It’s been raining off and on this week. We only have a day or two of pruning left, but we’re not working. The cover crops are so high and wet in the rows that we quickly get soaked to the waist, and that’s miserable.The rainfall has been pretty evenly distributed this winter. Although the soil is pretty saturated, the cover crops have done a good job absorbing excess moisture. We haven’t seen a cover crop of this size in years. The vigorous growth is welcome, because the roots penetrate the soil. When the roots die back, they leave room for oxygen and water to move down deep, and the plants also break down into fertilizer and organic matter in the soil.

The vines look relaxed, in great shape … More…

It’s Valentine’s Day, and we’ve received a wonderful valentine – over a week of beautiful weather, with highs reaching 70 and lows in the 30s.

Heavy rains have brought us close to 20 inches for the season, very near normal, which is slightly less than 22 through this month. By comparison, last year we had just over 11 inches to date.

I have been sidelined with the flu, which has seemed ironic during this past week of warm, sunny days. Nabor has been busy in the vineyard, and with dry weather forecast, he should finish pruning our home ranch, The Donum Estate, and nearby Ferguson Block by early next week. Then we start tying.

I’m on the mend, so we’ll head up to Nugent Vineyards next Saturday and start there. … More…