Vineyards
First Planting in 2014
1.0 Acre Riesling, Clone 198, 2391.0 Acre Pinot Noir, Clones 115, 667, 777
0.5 Acre Pinot Blanc, Clone 55
Second Planting in 2016
1.0 Acre Riesling, Clone 901.0 Acre Riesling, Clone 110
1.0 Acre Pinot Noir Clones 667, 777
0.5 Acre Gewuerztraminer, Clone 48
February and March
The task of pruning is one of the most important duties of the entire season. It is setting the framework for the vine to perform according to its ability. This work is one of my favorite things to do. It is a very peaceful and calm time of the growing season.
April
Once pruning is finished we will tie two canes per vine onto the wire system. The count of buds on those canes will provide the canopy and fruit as the foundation for the upcoming growing season.
Early May
The wood resulting from pruning will be chopped and cultivated back into the soil.
Early June until mid August
The greatest amount of time spent in the vineyard is to position the new shoot growth and to remove leaves and unnecessary shoots. This work is to improve airflow and is very crucial in helping to keep the fruit and canopy healthy as well as allowing the sunlight to benefit the fruit ripeness.
Late July to early August
Crop thinning is one of the most critical duties we dedicate ourselves to put into action. Every vine will be evaluated and relieved of excessive fruit. This way the plant can ripen the remaining crop better and the wine resulting of that will offer more substance, balance and longevity.
Early August
We want to make sure that we can harvest what we worked so hard for. The netting will keep birds from “harvesting” the fruits before we do.
Mid September Until Mid October
The entire growing season is coming to a finale at this time a year. We don’t know if our work invested all year long bears reward until we are able to bring the fruit into the winery. Then we will finally know what potential “talent” our grapes contain. Harvesting the fruit by hand is the final step of quality control in the vineyard.
The goal of every season is…
….to cultivate and harvest fruit that is healthy and provides the best possible foundation for our wines. That fruit will help us to keep our hands “off” in the cellar and to get our wines into the bottle as authentic as possible.
Down to the knees...
Planting a vineyard is a true privilege. If done and cared for well it might bring good fruit for more than a generation. Every detail matters and so we plant all vineyards by hand in order to take care of every aspect in giving the new plants the best possible start. It is like taking care of a child, if it experiences love and care it will most likely rather thrive than struggle.
An answered prayer
It is never easy to find a person that is humble, hard working, honest and willing to walk the extra mile(s) to contribute to the vision of the employer. Thank you Sean! You are even more than I hoped to find in a right hand.