Hurrah!

I have finished pruning all of Vinoland's vines; Orange muscat, Pinot gris, Cabernet sauvignon, and Syrah, all done...whoo hoo! And not a moment too soon.

As can be seen in the above photograph, the Syrah vines are on their own schedule and were already experiencing budbreak even though I hadn't finished pruning. The higher than average amount of rainy days we have had in Northern California had me in a panic because I was a bit behind, but now I am done for the year...hallelujah!

Stop!

No, don't stop...apparently, little vines, you are right on schedule.

With the change to Daylight Savings Time last weekend, I have been able to do some outside stuff when I get home from work e.g. walk the Vinodogs. Tonight, after returning from our promenade, something caught my eye - budbreak, and the genesis of the 2011 vintage, in the Orange muscat block. I was thinking it seemed a little early this year, but plainly the vines know better than me. The OM's timing in deciding when to awaken from their winter slumber is very close, if not identical, to last year.

Unfortunately, frost is forecast for tomorrow morning. Here we go again!