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 problem is that this years clusters were formed last spring and they may have been damaged by that frost. David Lafond, who is our bean counter — our cluster counter – predicts fewer clusters but larger than normal. The vines attempt to balance production and vigor.

We saw the first Poppy of the year which is always a good sign that Spring is not far behind. Here is a view of the vineyard today — still bleak — but the hills are green.