By Mark Clarin of McGrail Vineyards & Winery
December Vineyard Updates
Autumn is a time to reflect and to give back. The leaves of the vine give back their carbohydrates to the vine to be stored in the root system for the winter. It is a very important piece in the cycle of life for a grapevine. The green leaves turn to beautiful colors of yellows, golds, and reds, as the vine takes back what was not needed to ripen the glorious clusters that we harvested at the end of summer.
Winegrowing requires attention in the vineyard all year long. The tasks change as the seasons change. This time of year, we are spreading compost and looking for grape stakes that need replacing. We are looking for volunteer plants and removing them. It always amazes me how many volunteer trees we get every year. This year we found over 40 trees on our Lucky 8 vineyard. Mother nature is prolific.
As I reflect on the vintage 2020, I remember an almost perfect growing season. The fires during the harvest created less than ideal working conditions, but we seem to have come through relatively unscathed. Tasting through the vintage confirms that our efforts throughout the year in the vineyard are worth it in the glass.
A new season means new tunes…
Enjoy our playlist featuring dormancy ditties as part of our December vineyard updates!
Please let us know your thoughts on our December vineyard updates. Did you learn anything in particular? What did you find the most interesting? We’d love to hear from you!
Cheers!
