Latest at Linden

Nuts

Harvest is slow to start this year. One more week before the Sauvignon Blanc is ready to pick. This gives us some bonus time to work on equipment and tweak the vineyard. Waiting also gives us time to do nothing. This beautiful weather has allowed for some quality porch time allowing me to observe and to think about nothing.

Late Harvest?

It looks like it will be a late start to vintage 2025. Veraison (color change) in red wine grapes was only slightly later than average, but yesterday we ran our first lab tests on Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

Véraison

Véraison is one of the many French words adopted by English speaking winegrowers. It refers to the change of color in red grapes and the beginning of the all-important ripening stage. This is the only time that we can see ripeness.

Hot and Humid

Hot and humid with a chance of thunderstorms.

Hot and humid with a chance of thunderstorms.

Hot and humid with a chance of thunderstorms.

Heat Wave

Back in the days before air conditioning much of Washington DC escaped the heat and temporarily settled here in these mountains. Families would stay the entire summer at boarding houses or any place that had an extra room or two.  The men (this was back in the day) would come and go by train each weekend.

Vineyard Update

This is a very active week in the vines. Next week’s ominous forecast of dangerously high temperatures means that vineyard work will be limited to only the cooler mornings. We’re trying to get ahead of the game this week. And we are. Petit Manseng is the last block remaining for fruit zone aeration. It will be done this week. Then all hands will continue to tie and shoot position.

Vintage 2025: Back to Normal?

 In the last 30 days we have received 8” of rain.  Typically we would expect about 3”. For most growing seasons this would be cause for concern, but after two drought years we’ll take anything we can get.

Cool

Cooler than average temperatures have slowed vine development. Shoot growth is not quite as exuberant as is typical for this time of year. This is actually a relief as keeping up with shoot positioning and tying can be challenging.

Not Quite Right

The vines are off and running. In April new growth comes from last season’s stored carbohydrates. But by late May the roots have taken over as the engine fueling exuberant shoot growth. In early May we observed some unusual developments as shoots began to form. Many buds did not push. Some shoots seemed stunted. This delayed development has been especially evident in Merlot, Petit Manseng and Sauvignon Blanc. 

Pre-season Prep

The warm weather has pushed the vines to bud break. All varieties are out except Cabernet Sauvignon which is always last to wake up (and last to ripen). The young Cabernet vines now have green leaves showing, but the older vines are still a few days behind (this is normal).

Vines off and running

Official Chardonnay bud break occurred on Saturday April 19. This is recorded when 50% of the buds open up to reveal the first green leaf. After all our wild temperature fluctuations over the last few weeks, this budding date is average. With the warm weather predicted for the coming week, all the other grape varieties should follow suit quickly.

Tariff Uncertainty and Linden Vineyards

Linden’s wines come form our own grapes and our own labor. But we have three significant costs of production that are affected by tariffs. We just don’t know what the final invoices will look like.

Wednesday Frost Update

This morning at 2:00 am the temperature had already fallen to 28°F at my house, which is about halfway up the Hardscrabble slope. 28°F is the tipping point for frost damage. With still 5 hours of potentially falling temperatures, it looked like our Chardonnay buds would be toast. However the temperature only fell one additional degree to 27°F thanks to calming winds, which allowed for a favorable temperature inversion.

Frost Predicted

Last week’s warm spell stimulated some bud break in Chardonnay. Around 10% to 20% of the buds are now showing green leaves. They are now vulnerable to frost damage. Frost is predicted for the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning.

02CS

Pruning is in full swing. For the next month we will quietly be working the vines. The only sounds we generate are the snip of pruning shears and the reverberations of canes being pulled from trellis wires. This calm lets us witness winter ceding to spring.

Spring Awakening

Pruning is in full swing. For the next month we will quietly be working the vines. The only sounds we generate are the snip of pruning shears and the reverberations of canes being pulled from trellis wires. This calm lets us witness winter ceding to spring.