific analysis were driving American winemaking. I was not immune to the trends of the day. The path of numbers-driven, interventionist, aspirational winemaking was my initial approach.
Read More