Winter Activities

After one storm, our winter seems to be more of an early spring. Hopefully we will get more rain in the next months or two. In the mean time, farm life marches on.

Last years growth is pruned off the vines and gathered at the end of each row. This is a lot of work.

Pruning has been completed on all of the vines. We’re following pruning techniques pioneered by Simonit & Sirch. If you really want to go deep into pruning techniques, check these guys out. https://simonitesirchacademy.com/us/ Notice the new younger cordon on the right hand side of this vine. The old, less productive has been pruned back and the new cordon is being trained to replace it.

Where two vines come together, we always want to keep some distance between the cordons. You can also see the “see of green” on the vineyard floor. We planted a fresh mix of cover crop on the vineyard floor this year to improve soil health and an attempt to blot out some of the weeds. It’s all I can do to not mow it so that it looks pretty but waiting to let the plants do there things is the right thing to do. So I wait.