To bloom betimes.

I think 2016 is going to be an unusual vintage.  I say this because today, whilst I was out in the vineyard stuffing shoots, I noticed that Vinoland's Cabernet sauvignon (CS) is further along in bloom than the CS at TWWIAGE.
It is fun to live (and farm) in a relatively cool AVA e.g., Coombsville and work (and observe) in another, noticeably warmer AVA e.g., Oakville. And why do I consider this year's earlier bloom, in spite of a cooler-than-normal spring, unusual?  Because from my personal experience, CS, Clone 4, in Coombsville is normally a bit of a slowcoach in the flowering department.  This year my little mutants apparently want to get an early start.  Go little girls and boys!

Bloomin' lovely.

Getting a slightly later start than last year, the Pinot grigio vines are finally starting to bloom. (The Orange muscat vines are just starting to flower also.)  Spring, thus far, has been cool, windy (very windy) and the past two days have even been showery.  I'm not surprised that the grapevines seem somewhat reluctant to bloom, thereby subjecting their delicate little flowers to the less than perfect current climatic conditions. Sigh.  But bloom they must.
There is a lot of good, viticultural stuff going on in the above photograph: not the least of which is the brilliant mechanism that is the unfurling of the calyptra.  I love grapevines.
Oh, and happy Sauvignon blanc day!