Atypical is typical. Temperature swings of 50°F and drought to flash floods within a time span of a week is normal. This weather may inconvenience wardrobe selection, but winegrowers are much more focused on how the vines react. So far, they are taking things in stride.
Read MoreIt is no secret that Linden emulates the white wines of Burgundy. When grown on the proper site and handled sparingly in the cellar, the Chardonnay grape expresses terroir and ages with grace and resolve.
Read MoreRight now spring is early, warm, and dry. Next week may be different.
Today we are planting additional vines in Hardscrabble’s Climate Change Trial Vineyard. This will bring our total up to about two dozen different varieties.
Read MoreUnsurprisingly this warm weather has accelerated bud break. The 2023 vintage has precociously begun.
Read MoreLast week’s summer was abruptly interrupted. For most of us the extremes are conversational or inconvenient. For farmers they can be disastrous. Winegrowers are farmers. The two weather events we worry most about are frost and hail. Both have been on the increase. In both cases, timing and severity can make or break the bounty of a vintage.
Read MoreDeer have always been a problem to anyone trying to grow anything in these parts. Back in the early 1980s, the deer population was much smaller than it is today.
Yesterday’s warm temperatures finally triggered the peeps of spring. Peepers are small frogs that live in the mud of wetlands and ponds. When the soil temperature warms enough they emerge from hibernation. They are appropriately called chorus frogs as group peeps can be wonderfully melodic and loud.
Read MoreWith each passing week vines become more sensitive to warm spells. In December a stretch of spring-like weather would not phase them, but by mid-March they are highly tuned to temperature cues. A week of 70°s or 80°s F would swell tender buds. If extreme warmth were to continue, the vines would break bud early. So why would this be a problem?
Fluctuating warm/cold days in February and March are typical. Climate change has made the swings more extreme. Winegrowers react with both joy and panic.
Read MorePerhaps the most striking sign of a post pandemic world is the return of industry visits. These technical visits are arranged by winegrowers in advance. The goal is to share and to learn on a highly specialized level. As with most professions there is a certain level of experience, technique and jargon that is only understood by those who practice. In other words, we geek out.
Read MoreWe have finally found a path forward in blending Linden’s Hardscrabble Red 2022. The elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon won out over the power of Cabernet Franc.
Read MoreIn 1983, the state of this hardscrabble farm was typical of most of the Blue Ridge landscape. It had gone “back to the mountain:” a local expression for overgrown abandoned farms.
Because we have delayed making a final blending decision, we thought it perfect timing to hold Linden’s first “Pop-Up” tasting. Through the year when there is something of interest either in the cellar or in the vineyard, we will hold an impromptu tour and/or tasting.
Read MoreIt is blending season. Linden’s Red wines are blends of different grape varieties, vineyard blocks, and press fractions. Now is our time to taste, evaluate, and micro blend with tiny samples.
Read MoreEvery January we conduct our first “get acquainted” tasting of the new vintage of white wines. Prior to January the wines are often too cloudy and gassy to give them a proper review. 2022 is in contention to be one of our favorite white vintages. The wines have a core, concentration and length that can only occur under certain September weather conditions.
Read MoreThe personality of vintage 2022 is now unfolding. Over the last few weeks we have meticulously sampled and tasted each barrel. Both red wines and white wines share a common theme of very finessed acidity and a dense core that will reward aging. These wines should evolve well into the next decade.
Read MorePlease join us Thursday, January 26th, as Chef Jacques and Team proudly welcome’s legendary winegrower Jim Law of Linden Vineyards to L’Auberge Chez François.
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