Spring is here!

Driving around wine country today, it is very clear that Spring is in the air. Here are some pictures of bud break.....

Some vines have already made some pretty decent progress....

Look at all the little buds - it's so exciting!

The wind machines are a reminder that Spring is actually a dangerous time for grapes. These machines will move air around on nights that the temperatures drop to freezing or below. The theory is that moving air is warmer than air standing still. Generally, this works.Some growers use a sprinkler system that coats the grapes with water which then freezes. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the frozen water around the grapes actually keeps the grapes from freezing.

Here's an example of the sad reality for some growers right now....

This vineyard, and many others I drove past, haven't been pruned. It's not uncommon for growers to wait until early March to prune. This can protect them for an additional 7-14 days from frost by delaying bud-break. However, this late in the game, the reality is that this vineyard likely isn't being pruned because it has fallen out of contract. In other words, the growers don't have anyone to sell their grapes to. Bummer.

The canes that the new buds are on were last year's canes. These vines should have been cut back to the thicker part of the stalk as shown in the pictures above.

Stay tuned for more signs of Spring in the coming weeks.

On another note, I just had to make some cookies today. Now I'm enjoying them with a glass of this Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc. The cookies are lemon macadamia with white and milk chocolate chips. The Meyer lemon aromas and flavors, along with the acid in this wine pair perfectly with the dessert.

That's all for tonight.

Cheers!