Exactly three years ago I began chronicling the process of removing and replanting a vineyard with the goal of producing better wine. We are now at the halfway point and 2020 will mark the “virgin” harvest: the first vintage.
Read MoreVintage 2019 is progressing well. The first milestone of a vintage’s success is flowering. This year’s flowering was early (late May through the first week in June). Conditions were ideal with warm, sunny, dry days.
2018’s planting struggled to get going this spring. Some vines did not make it through the winter, as they were too weak after the unforgiving rains and lack of sun last year. The planting is looking healthier now.
Read MoreWe just finished a very successful planting of 1,400 Cabernet Sauvignon vines. The last day was grueling as the best slope was saved for last. This particular slope consists of a very large pile of rocks. And not much else.
Read MorePlanting a new vineyard block gives great satisfaction and optimism. It will be years before there is something tangible produced, but the process itself is rewarding.
Read MoreWinter slows the pace at Linden. After an intense and often stressful harvest season, we can now take time to get re-acquainted with our past vintages. For the last several years we have enjoyed sharing this process with all of you.
The trials and tribulations of the 2018 growing season have consumed my attention, so it has been a while since I’ve written about Linden’s Terroir Project.
Read MoreThe vines are exhibiting a high degree of resilience through all this gloomy rain. We growers take note and try to follow suit.
Read MoreThis spring has given the vines a very good start to vintage 2018. Very late in starting, there has been no time wasted in trying to catch up.
Read MoreI’ve been delaying updating you about Linden’s spring vineyard activities. Best to wait for spring weather to arrive. I haven’t yet given up on spring 2018, they say it will arrive later this week, so with great optimism here we go!
Read More2017 will be our benchmark vintage for decades to come. This is one of the rare years where both whites and reds were harvested with high expectations.
Read MoreAfter a very dry June and July our vines were in need of a good rain. An inch or two would have been great, but in just a few hours on August 11 we received 3.5 inches. This ended the drought and refreshed our stressed young vines.
Read MoreMother Nature has been a bit of a wild woman. The vines shrugged off February temperatures in the 80°’s, teens in March and patchy frost in May. Our resilient vines have survived.
Read MoreDecades ago, a certain intellectual curiosity led me to Virginia to grow winegrapes. That curiosity has not waned. Initial plantings in the 1980s and 1990s where established with great enthusiasm, but without much knowledge or experience. I am now very familiar and even intimate with the soils and slopes on this small farm.
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