I do so dislike the wind, especially the March winds. March is the peak of pruning season. It is so wonderful to be back out in the vineyard full time and without interruption. But I have to admit that the fierce, biting winds of the last several weeks has taken some of the pleasure out of pruning.
Read MoreWinery trade show season is January, February and March. Those in the biz are more relaxed at this time and have the time to attend. It has been a number of years since I have been on a trade show floor.
Read MoreI’m now used to the puzzled looks in reaction to my declaration that pruning is my favorite vineyard activity.
Read MoreI’ve had an article in my head for the past couple of years.
Read MoreIn youth I looked forward: new Lyre training systems in the vineyard and fancy high tech dejuicing tanks in the cellar. With age I find myself looking backwards.
Read MoreAs much as we love winter, pruning this week spurred a longing for at least a hint of spring. So far this year pruning has been a slow process.
Read MoreThis week was white barrel topping week. Once a month we top off all barrels. Because of evaporation through the oak staves, each barrel loses about a half a liter of wine (angel’s share).
Read MoreBottling is the culmination of several years of winegrowing effort. For this reason it is arguably the most stressful aspect of winemaking. There are a lot of moving parts and players.
Read MoreA temporary thaw did not thwart us from ice skating on the farm pond. Looks like we will have another opportunity later this week.
Read MoreThis has been the coldest week I can remember since 1994. The pond has frozen enough for ice skating and most outside wall water pipes have frozen. However, we are not too concerned about any vine damage as the coldest temperatures have “only” been in the low single digits.
Read MoreWith the exception of one stubborn lot, The Merlots and Cabernet Francs are finished fermenting. We start our “two day tastings” today.
Read MoreToday we pick part of the Petit Manseng vineyard. We will harvest grapes primarily from the younger vines for “demi-sec”. Physiological ripening seems to have stalled, perhaps because of the warm weather and drought conditions.
Read MoreVidal was harvested yesterday and will be crushed today. In the past some Vidal has was picked as a blending partner with Riesling. The rest was dedicated to Late Harvest. This year will be different for several reasons.
Read MoreYesterday we harvested all the Hardscrabble Petit Verdot and two blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon. We will crush them this morning and then in the afternoon we will pick our steep slope Cabernet. Tomorrow will be a very big day where...
Read MoreAll the Merlot is now in fermenters. This could be the best Merlot Linden has ever produced.
Read MoreToday we pick the last of the Merlot along with some Boisseau Cabernet Sauvignon. So far the harvested reds have all been of “single vineyard” quality, meaning that there have been no consideration of declassification down to Claret.
Read MoreWhat a civilized harvest we are having. Taking full advantage of a very favorable forecast, we are slowly and methodically picking and crushing small lots of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Today Avenius Vineyard is up to bat.
Read MoreThis should be a fun week. 0% chance of rain, starting warm and ending cool. Merlot is in great shape just begging to be picked. Today we start at Boisseau Vineyard picking the Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Read MoreFor the last week I have been obsessed by the tracking of hurricanes Jose and Maria, well aware of the potential massive rains that they could inflict on our vineyards.
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