The Winemaking year begins as the vines emerge from their winter’s rest and the buds on the woody canes begin to swell and then reveal leaves and then shoots and then flowers that will ultimately grow and ripen into this year’s wine. With temperatures now creeping into the low 60’s on a regular basis now in the Willamette Valley, we are seeing budbreak occur in most sites. And, with warm temperatures and sunshine forecasted for the next 7 days, we should see green leaves on the vines within the week!
The growing season starts with budbreak and from here, the young shoots of the vines will be succeptible to disease, pests and the weather all year long. From this date until harvest, everything we do counts.
This is an exciting time for us because we can now officially begin focusing on 2011 as a vintage, and what challenges and pleasures it will bring.
Here are some pictures that I recently took while walking through the vineyards this past week.
Budbreak in the Bergstrom Vineyard, 2011Cherry trees blooming at the bottom of the Bergstrom Vineyard
- Spring 2011 in the Bergstrom Vineyard
