The photo below was taken today, Friday March 23, 2008. The Pinot Noir is definitely flowering, maybe a little later than usual because of a cool April, and the weather is still not co-operating. Today has been cool, in the low 50s, and we are even having a little rain.
A little rain is OK, it is more like heavy mist, but heavy rain or even mildly heavy rain can damage the flowering. So far it has remained misty. This is a critical time in the development of the vine. We never know what the harvest is going to be like until the flowering is over. Once over we can better count the number of clusters and determine how they have ’set’.
This year we know the crop is going to be light — the frost took care of that – but with a decent ’set’ the vine may compensate somewhat. Wind and heavy rain can affect the result and what we need, right now, is mild sunny weather with moderate winds.
For a more detailed view click image to enlarge: 
Today it felt like Spring. After several weeks of rain the Sky was clear and the day was warm. We should see budding in the Pinot Noir by late February. We had a very small harvest in 2007 due to an early frost which damaged the vines. With the ample rain we have had this winter we would normally be expecting a better than normal harvest this year.
The workers are busy seeding the blocks and erecting catch fences which allow the water to go through while retaining the soil. The rest of our vineyard has been seeded sometime ago and there is already some growth. If the rains are too heavy the danger is that the seeds will wash away. We are optimistic that they will be light enough to permit the soil to absorb this very much needed rain.
Meanwhile, pruning continues. The image is of grenache vines. They are cordon pruned with two permanent canes extended on both sides and 4 or 5 spurs on each side which will grow the new fruit canes. Not all our vines are pruned this way — each variety is pruned slightly differently.
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