Latest at Linden

Cabernet Sauvignon

I’ve too often heard comments that “Cabernet Sauvignon can’t ripen in Virginia”.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the majority grape in most of Linden’s red wines. Our high elevation (1,200 to 1,400 feet) makes us one of the coolest areas in Virginia. Cabernet Sauvignon is a late ripening variety. Most of Virginia has enough heat to ripen it. Heat is not the obstacle. Soils are. Cabernet is very soil sensitive. Plant it in the wrong soil and it will not ripen. Plant it in the right soil and it produces magical wines.

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The First Day of Pruning

There are many compelling reasons to delay the start of pruning vines. Academicians, consultants, and plant pathologists all caution against pruning early. But after a month of cellar and office work, my separation anxiety from the vineyard was too much to bear. I needed to get outside and I needed to reconnect with the vines.

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Shared Knowledge

Winegrowers are in a constant state of discovery as each slope, each site, each microclimate, and each vintage is different.

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Rest

We are now at rest.

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Two Day Tastings

Most of Linden’s Red wines have finished fermenting. In a few short weeks a slurry of juice and skins has become wine. Now we have to decide when to drain these fermentation vats into barrels.

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Winegrower vs. Winemaker

Véraison (color change) is the time that one can see ripeness.

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Véraison

There is only one time when one can see ripeness. And that time is now. Véraison is the coloring up of grapes and the beginning of ripening. With black grapes it is very distinctive. White grape veraison is less obvious, but there is still a subtle shift in color and translucency.

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Hail

We are often asked about how we are adapting to a new climate. There are still too many unknowns for us to come up with a comprehensive plan, but some pieces are starting to fall into place.

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Green, so Green

Summer thunderstorms have continually refreshed ground moisture this growing season. The vines, the cover crops, and the grass retain a spring-like green lushness.

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Big Vines, Big Clusters, Big Crop

Well-timed rains and lots of sun have brought abundance to the vineyard. The vines require extra hedging and trimming as shoot growth is exuberant. Cluster size is much larger than typical due to good weather conditions during flowering and pollination. The potential crop is large. Too large. These yields would produce thin, uninteresting wines as the vines would struggle to sufficiently ripen the grapes.

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Fine Tuning

The pace in the vineyard has not slowed, but we are slowly transitioning from the basics to fine tuning. Basics refers to the more mundane tasks of tying up shoots and hedging excessively long shoots. A rainy spring has stimulated vine growth, so we will be occupied with these jobs for the foreseeable future.

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