Sometimes, you have to battle nature to make wine.
Pruning is finally complete. My hands couldn't be happier. Now we are moving on to planting baby grapevines where previous grapevines didn't quite survive this last year. It wasn't a huge percentage of the vines, but more often than not, a dead vine was killed by crown gall. I slowly became better and better at recognizing the symptoms of this disease.
Crown gall is caused by a bacterial infection, usually located near the base of the vine. A dark, soil-y substance fills in between the root and outer surface of the vine, slowly choking it. In the picture below, the dark substance pushes out the 'bark' of the vine to make the base look big and thick, but once you break it open, you can see that the actual root (the rust-colored core) of the vine is only a small portion of the mass. We typically inspect all dead vines to try and determine the cause of death, if nothing else just to keep a mental tally.
Though not deadly to the grapevines, birds can be devastating to the fruit. They love sweet grapes, just like we do, and they can be relentless in eating an entire crop. No matter what people have done around here, nothing really deters these hungry, winged grape-devourers. That's why it's so difficult when we run across a nest while we're pruning.
We actually left these nests. They were just too cute to destroy, even if it means that we may just be encouraging the very pests that we'd like to deter. If nothing else, they'd be decorative eggs for the upcoming Easter weekend.
Aside from that, you can find all kinds of spiders, snakes, bugs, fungus, etc. throughout the vineyard. Some are beneficial, while others may be the opposite. It comes with the territory when you're playing with nature.
I can't put into words how amazed I am by the progress of some of the vines since I pruned them just a couple of weeks ago. It's like I'm watching my children grow. The bright green leaves from the Cab Franc and the distinctive reddish color of the Moscato leaves are easy to see from the tasting room. Though I can't put it into words, I'd be happy to show you if you swing by the tasting room.
In Vino Veritas,
The Winemaker's Apprentice
Pruning is finally complete. My hands couldn't be happier. Now we are moving on to planting baby grapevines where previous grapevines didn't quite survive this last year. It wasn't a huge percentage of the vines, but more often than not, a dead vine was killed by crown gall. I slowly became better and better at recognizing the symptoms of this disease.
Crown gall is caused by a bacterial infection, usually located near the base of the vine. A dark, soil-y substance fills in between the root and outer surface of the vine, slowly choking it. In the picture below, the dark substance pushes out the 'bark' of the vine to make the base look big and thick, but once you break it open, you can see that the actual root (the rust-colored core) of the vine is only a small portion of the mass. We typically inspect all dead vines to try and determine the cause of death, if nothing else just to keep a mental tally.
Though not deadly to the grapevines, birds can be devastating to the fruit. They love sweet grapes, just like we do, and they can be relentless in eating an entire crop. No matter what people have done around here, nothing really deters these hungry, winged grape-devourers. That's why it's so difficult when we run across a nest while we're pruning.
We actually left these nests. They were just too cute to destroy, even if it means that we may just be encouraging the very pests that we'd like to deter. If nothing else, they'd be decorative eggs for the upcoming Easter weekend.
Aside from that, you can find all kinds of spiders, snakes, bugs, fungus, etc. throughout the vineyard. Some are beneficial, while others may be the opposite. It comes with the territory when you're playing with nature.
I can't put into words how amazed I am by the progress of some of the vines since I pruned them just a couple of weeks ago. It's like I'm watching my children grow. The bright green leaves from the Cab Franc and the distinctive reddish color of the Moscato leaves are easy to see from the tasting room. Though I can't put it into words, I'd be happy to show you if you swing by the tasting room.
In Vino Veritas,
The Winemaker's Apprentice
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