More Planting!  :)
In the last week, we have planted another acre of vines.  The vineyard has grown to 3 acres, about 1,800 vines!

Below, Mike setting a vine in so that it is under the string.  This will ensure that the vines will not be hit by the mower when he mows between the rows.

Bottom picture, Tony places a bamboo pole by each vine.  The poles will help hold a grow tube to be inserted over the vine.  Later, the vines will be attached to the poles as they grow.

Hello! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. No work in the vineyard this weekend -- it is a soccer weekend instead.

In the next couple weeks, there will be a logging company clearing trees that were carefully chosen. This is for 2 reasons. One, to manage the woods on the property, and two, to clear a road to the site of the future winery. We will start construction of the winery later this year. I'll be taking plenty of pictures to document this process.

We also have a Facebook page with a lot of pictures showing how the vineyard has changed over the years.

Please check out the page! :)

Vineyard Maintenance

Tying vines down

It's a beautiful site seeing acres of wine grapes flowing down gentle hills.  The sun reflecting off the leaves, and the huge clusters of grapes make for some beautiful pictures.
Add someone special in the picture to make it more personal, and you have great memories that can be shared for many generations.
Tony, our son, is right there by his dad's side as we started the vineyard 3 years ago, and helps as much as a young boy can.
Dad is not too much of a task master, though, since Tony was always dressed to take a quick dip in the pool or shoot a soccer ball at a goal whenever it came time for a break!

Clipping last year's vines

Before we started this venture of growing wine grapes, I always thought it was a part year job.  You could enjoy working outside while the weather was mild or sunny, and then have the rest of the year off!
Well, I was wrong...  :)
While a good part of the vineyard maintenance is not while there's a foot of snow outside, there is a lot of work to be done the whole year around.  Pruning starts outside as early as February.
Here is Mike and Tony on this nice, chilly 34 degree day.  But the sun is shinning!
When Mike couldn't tend to the vineyard outside, he tended to the inside tasks such as planning for expansion, spray schedules, and of course, bottling wine.