Linden Update | January 13, 2026
Pruning Therapy
Finally we are back with our hands on the vines. Once harvest is over we give the vines time to rest. We go into repair and maintenance mode and find other things to do. It is best for the vines if we delay pruning. In January we begin. Slowly. There's no hurry, we have until April to finish and in fact it is better for the vines that we wait.
But it is better for us that we get started. We need the routine and the reconnection to the vineyard. When pruning we evaluate the health of the vineyard, strategize, and make plans for the new vintage about to unfold. We also clear our heads from business minutia and go back to the fundamentals that make us winegrowers. One views the world differently when pruning. Topics of conversation change from sales, inventory, and bottle deliveries to hawk screeches, wild persimmons ripening, and the best trees for firewood.
Village Chardonnays 2023 (new release), 2020, and 2019 with Avenius Reds 2022 (new release), 2021, and 2020
New Year, New Tasting
Linden's tasting room reopens on Friday, January 16. Mid-winter tends to be slow, so we've organized a tasting that has a lot of depth. It's designed for those wanting to learn about the impact of weather and time on wine style. For the white wines we'll contrast three very different Village Chardonnays: the juicy, creamy 2023 (new release), the taut, mineral 2020, and the flinty, complex 2019. For reds the focus will be three vintages of Avenius Vineyard: the youthful, rustic 2022 (new release), the crunchy, firm 2021, and the resolved, polished 2020.
Mystery Wines
Tasting without knowing which wine is in the glass is referred to as "blind tasting." At Linden our staff does this regularly with wines from around the world to distinguish differences in wine and train our palates. We call it mystery wine. We have fun with it and want to share this exercise with you.
During January we'll be letting you in on our mystery wine. When you visit in January, you can join the discussion and try your hand at distinguishing what the wine is.
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Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Update: January 13, 2026