The vineyard is really flourishing. This is the fourth season, or "leaf," for most of the plants. Getting them established has not been as easy as in other parts of the state. Mid-winter cold snaps and late-spring frosts are the main challenges.
But much of the vineyard is now where it should be, only 1 year later than best-case scenario. The cab franc on the slope is furthest along; ironic, because just 2 years ago I had almost given up on it and was thinking of pulling that area up. Now the cordons are established and canes up on the top wire and loaded with good-looking fruit clusters.
Always too much to do this time of year: pruning back vigorous growth & suckers, tying canes to the wires, spraying for powdery mildew, mowing the aisles, and always weeds weeds weeds.
It's been a relatively cool spring so far. A good long hot stretch would be perfect. I doon't know if I'll try to market any grapes this year. Probably could have a decent first crop of cab franc, but I might wait until I have the time to put the proper work into it, things like cluster pruning, canopy management, tweaking soil nutrients, etc.
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