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Vineyard

A collection of 405 posts

Balanced on the tipping point between winter and spring

This time of year in the vineyard is unique. The mild days, deep blue skies and warm sun give evidence of the summer to come, but the frosty nights, bright green cover crop and bare vines give evidence of the winter past. It's one of the busiest times

The stunning 2013 wildflower season

I've never seen a wildflower season like this one. Whether because of all the sun we've had the last two months, because of the work we've been doing with biodynamics to help build up the soil's health, or something else entirely, these

Photo of the Day: Donkeys on Guard

Some photos are too good not to share. As regular followers of the blog know, we have two donkeys that help guard our mixed flock of sheep and alpacas from coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions and other predators that might threaten the smaller animals. Donkeys will bond with other species in

In which we dig ourselves a hole, on purpose

By Levi Glenn It's been a little over a year since our purchase of our new parcel. The property is just to our south: 150 acres of rolling oak woodland, a walnut orchard (now removed), and a fair amount of the creek from which we take our name.

Photo essay: the vineyard's new green winter coat

It's beautiful out here this weekend. Last weekend's rain has passed through, and a week of sunny weather has meant that the cover crop and the natural grasses have exploded out of the ground. I can't ever remember as fast a transformation in the

What a difference two weeks makes

Two weeks ago, I posted a series of autumn foliage pics, one of which is below: I walked back past that spot yesterday, on an ultimately fruitless quest to take some good sunset pictures. I was stunned by how much more fall-like the vineyard felt after two weeks that included

Harvest 2012 concludes, and we couldn't be happier

We finished the 2012 harvest yesterday, with the last "clean-up" pick, where we go back through the late-ripening blocks where we left the clusters that weren't quite ready on our previous time through. Typically, these pickings are a little ugly, with fruit not in the best

Autumn Foliage, Paso Robles Style

I grew up with Vermont's riot of foliage and foliage-watchers each October. California's trees may not burst into flame colors each autumn, but there is about a two-week window, at the end of harvest and before frost, when the grapevines do. Different varieties show different signatures,

Harvest continues under ideal conditions, with high quality and above-average yields

The first half of October is typically our busiest stretch of harvest, and 2012 was no exception. Between October 1st and 15th, we brought in 107 tons off of our estate and another 60 tons of purchased fruit for the Patelin de Tablas line. That's something like 30%

When a little harvest rain is no big deal

This week saw the first truly fall-like weather of the year. And what a relief. We'd been picking at what felt like full speed for nearly three weeks, under terrific conditions but without a break. In the first 10 days of October, we brought in an incredible 98