Spring Vineyard Update from Shae

Last week began our first vineyard activity of the year. We pre-pruned!  A tractor fitted with cutting blades moved steadily through the rows, trimming back the long canes. Pre-pruning helps us manage growth, reduce excess wood, and prepare the vines for precise hand pruning as we shape the season ahead.

This morning, I met my vineyard partner JZ in the vineyard to prune by hand. 

It was 48 degrees. A crisp, honest air. Not long after, a light rain began to fall. Nothing a poncho couldn’t handle. I started to grab for my AirPods to finish a podcast. I enjoy listening to Social Media Marketing, however podcast host Michael Stelzner wasn’t a match for the rhythm of rain tapping against the vines and settling into the Red Mountain dirt. I could also hear the crunching of the broken canes under my feet. I decided I’d rather hear the notes of the vineyard instead of Michael Stelzner. Mother Nature wins! Red Mountain has a way of going still in moments like this.

My vineyard partner, JZ, worked quietly alongside me. I listened to his methodical, rhythmic cuts moving steadily down the row, snip, step, snip,  the sound of his boots pressing over cracked wood on the dirt. There’s a cadence to pruning. A focus. A presence. We didn’t need many words.

I looked up and noticed the clouds moving quickly overhead, a sure sign the storm would pass. Moments later, the sun broke through. Big, white, puffy clouds stretched across the sky as the light returned.

We started on the east side of the vineyard in our Cabernet Franc block. The rows are long especially when you’re halfway down them but it’s good work. Grounding work. The kind that reminds you wine is shaped long before it ever reaches the barrel and the glass.  

These are the quiet, unseen moments (unless you are vising the tasting room this week) that define a vintage. And I’m grateful to be right here in them. I’ll be back in the vineyard tomorrow.

With gratitude and wine,

Shae